Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I know a lot of people who use Splenda because they believe it's "natural" (because it's made from sugar), thanks to the marketing taglines. Basically, they take a sucrose molecule and replace a couple of the molecules with chlorine atoms. Technically, sucralose is a chlorocarbon a class of molecules which is not good to be ingesting. Because it has a very similiar molecular size and shape to sucrose, your taste buds think it's sucrose.

As for its safety, well, who really knows. When they test these things, they feed a high dose to a lab animal (rats, etc) and see how much it takes to cause a bad effect or kill them. They then extrapolate that down to determin a "safe" dose for humans. Commonly used dosages of Splenda don't appear to cause acute problems (although it may trigger migraines in some people). However, as with everything else, we really have no clue about sub-acute effects from long term use.

A lot of problem, IMHO, with these unnatural chemicals is that they add up over a life time of use but you can't point the finger at any one thing. For example, pesticides in very high doses are toxic, but the amount found on that lettuce you ate last night doesn't. Add that small bit of pesticides together with the Splenda you put in your coffee, the crap in the air and water, the formaldehyde outgassing from the new carpeting at work, etc etc. None of these things causes acute problems in these quantities, but no one knows the effects of chronic low dosage, or the additive effect.

As for the Duke study... I've got news for you, a lot of scientific studies are funded by corporations with interests in the outcomes - that's how we get money to study things. Many (most?) of the studies linking milk consumption with weight loss were funded by theDairy Council. A lot of other research is funded by pharmaceutical companies, or the government (gee, no special interests there).

Duke is a well-respected university, and the article appeared in a peer-reviewed science journal so I wouldn't be so quick to brush it off. If it was done by Jimmy's Garage Laboratory and published in Jimmy's Science Newsletter I would be more skeptical.

As for it being "unsupported" - that just means there haven't been other studies showing similiar effects (yet). It takes time to get funding and perform research. It might be 10 years before there is enough evidence to determine sucralose really is bad news - all the while Americans are happily chugging it down because it's "safe" and "natural."

Personally, I avoid all unnatural food chemicals for these reasons. Eat real food. Eat sugar, just don't eat tons of it.

I use two packets a day in my coffee.

I'm not fat, obese, etc. I'm a slim college girl.

The reason I use it? I like really sweet coffee--I'd rather use 2 Splendas than a boatload of sugar.

Plus, I figure I drink enough alcohol on the weekends to kill any sort of chemicals that are floating around in my body already.

:-)

As a diabetic who would like to drink more than just water on a daily basis, I use Splenda and several other "sugar substitutes" on a daily basis.

My thoughts are - it may kill me, but so will real sugar. Damned if I do, damned if I don't.

Splenda is nasty. I will drink it in cold drinks, but it needs to stay far, far away from my baked goods.

Sugar in the raw/evaporated cane juice crystals and honey are my preferred sweeteners of choice.

I am with "I love butter"! I try to avoid fake sugar, not for any scientific reasons though. I just think to myself, what the heck is in this stuff? It's like the other day a co worker had non fat, sugar free coffee whitener/flavouring. What is in that stuff?

@ilovebutter: Well said.

@sweethunibabi: Based on your alcohol comment I'd have guessed you were a college student if you hadn't said it. :) How about honey as an alternative?

@hungrychristel: I like stevia. I use it in coffee. I also like agave.

@skizzo: HFCS does seem like the lesser of the evils in that context. However, HFCS is in a lot more food items than Splenda, so it has more affect.

To answer Erin's original question: Splenda makes me feel neither nervous nor healthy but I don't like the idea of it.

Splenda is disgusting and just about every food I have tried with Splenda in it tastes horrible. I put it in coffee once and had to dump it out.

It pretty much ruins everything it comes in contact with.

It just bothers me that people are always looking for a easy fix. Just eat the real stuff but do it in moderation.

@ oberst - actually, 11 - 27% of sucralose is absorbed in the GI tract. 20-30% of that is metabolized. So, while you're correct that it isn't fat soluble (and therefor not problematic like other chlorocarbons), a small amount is still being absorbed. Obviously this small amount isn't causing any appreciable health effects, but I would still rather avoid it because there is no way to know that over time, it's not doing something (or contributing to something).

Yeah, but what are the metabolites? Ethyl acetate, ammonia, water, methanol. Stuff that you find metabolized out as is. Without the fat solubility, there's just 0 cause for alarm about toxicity. And water soluble toxins tend to bring on almost immediate symptoms.

Give me sugar over splenda or any of the substitutes. Just like the butter substitutes, they don't have the same flavor as the real thing. Just use it in moderation.

I understand AmazonGoddess' point of view regarding diabetics. Eating splenda seems to me the better choice when you put it that way. Its unfortunate but not all of us can simply "Eat real food and exercise" as hotcobbler suggests.

@ Oberst - your original comment implied that sucralose passed through unchanged which is not entirely accurate. I wasn't able to find any information on sucralose's metabolic fate, but yes I realize the things you mentioned are common metabolites and not alarming. But what effect, if any, does the non-metabolized sucralose have on the kidneys? On gut flora? Does the flora break it down and what by-products are produced?

I'm comfortable with the information that is currently available. I am always wondering about the things we *don't* know, and am leary of ingesting a man-made chemical and being a guinea pig. It might very well be fine, but what if it isn't? There's just no way to tell.

So I just eat real food as our ancestors have done for thousands of years, rather than a chemical which has only been used for a few years.

I avoid sugar substitutes (other than in my toothpaste - anyone know a brand that doesn't use saccharine)? I just don't like the taste.

I do have concerns about aspartame based on reports that aspartate, released during digestion of aspartame, crosses the blood-brain barrier and can build up to toxic levels.

@ OliverRanch - Try a natural brand of toothpaste, like Tom's of Maine. I believe they don't contain artificial sweeteners (and for that reason don't taste very sweet so you may not like them).

Following up with my response; I appologize for not considering those with diabetic issues. I STILL think you might be on the safer side choosing something more natural.
I'm sure other agree with me on this: eat my butter full, real sugars, and avoid modified ingredients and preservatives all the time (not just for health reasons, flavour too). And for those who will argue that I am asking for a heart attack at 23 years old: I am healthy and fit as a horse! Since I've been eating this way, I've never felt or looked so good!

@OliverRanch - I found out a few years ago that many commercial toothpastes contain sugar. Sugar! In toothpaste! My dentist found a couple of cavities, but I was an avid brusher and had never had cavities before. He asked me what kind of toothpaste I had been using, and I told him that I was using the new flavored kinds that had come out (vanilla, orange, etc). He scolded me and told me to look for the ADA (American Dental Association) seal on the box before I buy any toothpaste, to confirm that the stuff will actually prevent tartar buildup, bad breath, and cavities.

@CanadianFoodieGirl: Give Sucralose just a little more time - between it and Aspartame, it's pretty improbably that you'll be able to find something not sweetened with either of them. For almost anything that requires some form of sweetener, manufacturers are constantly coming up with new versions of old recipes and replacing sugar with these artificial sweeteners. They now make Splenda Peeps, for crying out loud!

@hungrychristel: I haven't ventured into sweetening things through baking with stevia yet, but that's next. I do a fair bit of baking through fall and winter, so I'll see what it's like.

@slowandsweet: I have had a rough time finding teas that I like - I'm, for the most part, drinking just black tea as a cold tea, and green tea for hot tea. Anything I've found that's flavored without artificial sweeteners tastes very bland without the addition of some sort of sweetener. Thanks for the chocolate tea suggestion (sounds creepy, but I might try it.)

@ slow and sweet:

I'm a type II diabetic on oral meds and not insulin. My body really reacts to sugar (i.e. HUGE blood sugar spikes with even a little bit ingested), so I avoid it as much as possible. And sadly, I love my juices and sodas. I can do without coffee and tea most times. I'm not much of a sweets fan (candy, baked goods, etc), but I like my beverages.

Chocolate tea eh? (yes, I'm Canadian :D ). I might have to look that up. Thanks for the great suggestions.

Considering the stuff not only makes me severely nauseous, but triggers severe migraines, it makes me nervous as hell. I've found it in everything from dairy products to cereal to bread, even when the stuff in question isn't labeled as being sugar-free or low carb!

Sugar might kill me in the long run, but at least it hasn't sent me to the hospital.

Ive raced cars,and motorcycles, I've crashed, and burned(been on fire on a motorcycle), I've had 2 bullets barley miss me, I even spent a year in and out of hospitals, and a nursing home due to injuries.....Splenda does not scare me, and I use it regularly.

I've never had a problem using it, but I also don't use it regularly. I will use one small packet to sweeten 4 cups worth of Thai tea (about as much as my french press holds), but I don't even drink that very often. Moderation in all things!

I like Splenda for dissolving in cold liquids, like my iced coffee in the summer (because yes, I'm too lazy to make and keep simple syrup on hand), and for making a few desserts my 5-year-old can eat and then NOT bounce off the walls and ceiling afterwards. But the price alone is enough to keep me from using large enough amounts of it to do any damage!