I am allergic to aspertame and nutrasweet and I am a little iffy about trying splenda...are they similar or is splenda more like sugar? I have no problems with real sugar but get violently ill from nutrasweet and aspertame. Any suggestions?

Splenda is dereived from the same cane that sugar is... so I would assume you would be ok, BUT I would consult your doctor to be sure unless someone else chimes in withe a definitive answer... better safe than sick :-)

Thanks!

Mike
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260/251/210 - Started 1/5/2004
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Welcome Shopperval!!!!!

Splenda..........mmmmmm, love it.

Stevia Plus is good too, and a teeny bit goes a long, long way. You can get that in health food stores in the Nutritional sections.

I also use Sweet and Low.

Barb - 30 lbs gone FOREVER!
www.iwsgroupinc.com - website design and development


Atkins-3/14/03
174/144/135 5'2"
"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing."
Knowledge is POWER

Well i'm not allergic to any kind of sugar, thank goodness, but artificial sweetners, splenda, takes the cake. I have a cup of coffee here and there with my father in law, and when I do, I use splenda. It tastes great. Like I never switched, but I don't get the carbs.

168/160/115

Shopperval, WELCOME!

Well, I do not have *severe* reactions to Aspartame/Nutrasweet, but I don't like the way it makes me feel...
Also, I and other diabetics will tell you firsthand, that it does raise blood glucose response in many of us!

I have never had an elevated glucose response from Splenda nor have I had the brain fog or headaches that I get with Nutrasweet...
More importantly though, (for this way of eating) Splenda does not cause me to stall and it doesn't increase my cravings. Aspartame does both to MOST of us!
If your *allergy* is severe, however, you had better check with your doctor before trying Splenda. While the two are very different, you wouldn't want to take any chances...
Good luck,

Summer


www.herstorygirl.com

I am still so confused! I used NutraSweet for about 10-15 years and then switched to Splenda after starting Atkins in July 2002. I thought, wow, I'm really doing the right thing for my body! But there are still so many people who say that Splenda is only a little better than NutraSweet and they have some pretty compelling information--at least enough to make me question whether I should be using Splenda or not.

Here's the latest info I've found: http://www.sweetpoison.com/newslette...mber-2003.html I would love to hear your comments. I REALLY want to continue using Splenda, but I just want to know the TRUTH!!

Dee

Dee
Rebel with the Pause
http://www.minniepauz.com

Dee, I've read this one before, in Dr. Mercola's newsletter. I'm not a chemist, but I don't think substituing chlorine atoms is quite the same as ingesting chlorocarbons. I tend to discount anything anyway that is obviously so biased and intentionally uses scare tactics, and would love to actually see the studies she refers to.

Not that I think any man-made creation is without potential concern, but I'd need to have more impartial evidence before I get on that bandwagon.



BC
172/108/108
Zone since 4/98

I'm with you, BC.

I get Dr. Mercola's weekly newsletter, too, but this last article (concerning Splenda/Sucralose) seemed a bit over-the-top.

Summer

I am definitely no up on my chemistry, but I have personal experience with Splenda and aspartame. I became quite ill after using aspartame last year. We did not know the cause. I was experiencing a racing heart, the shakes, foggy head, blurred speech, etc. It was horrible. This went on for 2 weeks. I went to the Dr. and he ordered tests for MS among other things. Before going through the battery of tests, I did my research. I nevered imagined aspartame could cause such reactions, until I started researching. I immediately, stopped using it in any amount at all, and guess what - I was fine within 1 week. My Dr. also mentioned that it has been known to stall weight loss. I know that my reaction was an extreme, but it really scared me. I avoid it like the plague now. My neighbor on the other hand, is diabetic and uses it all the time. She seems fine with it. I think it affects people differently.

Kristie

Wow! I cannot eat nutrasweet or aspertame and now I am a bit concerned about Splenda...I guess I need to know can I do this diet while using real sugar? I am not about to make myself violently ill to diet...I am not looking to lose alot of weight, basically looking to eat healthier and lose a few pounds.

That is so bizzarre..I had alot of those problems too, I could not even pick my head up, I was very shaky, vision bluurred, my head had a headache worse than a migraine, and felt like I had a horrible hangover for several days...couldn't figure out what it was at first but everytime I had something with aspertame or nutrasweet I was experiencing the same symptoms...I guess it is not a normal reaction but I have alot of allergies. Most people just get headaches from it. Are you ok with Splenda?

Shopperval,

In a nutshell, no -- you cannot follow this woe and eat sugar.
Besides, if you think what Dr. Mercola (et.,al.) says about Nutrasweet and Splenda is bad, you should hear him go off about sugar!

If you really want to stay *pure*, then I suggest you go to your local health food store and get some Stevia Plus. It is a very sweet, all-natural, plant fiber that many of use as a sweetener. It has been used for AGES in homeopathy and it is NOT man-made or chemically altered.

I (personally) think sugar is pretty bad. When I stay away from it completely, I am MUCH healthier (never get sick) and I have friends who are cancer-survivors who won't touch it because it is believed (through medical research) that cancer cells feed on sugar (think Macrobiotic diet).
Unfortunately, there are no easy answers to this question... it's hard to know what is right and true. In the end, it's all about learning to do with less *sweets* and be satisfied with *nature's sweets* (fruits).

HTH,
Summer

I use Splenda and also Stevia Plus. I have gotten used to Stevia. The only problem with Stevia is that the FDA won't allow it in foods. It is considered a supplement, NOT a food. So you can't find anything with it in there. You would have to make your own beverages containing it. And for me, that's okay, 'cuz I can control the sweetness. I try to avoid aspartame as much as possible. I don't get any reactions to it, but I just don't want to consume something that turns to formaldahyde in my body. I REALLY am liking Stevia, more and more!!!!! It might be an acquired taste kinda thing.

Barb - 30 lbs gone FOREVER!
www.iwsgroupinc.com - website design and development


Atkins-3/14/03
174/144/135 5'2"
"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing."
Knowledge is POWER

Yep - So far I have been fine with Splenda. However, I do not use it all the time. Just a little here and there to sweeten. I have also chosen this WOE for the health benefits and I am definitely seeing a difference. No headaches in almost a week. Yippee!!! Also, my mood has been very level - no swings. Good luck to you!

Kristie

I'm an aspartame fan. I remember the old days when all diet sodas were made with saccharine. Ewwwwww... *shudder* When aspartame came out, all us dieters were jumping up and down yelling "Yippee!!"

Splenda sounds very benign.

I like the taste. It grows on you. At first, I didn't like it because it tasted a little different from aspartame, which I'm used to. But splenda has a slightly different and richer taste. Neither one is better than the other to me. They're both good in different ways.

There will ALWAYS be scare stories about ANY artificial sweetener. That's just the way it is and always has been. Artificial sweeteners get bashed mercilessly, and they have been since the day that our diabetic president Teddy Roosevelt personally stopped the FDA from banning saccharine a hundred years ago. Sometimes the horror stories make sense. Sometimes they're just hysterical. It's hard sorting it all out.

The best thing to do is rely on your own experience. A lot of other guinea pigs are out there, beside you, and if they're not dropping like flies, then it's probably not grossly deadly. If you have a bad experience with it or suspect it's causing problems, skip it. But don't make your mind up based solely on horror stories on the Internet.

**************
"Sometimes I think you have to march right in and demand your rights, even if you don't know what your rights are, or who the person is you're talking to. Then on the way out, slam the door."