Stevia vs. Splenda

[Taverner]

Personally I like Splenda WAAAAY better.

Stevia tastes like crap...I have no idea where people get that this stuff tastes like sugar, that aftertaste is NASTAAAAAAY.

[smartvoter]

1. Stevia is fine if you never exhale, ever again. Splenda is better. nt

[chickenscratching]

2. Agreed-the aftertaste blows--but I choose Stevia

though it helped when I cut out refined sugar completely.

I dislike both of them, but I guess if I had to, I'd choose Stevia because it's a naturally derived substance from a shrub.

However, Splenda is a great alternative to Aspartame, because it isn't negatively effected by heat (studies may show that Aspartame, under high temperatures, turns to formaldehyde)
To learn more about Aspartame: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame

To learn more about Stevia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevia

To learn more about Splenda: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splenda

[asthmaticeog]

16. And of course, there's that nasty Don Rumsfeld connection

with aspartame.

[chickenscratching]

26. i've heard about that....

wasn't he part of the board that pushed aspartame into the market? despite all the research that suggested it was a carcinogen?

if you have a link to the story, i'd appreciate it.

[musiclawyer]

17. Taste aside, Stevia only for health

Stevia is derived from a South American herb. It's natural, and the only alkaline sweetener. (There are lots of sites that discuss acid/alkalinity imalance in the typical American diet and terrible negative effects) Splenda is still a fake sugar (very acidic in the body) and same negative attributes as high fructose corn syrup--known to many around here as POISON.

[Quixote1818]

50. Wrong! Stevia my be dangerous. See this study.

You have been reading way too many healh sites that base everything ONLY on weather something is natural or not.

Splenda has had hundreds of studies and is found to be VERY safe. Stevia has not been approved in the US or Europe because it may be toxic and could effect fertility in men.

http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/scf/out34_en.pdf

[Shell Beau]

3. I've never heard of Stevia, so I voted for Splenda!

[ghostsofgiants]

4. I hate Splenda

But I've never even heard of Stevia.

[WeRQ4U]

5. As a diabetic, I use Splenda all the time. Never heard of Stevia.

And I'm usually on the up and up about these things. Odd.

[Taverner]

7. Stevia was banned in 91

Under pressure from Nutrasweet. After it was banned, the FDA execs who did so quit and went to work for Nutrasweet. Oh, but I think that's one big coincidence :eyes:

It was unbanned in the late 90's and is now sold as a dietary supplement, but cannot legally call itself a sweetner.

I personally don't like the taste, but I've heard many rave about it.

[WeRQ4U]

9. Huh, I'll have to check it out.

Gracias.

[enigmatic]

6. Like them both, but buy Splenda

The liquid Stevia tastes worse than the white powder kind, though. I'd buy the powdered stevia more if it wasn't so expensive..

[TimeChaser]

8. Splenda still has an after-taste

But it's not so bad in some things... Like Rita's sugar free cherry ice Mm...

[Taverner]

10. Diet Rite and Diet RC mask the aftertaste pretty well

For some reason, however, Diet 7-UP and Diet Coke do not. They just need to perfect that formula.

[Allenberg]

11. Diet Cherry Coke

is where the money's at. Good stuff.

[supernova]

23. Diet Rite Tangerine

is the best orange drink out there. :9

[Left Is Write]

28. I like Diet Rite, but I do not like Diet Coke with Splenda.

Diet Coke with Splenda just doesn't taste like Diet Coke. Fortunately, I drink very little pop anymore anyway.

[Shakespeare]

12. Well, let's see: Splenda is a chemical concoction; stevia is natural.

One comes from a lab, the other from a plant. I find their taste fairly similar, but I feel much more at east using stevia than I do using Splenda.

[RebelOne]

13. Splenda is the same as sugar but with the

harmful ingredients removed. On the Splenda package the ingredients read: Dextrose and maltodextrin sucralose.

[Shakespeare]

14. No, it's not the same as sugar.

It SOUNDS the same as sugar, and the molecular structure is similar, but that's exactly the point--they've altered the molecular structure, and it's in no way been decisively determined that it's harmless. Here's a dissenting view:

"Sugar may have its health drawbacks, but at least we know we're not in for any major surprises -- and we just can't say that about Splenda yet -- so to imply that it's got the same profile as sugar is misleading and that is important today, as well as in the long run," she says.

Samantha Heller, MS, RD, agrees. "Saying Splenda is made from sugar is like taking the round wheels off a car and putting on square wheels. Is it still a car? Yes. But can it still perform like a car? No -- and what's more we don't know what's going to happen when people try to 'drive it' cross country," says Heller.

Indeed, while Splenda starts out as sugar, some serious scientific tinkering goes on before it gets into your coffee. As Heller explains, this involves removing three atoms found in sugar and replacing them with three atoms of the chemical chlorine. Some say that form of chlorine is similar to what's found in pesticides -- though in published reports the manufacturer has denied that claim.

http://www.splendaexposed.com/articles/2005/04/sweetener_in_th_1.html

[Quixote1818]

38. Your website is Junk Science

I have looked at dozens of studies. I spent a week studying sweeteners for a class assignment. Of all the sweeteners Splenda is considered the safest. Stevia has the most questions about it.

http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/1999/699_sugar.html

[jobycom]

41. Junk science = science that cost corporations money

I'm not sure on Splenda, but I don't trust it. Corporations spend a lot of money to prove their products are safe. Unfortunately, they don't spend enough money to find out if there products are safe.

Stevia is natural. Woohooo. So is hemlock.

It's all a crapshoot. Anyone with a dog in the hunt will lie to us for a buck or two to prove a fanatical point. Limit intake of sweetners and you won't have to worry so much. It's the obsession with downing pounds of sweet junk each week that hurts us. In small enough doses, sugar isn't even a problem for most people, except diabetics.

[Quixote1818]

44. If I was Pepsi I would look for the safest product to avoid billions

in lawsuits down the road. I don't doubt that corporations try to cover up damaging products once they are on the shelf and the lawsuits are coming in but if I owned Pepsi I would want the safest product available before I started to use it.

I don't doubt that the company making Splenda might pull some strings to get apporoved but the companies using Splenda would take a very close look at the safety of the product.

[jobycom]

52. In the same way that Phillip Morris did? nt

[Shakespeare]

56. that's not "my" website

It's not even one that I've frequented before. It's just the first of dozens, if not hundreds, that question the safety of Splenda (and I'm sure doing a class assignment makes you quite the expert).

Here's what's inarguable: Splenda is a hybrid molecule that's part sugar, part chlorine. Its structure is similar not only to sugar, but also to a class of pesticides. If you feel completely comfortable adding that to YOUR diet, then be my guest. I prefer more natural products (honey is my first choice).

Stevia does NOT have the most questions about it. Stevia is a plant extract that has been safely used in Europe for many, many years (with no problems).

And please, please don't give me an FDA web page to prove your case. They're run by lawyers who formerly represented the very companies they're supposed to police, and their scientific impartiality in recent years is extremely suspect. I'd much rather see something from a university or institution study NOT funded by corporate dollars.

[all.of.me]

15. splenda is sugar treated with chlorine

the long term effects of it are unknown. 'experts' suggest sticking to things that have been tested more thoroughly, although they may not be so good for you, either.

splenda makes me sick. it brings my entire intestinal system to a screeching halt.

more here:
http://generationgreen.org/2005-01_lead-story.htm

stevia is from a plant, and if you drink herb teas, you can just add the plant to the brew. i have never used the processed stevia, so i can't say.

i'd prefer to use a little real sugar, and just cut back on the sweets!

[fortyfeetunder]

19. Chemistry clarification on Splenda (sucralose)

Splenda is the same sucrose molecule structure, but has a chlorine atom in its chain....
So I wouldn't put too much credence into "harmful ingredients removed", we have had debate on side effects from consuming chlorinated compounds....

[Left Is Write]

29. What are the harmful ingredients of sugar?

[I Have A Dream]

45. I'm not allergic to sugar but I'm allergic to Splenda.

Therefore, there must be something more going on than just removing the harmful ingredients.

I used a lot of aspertame because I drank lots of diet soft drink, put it on my fruit (such as strawberries), put it in my hot tea, etc. I heard so many bad things about aspertame that I stopped drinking soft drink and started to use Splenda for everything else.

I began to get a really bad acne-like rash on my neck and face. It was really difficult for me to figure out what it was because I didn't suspect the Splenda. (I also was under the impression that it was sugar with some stuff removed.) However, after stopping the use of Splenda, my rash went away. I went on the Internet and found that many people have the same reaction that I had. I tried using it again, and I can use a bit of it, but I can't use much of it without the same thing occurring again. Wonder what (if anything) it does to my body besides the rash.

In reference to stevia, it's OK, but I'd rather go without than use it where I used artificial sweeteners in the past.

[SmokingJacket]

18. I say skip sweetness altogether.

Unsweetened stuff is good -- once you give up sugar, etc, for a week or so you don't even want it anymore. Try it.

[Left Is Write]

30. I eat my shredded wheat unsweetened, but I have to sweeten my oatmeal.

[jobycom]

42. That's funny, I'm the opposite. i hate sweetened oatmeal! nt.

[NMMNG]

20. I just bought some Stevia, haven't tried it yet though

[Lindsey]

21. Stevia all the way

I use it for everything since I completely cut out sugar.

[Quixote1818]

47. I would check out this study. Stevia may not be safe

http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/scf/out34_en.pdf

It may be toxic and have effects on the mail reproductive system. That's why it's not approved in The US and Europe.

[yvr girl]

22. I use so little sugar, it doesn't really matter

I think I've bought 2 or 3 5 pound bags of sugar in 15 years (and the third bag is still mostly full.)

[tibbir]

24. I use Stevia for everything I sweeten

It's way better than any of the other stuff imho. Too bad it costs so damned much.

[Quixote1818]

49. Check out this study. It could have side effects.

http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/scf/out34_en.pdf

[amazona]

25. yeah stevia tastes nasty

Yergh. It makes you wonder about people sometimes. I think some of the dedicated herbalists have no taste buds.

[flvegan]

27. Considering how Splenda was developed, stevia all the way.

Here's a couple tidbits on what was done to animals in the Splenda tests:

32 beagle dogs were locked in metal cages for 52 weeks. They were given Sucralose mixed in with their normal feed, and blood and urine samples were collected. At the end of the study they were killed by means of exsanguiation - they had their throats slit open and bled to death. They were then cut open and their organs - by now drained of blood so easier to dissect - were examined to test the product's toxicity levels.
• Four beagle puppies (or as HLS calls them – punching bags) were starved before being force-fed the super-sweet sugar powder. HLS employees then took blood samples from the jugulars of the infant dogs.
• An unspecified number of marmoset monkeys either died from the poisoning or were killed at the termination of the research at HLS.
• The report states that 12 of these monkeys, which were babies – under 10 months old – were force-fed Sucralose for seven weeks. Two of the primates died on the seventh day from brain defects, another primate was mysteriously killed after four weeks, and the remainder all were murdered at the completion of the seventh week. Some of the recorded observations from this study noted “in appetence, body weight loss, unwillingness to use hind leg, hopping, involuntary grip reflexes, salivation and subdued mood.”
• Huntingdon also used rabbits to study the effects of the product. These little animals were given 1200 times the expected daily intake and not surprisingly most died from the trauma. Many of the other rabbits suffered from convulsions, weight loss, and various intestinal disorders.
• Huntingdon also tested the product on pregnant rabbits, mice, and rats – killing both the mothers and the fetuses.

[Quixote1818]

35. Actually Stevia has not been approved by the FDA

I would stay away from Stevia


>>>>Another product, stevia, is derived from a South American shrub. Though it can impart a sweet taste to foods, it cannot be sold as a sweetener because FDA considers it an unapproved food additive. "The safety of stevia has been questioned by published studies," says Martha Peiperl, a consumer safety officer in FDA's Office of Premarket Approval. "And no one has ever provided FDA with adequate evidence that the substance is safe." Under provisions of 1994 legislation, however, stevia can be sold as a "dietary supplement," though it cannot be promoted as a sweetener.

http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/1999/699_sugar.html

[KittyWampus]

39. Stevia Is Cutting Into Splenda's Profits... Why Would The FDA EVER

approve it unless a multinational corporation decided to market it?

[Quixote1818]

43. Stevia has been around longer than Splenda

If it had been approved ten years ago then wouldn't it be the other way around? Did you ever consider that perhaps the FDA actually means well? Not to mention the number of legitimate studies that question the safety of Stevia.

Don't you think Corporations want the Safest product avalable so they can avoid millions in lawsuits down the road?

[Shakespeare]

58. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

"Don't you think Corporations want the Safest product available so they can avoid millions in lawsuits down the road?"

Don't know much about corporations, do you? Stevia is a natural ingredient, ergo it can't be patented or made proprietary in any way. Can't make much money off of that. And anything that they 1. can't make a big profit on, and 2. can be produced by just about anybody, is a threat to their bottom line. Just look at the Big Pharma fight to keep marijuana illegal as they simultaneously try to isolate cannabinoids and create synthetic cannabinoids so that they can patent their own marijuana pills. Puh-leeeeze.

As for liability, they gamble a bit on what's considered acceptable "loss" (i.e., harm to consumers) measured against their profit margin. Most corporations are willing to risk a small amount of that if they think they've got a product that's a big moneymaker.

[Quixote1818]

51. Take a look at this

http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/scf/out34_en.pdf

[BuddhaGirl]

31. neither!!

I won't use Splenda (not natural) and I don't like the tast of Stevia.

I use Xylitol. Tastes like sugar and more natural. Does not affect blood glucose levels so it's safe for diabetics. After I turned my diabetic Dad onto Xylitol, he got rid of his Splenda, thank God. :-)


http://www.xylitol.org/

[chaska]

34. Thanks for the heads up, BuddhaGirl.

[Quixote1818]

36. I would do a little more research than relying on BudhaGirl

http://www.quackwatch.org/04ConsumerEducation/QA/stevia...

http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/1999/699_sugar.html


Their is nothing wrong with Splenda. It comes from Sugar.

[BuddhaGirl]

60. I wouldn't put much trust in a biased site like Quackwatch

Quackwatch even says that there has been no harm to humans from using Stevia.

And Xylitol is considered safe by the FDA, according to the link. So what's your point? :shrug:

[u4ic]

32. I've had a small bag of Sucanat (raw sugar)

in my cupboard for over a year...I rarely use sugar. On the very odd occasion that I have tea, I'll take honey in it.

I'd rather use small amounts of sugar than a sugar substitute. I didn't like the taste of stevia, and I've heard of xylitol, but haven't been able to find it locally (though it's in my toothpaste).

I don't eat a lot of sweet foods. I'll treat myself with chocolate, but rarely anything else.

[Quixote1818]

33. Their are still many questions about the safety of Stevia

http://www.quackwatch.org/04ConsumerEducation/QA/stevia.html

http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/1999/699_sugar.html

I did a lot of research on artificial sweeteners and found that most scientists believe Splenda is completely safe but Aspartame may cause headaches. Any other things like head tumors caused by Aspartame is false and not backed up by good science. Based on my research Splenda is the safest by far. I would stay away from stevia until more testing is done.

[flvegan]

40. I don't know. Enlargement of the liver and kidneys doesn't sound safe

to me. I really don't know that much. I just know that Splenda was involved in horrific animal tests, and I don't trust the FDA as far as I can throw them, the crooked bastards. Just another bought 'n sold portion of our caretaker industries.

Also, hasn't stevia been used since the late 1800's? Sort of like ma huang and St. John's Wort. Used for centuries by other cultures without problem, but since Big Pharma can't make a buck off of it, the FDA badmouths it.

[Quixote1818]

48. Check out this study on Stevia

http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/scf/out34_en.pdf

[flvegan]

53. I see what they are saying.

But this is all in reference to rats.

[Shakespeare]

59. Are you confusing aspartame with stevia?

Just curious. Hard to tell from your wording in this post.

[Dover]

37. The ONLY good thing about artificial sweeteners is that they dissolve

in cold water, unlike regular sugar. Otherwise, regular sugar is the best in every way. Stevia has a bitter aftertaste, but beats the cancer causing varieties hands down.

Have you heard about the Aspartame/Rumsfeld link?

http://www.stevia.net/aspartame.htm

[Cannikin]

46. Splenda replaces a carbohydrate molecule with chlorine

[Eurobabe]

54. neither, turbinado sugar

Stevia has weird taste, Splenda breaks down into formaldehyde. Nature intends sugar. JMHO. But then again, I don't have diabetes, so...

[Dukkha]

55. I don't like to Yuck my Yum

if it needs sweetened then it's not very good anyway

[Catchawave]

57. Neither.

I don't use artificial sweetners.