Splenda

I’m looking for someone who is really dialed-into their diet to shed some light on splenda (sucralose)for me. Maybe you, poohbaya, since you bury your omelete in it. Anyone notice any side-effects from chronic splenda use? How about attempts to get lean with vs. without any splenda. I know it has no caloric value and the chlorine makes in essentially indigestible, but I’ve read that it can still cause an insulin response. I don’t necessarily believe that, but I’m just wondering if anyone has any real-world experience.

Splenda saying they’re calorie free is a fucking scam, sucralose is the active sweetening agent we are all after however you could not afford to purchase raw sucralose and even if you could you would never be able to measure out small enough amounts for practical use, it is THAT sweet. So what did the fucking geniuses at McNielty Specialty products do with this discovery, they made splenda packets which are 1.2% sucralose and the rest is a 50/50 split between maltodextrin and dextrose. Now this is where it gets interesting because the packet is one gram total and if you run the math you will find that there is a pubic hair under 1/2 gram of each malto and dextrose. FDA labeling laws dictate that if you have less than a half of a gram of something you can round it down to zero for labeling purposes, hence the zero fucking calorie sweetener. Now Im not pissy over a couple gams of carbs and I use the stuff in moderation but what if some unsuspecting diabetic were to take in a large amount of it thinking it was sugar and calorie free?? Some people must be on to this scam though, these guys have been after the soft drink manufaturers to switch over from other agents and to no avail.

Rosheem, Splenda is recommended by the American Diabetes Association (not that they haven’t recommended less than ideal protocols, products and drugs for their members in the past, so take that for what it’s worth). Splenda is listed as 0 calories and 0 carbs because it is LESS THAN 1g of carb for the teaspoon or so that is the unit of measure. There is only a slight insulin response, probably because as you masticate (chew) your food, the body is anticipating a sugary meal or snack. Digestion (and insulin release to a small extent) starts in the mouth. There is some controvery with Equal/Aspartame, but none yet with Splenda that I am aware. However, as with all new products, time will tell.

Thanks guys. While I’m on the subject…any thoughts on drinking diet pop (we call it pop here in Chicago) while trying to lose fat? Theoretically, it shouldn’t hinder your progress, but I’ve heard some noise here and there about avoiding the stuff altogether. I’ve never been able to single it out as a variable, so I can’t tell if it affects my efforts one way or another. It does seem, though, that if I drink water ONLY, I retain less water throughout the day. I think diet right makes me slightly puffy. Thoughts?

All I can do is add to the empirical data (since I’ve done very little research on this topic).

If I have foods with artificial sweetners in them, I get have trouble losing weight. Whether this is due to being “puffy” or hindering fat loss, I don’t know.