Splenda Vs The Sugar Industry

Sometimes I wonder if they try things like this just to generate media attention.

I am doing a paper for my sophmore gym class, and my topic is splenda vs. sugar. Splenda is better for you, but sugar tastes better.

Maybe before we all continue on the Splenda bandwagon, we need to address the hazards involved as well.

http://my.webmd.com/content/article/100/105877.htm

http://creativehealth.netfirms.com/poison/splenda_poison.shtml

http://www.mercola.com/2000/dec/3/sucralose_dangers.htm#

These links are only the beginning.

GL! :-)

I think it don't really matter whether sugar or slenda are better for you. The fact is not everyone can eat sugar....me for example, who is hypoglycemic. And let's face it..until now we haven't had a better tasting sweetner. And the sugar industry really needs to realize this. I think they are just mad that they didn't think of it first.

I realize that Splenda is good for people who can't eat sugar, but maybe they could just reword their commercial. That might get the sugar industry to quiet down because Splenda won't be advertizing it as being "natural".

FYI: Check out this article from CBS News

...Consumer Group Reacts

A consumer watchdog group, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, has called for FDA action. At a minimum, the FDA should start its own studies and warn consumers of the potential danger, says CSPI Executive Director Michael F. Jacobson, PhD.

"The U.S. government really should analyze this study very carefully. If it is accepted as top quality, it could lead to a ban on aspartame," Jacobson tells WebMD. "I think a lot of companies are going to see the writing on the wall from this study and switch to newer artificial sweeteners. Meanwhile, I think consumers should switch to Splenda, the sweetener known as sucralose."

But Jacobson urges consumers not to panic.

"The risk to an individual is quite small," he says. "So people shouldn't fear that if they have one diet soda a day they are going to develop cancer. And I must say, the one qualm I have about the study is they found an increased risk of cancer at such a low level of exposure. If aspartame were that potent a carcinogen, I wonder if we wouldn't be seeing a real epidemic of cancer."

Soffritti has presented his findings to the European Food Safety Authority. In its 2002 review of aspartame safety, the EFSA found no cause for alarm. It promises that the new data will get a "high priority" evaluation....

To Read the Rest Go To: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/07/28/health/webmd/printable712605.shtml

Why is the sugar industry mad. Splenda claims to be made from sugar. Who are they buying if from.

Not panic? Oh, not me. I was living my life, enjoying my 2-3 diet sodas with Splenda just fine until a month ago, I developed this odd little rash on my leg. Itched like heck. 5 weeks later, I have a full, painful, ITCHY rash all over my body! Three stumped doctors, multiple tests, and the rash kept growing and spreading. I changed and tried everything. Well, until today. I decided to try NOT drinking my sodas with Splenda. HAPPINESS!! The rash finally stopped spreading! Multiple websites have talked of the same kind of rash as mine! Where have I been!? I have never had allergies in my life until SPLENDA. I just dumped all my sodas, and anything with Splenda. I read it takes several days for the rash to truly feel better but it already feels a bit better by not spreading.
I can hardly wait to tell my docs about this. I just hope my body rash leaves no scars! I have never heard of this, but from the websites, this has been an issue for sometime! Oddly, I have been drinking diet sodas with Splenda for over a year, until recently, when I started drinking more (2 or 3) daily. I read this is how the allergy started for many people. Now, I have to be patient and wait for this poison to leave my body.

Hi Rose,

Interesting comment about the rash you developed because of drinking sodas with Splenda. I really like Diet Coke, but the aspartame in it gives me headaches. So I started drinking flavoured waters that don't contain aspartame but instead Splenda. The problem now is my skin is really dry and itchy. It has to be the Splenda because it started a few days after I switched to the flavoured waters sweetened with Splenda. My doctor suggests it might be a chemical used in Splenda, but he has no way of knowing. He just suggested that I stop drinking the flavoured waters with Splenda. I did and my skin is back to normal. Sucks though because now i can't drink things that taste good but don't make me put on weight.

I spent some time looking for something else to drink. I recently found on the net a pop called Z, or Z Cola I think its called. It is made with a natural sweetener called erythritol and stevia. The problem is it isn't available in my stores.

Does anyone know where to get this soda in the Boston area? I found a site www.steviashop.com that sells it online, but it is a site up in Canada.

Yes---you SHOULD drink Splenda drinks if you'd like to lose weight quickly----read on.....
Ate one 1.12 oz package of sugarfree mentos with Splenda at 6:30 p.m. last night. Thirty minutes later I was walking tightly to the rest room, and was there off and on until 9 a.m. this morning---no quality sleep for me. Honestly I was afraid of messing up my clean sheets. I know it was Splenda that gave me this uncontrollable leaky diarrhea, because a few months ago, I bought a bag of Splenda-sweetened Pecan Turtles that said something like 'more than the recommended serving size could produce a laxative effect', and when I ate three of the Turtles---the warning came true. I am such an idiot. No more Splenda for me.

I also get a nasty rash from Splenda. It is like poison ivy, little itchy blisters.
This stuff is like a conspiracy- it's in everything! Even "light" yogurt!
Why can't less sweet be just that- less sweet!

I must be allergic to Splenda, because every time I've eaten a product with Splenda in it, I've suffered violently painful abdominal cramps. Bad enough to think about calling an ambulance to take me to a hospital. I've had IBS for years, and I can't tolerate a lot of foods, but Splenda appears to be toxic to my sensitive digestive system. I don't get this reaction with other artificial sweeteners.

I can't remember just how long ago I started using Splenda, but I know at least a year....Now I have been off of it since March 18, 2006 due to my body breaking out in hot, itchy, whelps, my eyes swell and get red, my face swells, I can't stand this feeling of not knowing what its caused from. Went to a dermotolgoist and she put me an antishistamine..that only helps when I take it..thats covering the problem not fixing it..so I started thinking it may be the splenda...I am still itching, but I guess the Splenda is still in my system.. will see what happens down the road when it gets out of my system.

Wow, you guys have a problem ! Lucky, in Norway Slenda seems to be totally abssent from both food and "food". I will keep my eyes open though, you just never know.

Like any other chemical sweetner, Splenda is bad for you. I love (not) the argument that it's a trivial amount and won't harm you. If you were to add up all of the trivial amounts of the chemicals you ingest in almost everything you put in your mouth all day every day, those chemicals add up.

Years ago, I read some information about how much lobby money was given to keep Stevia out of the U.S. I realize you can buy Stevia and add it to your own food, but I'm talking about foods on the shelf. Anyway - it was millions of dollars! The real shocker was that the company who paid that money was the maker of NutraSweet. Why? Because Stevia is a sweet fiber that comes from a plant. There's nothing chemical about it. NutraSweet knows that people would switch to products made with Stevia in a heartbeat.

Has anyone else heard of this? I don't have time to research it, but I'd be interested to know what the status is. I read about this 7-8 years ago.

I have used Splenda for a year now...and because I gave up Sodas and all refined sugar foods, etc. I have lost weight, but now after a year of not having the "junk" anything even with SPlenda tastes bad like medicine.

This is really interesting! I broke out with a terrible facial rash four days ago. Painful, itchy welts all over my face and neck. In an attempt to lose weight I have switched from sugar to Splenda. Should be interesting to see if this clears up by not using Splenda. Thanks for the info.

My 13 year old daughter has had a severe allergic reaction to splenda and broke out in hives, w/ a itchy rash all over her body, we have yet to rid her body of them and she is suffering misserably! We are doing all the OTC products, have taken her to the doctor for cortisone shots and pills and still no relief! Poor girl is not sleeping at night either! Itchin, Itching, Itching!

My dad (who owns stock in Splenda's manufacturer, Johnson and Johnson) wrote me today with the news that there is a question about Splenda's affect on the digestive system of some people.

I have no doubt about Splenda's affect on my digestive system, absolutely caustic! I have bloating, gas, diarrhea etc. EVERY TIME I eat Splenda. My in-laws eat it religiously as a diabetic sugar substitute, and every time I eat sweet foods there, I experience extreme discomfort. I recently ate Splenda desert at a buffet in Las Vegas. I was again gripped with such extreme abdominal pain, if I wasn't familiar with this reaction, I might have panicked.

Instead of artificial, at my house I substitute dates or juice concentrates for refined sugar. No problems.

I had not heard about rashes, however. That is new.

I have been experiencing major chronic fatigue and I have been drinking splenda as a sweetner in my water like it is going out of style. Have you ever heard of any one with this kind of allergic reaction?

"Carbon monoxide. Made from air, so it tastes like air."

Please recall that CO is in fact made from air (and partially combusted carbon-bearing fuel) and also recall that it is a colorless, tasteless gas- like air!

Wow! I need to get a trademark on this right away!

Then, I can mix stuff in with it, put it in a yellow bottle and slap a (R) on it! Then advertise like mad to drive the price up!

Anyone up for carbon monoxide futures???

-MTEXX

I always experience headaches and abdominal pain when I eat splenda, but it is instant, so I have NEVER eaten more than a bite. But BEWARE, I ate a product with manitol in it ( another sweetener) and had nooooo idea what manitol was, I had been eating this stuff all day, when I had a large handful of the cookies containing manitol, long story short, with in an hour, I was in the emergency room with a painful, horrible, hive covered body. Hot and itchy, and vomiting. If you have a bad reaction to splenda, you will have it to manitol.

guys, i made a promise to myself to only drink water. regular drinking water. no flavors, no vitamins, regular old fashioned tap water [maybe a little filtered through my brita]. after a month, i enjoyed it so much that any other kind of drink was just too sweet.

i highly recommend trying it out. soda dehydrates your body so drinking it doesn't quench thirst. forget the splenda in your drinks and give it a try.

I have used Splenda since it came on the market, quit Nutra-Sweet because of headaches.
Ive never noticed any of the side effects listed here.

BUT, I will go without Splenda for a couple of weeks to make sure that there are no changes.

I expect to be back to using Splenda(10-20 packets a day) after the break.

Wow.. it all makes sense...
I've developed a skin rash on my legs two weeks ago that continues to spread and itch like crazy. I've been trying to figure out what it could be. I've stopped taking certain foods, vitamins, coffee, etc but it still continues to spread.
But now something makes sense.... I had recently tried to stop drinking so much soda's, so I've been drinking tea (and a lot of it) for the past 5 weeks or so. I found the big bags of Splenda (that you can cook with) at Costco and use those for my tea. After reading about Splenda and rashes today, it does make sense. I always noticed that right after I ate dinner, my rashes would itch and swell like crazy. I don't know why I didnt realize it may be the Splenda.
I will stop Splenda from today and see how my rash does. I will bookmark this page and report back.

I've heard of people having gastric upset from Splenda and/or sugar alcohols. I don't think Splenda is responsible for all these other things that people claim it's causing. I've consumed it moderately since it's come on the market...I bake with it and use it to sweeten hot beverages and I have never had any problems with it. It isn't absorbed or broken down by your body (which is why it can cause gas/cramps/diarrhea for some people), kind of like fiber. I think the sugar industry is indeed angry that they didn't think of the idea first. Then they'd own the Splenda patent AND be able to sell regular sugar. As it is now, I think the company that does own Splenda purchases its sugar from the growers directly...they get a better deal that way.

Thanks to this Blog, my own issues have been confirmed. About 3 months ago, almost immediately after having to switch my diet away from real sugar altogether (not for diabetic reasons; broken tooth+sugar=extreme pain), I broke out with a little 'soar' on my leg. OK, no problem. After a week of denial, 'no problem' turned into an undeniable crisis and by the second week, I had developed quite efficiently into a rash-with-legs.

After going to the doc and haveing him diagnose the 'rash' as ringworm (though he'd never seen such a case as this), hundreds of dollars were invested in various 'anti-fungal' creams and so on, to no avail.

After a few weeks of battle, I came to the stage of 'acceptance' that this 'whatever it was' was going to be with me for awhile, no matter what I did. I even considered naming it at one point, as I seemed to be 'feeding' it as one would any pet.

A short time later, while surfing the net, I discovered an alternative diagnosis for the 'rash': possible dietary changes can cause the body to react in various ways 'temporarily'. Sure enough, a few weeks ago, the 'rash' began to leave as quickly as it had come. I credited the issue to having removed 'sugar' from my diet in such a manner as to cause a sort of system shock, which inevitably corrected itself over time. Pat myself on the back for being, yet again, WRONG!

All the while, I'm using Splenda to sweaten my numerous daily cups of coffee and was diligently seeking its wonder in all things snack related, never once considering that my recent health issues could have anything to do with this 'miracle' product.

Today, I've stumbled upon this and other sites proclaiming that Splenda is the cause of similar issues throughout its consumer base. So, I've concluded to say, based on this blog and many others like it, that the dietary change that caused my 'ringworm-like' rash was, indeed, the switch from real sugar to Splenda.

If it's any consolation: the full-body rash does not leave any scarring and seems to fade away on its own... despite monitary investment.

Wow! It's funny the things you learn when you do a little research. My dad was recently released from the hospital. He had this huge rash growing on his back. He said it was painful and he would scratch it until he beld. He is also bedridden so my mom and I thought it was the begigning of a bed sore. We took him to the E.R. and they determinted that it was ringworm. Well today as I was working I decided to use splenda in my coffee instead of regular sugar. I decided to do a little reseach to find out about this craze. That's when I read about all the rashes. I called my mom and asked her if she gave my dad splenda regularly. She does. I asked her if his rash got better in the hospital before they started treating him. (He was there a total of 3 days and not seen by a doc until the second day) She said well, actauly it did start to clear up. I told her to stop all his splenda use and see if that works. I think after reading everything here, that we can say it was splenda. My mom has not had any problems using this product. I think that many people are having something like allergic reactions to the product, while others are fine. Take sweet n low. I cannnot have that at all. I do not have the enzeyme in my body to break it down. Most people do. I get severve headaches and stomache aches when I take it. I think the idea of splenda is good. We all need to be healthier, but plain and simple, if it bothers you, stop taking it.

Gosh I've never heard about anything like that. I use Splenda every day, but so far, no problems. I used to use Nutrasweet, then I read all that bad stuff about it, so I switched to Splenda. Guess I'll research it.

I am amazed. I just started having an insanely itchy rash starting a week or 2 ago, at the same time when I started to worry myself about using too much Splenda in my daily libations. I had had this issue before and thought that it was related to my daily workouts, but now my Splenda use is definitely going into the interrogation room. I thought Splenda was a miracle sweetener; it tasted better than all other sugar substitues and was guilt free. What a chump I've been. Of all the M.D. written articles I've perused, the itchy rash was never mentioned. Thanks to the public maybe this mystery will be solved. Goodbye, Splenda!

Have used sugar substitutes sparingly for years ice tea at resturants and one diet soda a day when drinking soda with no adverse effects. Decided to use sugar substitute in a peach pie, big mistake. I had 3 pieces in two days. Symtoms started as itching around the head area, ears and eyes. Two days later the swelling around the eyes and a rash developed on my arm, the only real diet change I can contribute to these symtoms to would be the sugar substitute. Un-scientific conclusion is the sugar substitute.

My daughter brought me some splenda last week. I changed over from sweet and low. She said splenda was natural. I started to break out in a bad rash that covered everything except my face and hands. I also noticed a change in my bladder. It was like an infection. I went to the doctor and got a couple of precriptions. They did seem to help but the rash has returned. I have been looking for the answer to the rash and thought I would try a search on splenda. I found this website and now am quitting splenda. Thanks for the help.

Wow!!! I am so grateful to finally know that Splenda is indeed the culprit. I couldn't figure it out. Until a little voice just said, "Maybe it's the Splenda." It makes perfect sense now. Like the others who have shared their Splenda-rash woes, I too know can recall that after an increased use of the product - over the last few months - this itchy, tiny little red rash gets worse right after my breakfast, which consists of my morning cup of coffee sweetened w/Splenda.

I'm done! I'll go back to Sugar or honey. This is a horrible, hot and burning rash. I am so grateful to know that now there is a light at the end of this tunnel. And light is NO MORE SPLENDA, EVER!

Many things are natural. bleach is natural, but you wouldn't drink it.

We need to start early to get kids to drink water. And we need to ensure our water quality stays good. Good water shouldn't be wasted, and we need to conserve water. In a few years there will be a crisis. So drink water, with lemon or lime or mandarin slices in it, and treat soda (as Americans call it, we Canadians call it "pop") as a treat for once a week or a celebration. And don't drink it from plastic bottles. Glass is the best container, so that leaves "bought" water out!!!

We have commodified everything. But that is part of the way the economy works.

As for all of a sudden getting allergic, you see hives often after something is going on in your body. And you can develop an allergy to something after ingesting it thousands of times. Your body just decides it has had enough.

also remember, our testing regime in Canada and the US is way behind Europe's because we have so much lobbying from industry on government officials.

hello im just suggesting for all of the people that drink splenda and is causes a reaction i recommend using equal sugar is calorie free and is said to not cause any allergic reaction

After reading the horror stories of rash and painful itch, I'm relieved to hope my problems are also Splenda-related! My itching started on my scalp, 15 months ago!! It continues to this day, ending in scabs on my head after scratching all day long, like a monkey! In the spring, I noticed an awful red patch on my right hip. It itched like crazy, and nothing helped it. Nothing topical would ease the pain/itch, and antihistamines were useless. The dermatologist said, "I've never seen anything like that before" (not very hopeful!!!) and my regular Doctor said, "I don't know what the heck that is!" (again, not very encouraging!)
After drinking my morning coffee today, it hit me that Splenda is the only "food" or new "chemical" I've introduced to my body in the past 2 years! As of this morning, my rash has spread in the forms of little tiny red dots all over my arms, legs, buttocks and back. I scratch them so feaverishly that I am a mass of scabs (much like chicken pox). Not very attractive and I'm tired of people asking me what's going on with my arms!

I typed "rash" and "splenda" in google this morning and found this blog! THANK YOU all so much for sharing your stories! I finally have hope that if I stop using this substance, I may get some relief! Keep me in your thoughts! I was close to jumping out the window with this itch!

My husband and I were on South Beach for over a year. My skin would sometimes become very itchy mostly at night making it impossible to sleep. I tried lotions, etc., but nothing worked. I've since had twins and was of course off of South Beach during my pregnancy. I did not experience my itching spells during the pregnancy. We've just started back on South Beach (New Year's resolution). We've only been on South Beach for 3 days and the last two nights I've woken up at 3 in the morning and am unable to go back to sleep due to itching. Awake and itchy, I found this website. It's got to be the Splenda.

well I am doing a science project and we baked a cake and it turned out perfect with real sugar and horrible with fake so it really should be modifies

you are so right

Montana, that is because to bake a cake with Splenda, you should typically use a Splenda recipe. Otherwise, use 1 tbsp sugar + the rest Splenda. The 1 tbsp sugar will help make that "crust" around the cake.