Splenda, the sucralose-based artificial sweetener marketed originally in North America, has no calories, no insulin boost, and most of all, no cravings like its sugar counterpart. Sounds too good to be true, right?

Sucralose is a synthetic compound (think modified sugar by adding chlorine atoms) and the Splenda product itself is not without side effects. Allergies to sucralose result in rashes, panic attacks, headaches, intestinal cramping, diarrhea, dizziness, swelling, bladder issues, muscle aches and stomach pain. Maybe Splenda isn't so spectacular for you after all. As pointed out by Duke University researchers, it destroys good intestinal bacteria and prevents prescription drugs from being absorbed.

So, the next time you reach for Splenda or eat something that already has Splenda in it like Juicy Fruit gum, you may want to think twice.

Photo: Bekathwia, Flickr

If you're trying to lose a few pounds, trading your regular soda for the diet version could be doing more harm than good. True, swapping a can of Coke Zero for the regular kind slices 139 calories from your daily intake, but research from the University of Liverpool in England suggests that your body processes artificial, calorie-free sweeteners the same way it does regular sugar.

Just as your taste buds can't differentiate between regular and artificial sweeteners (aside that chemically aftertaste), the receptors in your intestines aren't able to tell the difference either. Once the intestines sense sweetness, they seek out glucose to absorb. So even though that Equal is calorie-free -- your body may still take calories from somewhere else if these receptors are activated.

"Artificial sweeteners can also activate the glucose sensor and increase the capacity of the intestine to absorb more sugar," Soraya Shirazi-Beechey, lead author of the study and a professor of Molecular Physiology and Biochemistry at Liverpool University, tells the Daily Mail. "If someone wants to lose weight, I don't think artificial sweeteners are going to help," she says. "My recommendation is to eat natural foods, but to eat less of them."

It's unclear from Shirazi-Beechey's research whether the amount of glucose absorbed after sensing an artificial sweetener would equal the calorie-equivalent of a regular soda.

Artificial sweeteners aren't a part of my diet because they cause me digestive troubles, but I'll admit -- if this wasn't the case, I'd probably be in love with the idea of sweetening up everything without having to deal with the calorie consequences. Yes, that is the great thing about artificial sweeteners. Another great thing? Splenda, one of the most popular artificial sweeteners out there, now comes with fiber. One packet provides you with one gram of fiber, so you can have your morning coffee and your fiber too.

Awesome! Or is it? The folks at Fitsugar recently wrote about how this might not be as 'sweet' as you think because your fiber should come from healthy servings of fruits, veggies and whole grains, not man-made sugar substitutes. And I have to say, I totally agree.

All the same, if you're planning on having Splenda anyway, and you do get your 5-10 daily servings of produce, this product could certainly be a bonus to your already-healthy habits.

My son has a penchant for sugary cereals. I adopted him at age 10, so he had 10 years of forming his tastes and eating habits before he moved home with me. Luckily, he does enjoy a number of healthy foods. (I just recently succeeded in getting him to try (and enjoy) salmon.) Breakfast foods, however, are more of a challenge.

More often than not we have oatmeal, whole-wheat toast with peanut butter, or eggs. But I do like to have a box of cereal in the pantry for those busy days. Getting him to change his preferences has been a slow process. In fact, just recently when we were at the grocery store he said "Fruit Loops are healthy. Right, Mom? They're made of fruit." Uh.... no.

HealthCastle has a great article discussing the truth about reduced-sugar products -- from cereal to instant oatmeal to granola bars to juice -- that are popping up on store shelves. The products are often aimed at kids, yet the claim of "reduced sugar" is supposed to appeal to health-conscious parents. Often, artificial sweeteners are used in place of the sugar -- calorie content remains about the same.

Source

Most nutritionists will tell you that the safest, healthiest way to lose weight is a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, and plenty of fiber. But many people aren't ready to give up the foods they love, and they depend on diet foods to have their cake and eat it too. Sugar-free foods, pre-portioned snacks, and diet dinners are all very popular with people who are struggling to lose weight.

But do these heavily processed foods really aide weight loss? The jury seems to still be out, according to this article from MSNBC. Diet soda drinkers, for instance, are usually heavier than people who don't drink soda at all. And those 100-calorie snack packs are great, as long as you can stick to one pack. Frozen diet dinners, such as Lean Cuisine, get a thumbs up for veggie content and perfectly sized portions, but are loaded with sodium.

I think it's a matter of personal preference and also a matter of balance. If you're eating sugar-free Jello all day long, you'll probably lose weight, but you won't be getting the vitamins and antioxidants you need in your diet. On the other hand, if you have a raging sweet tooth and fruit isn't cutting it, a 100-calorie pack of cookies is better than eating a whole box. What do you think? Do processed diet foods have their place in a healthy menu?

Source

Are you Starbucks-addicted and looking to trim down in the New Year? You might appreciate this news. In 2008, Starbucks will be offering a new skinny latte that's fat and sugar free. Grand total calories in a "tall"? 90, down from 400, for a white chocolate mocha latte.

I don't drink coffee, nor have I ever (gasp) been inside a Starbucks, but I have my vices and I know what it means to sacrifice tasty treats for better health. The new skinny may be an alternative for those who need their coffee fix, and if not, Diet-Blog has a few other options for making that coffee habit a little more diet-friendly.

Source

Do you regularly drink beverages with fake sweeteners in them? Aspartame, Equal, NutraSweet, Splenda -- there are plenty of scientific and branding names all these fake sweeteners go by.

Splenda, which is an artificial sweeteners that "is made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar," has high hopes for becoming the #1 artificial sweetener in France according to its maker, McNeil Nutritionals LLC. While I don't dispute that Splenda is "made form sugar," it's still not a natural substance. Do research on sucralose and you'll find this out pretty fast.

Although I can't stand to taste of fake sweeteners in anything, plenty of people can and do based on the lower calorie count that can be given not using real sugar. Are chemically-created sweeteners the answer, though? It's probably the less of two evils. Splenda' goal of market leadership in France by 2009 is pretty lofty so we'll see if the French citizenry fall for it hook, line and sinker like many of us have here in America.

Source

As I look at food packages these days, it's amazing to see the large amount of fake sweeteners along with loads of refined sugar in so many foods. After all, everyone has a partial (or whole) "sweet tooth", and manufacturers sell ore products when they make them taste good.

The only downside is that tasting good comes at a price. Generally, refined sugars are really bad for human health (my 2 cents, anyway), and have a load of calories. The solution has been to use artificial sweeteners as a replacement, which then have unnatural chemicals which I consider to be almost as bad (or worse) than refined sugar.

Where is the "sweet" answer then? How about low-calorie, low-glycemic sweeteners like agave nectar and stevia? The food manufacturers probably don't want to use these items due to cost (which can be high) and due to these alternatives being natural products (that can't be protected by patents and such). One thing is for sure -- stevia is a great and sweet alternative that's been used globally for centuries and it beats the pants off table sugar and bleached refined sugar. Try it if you can -- and you decide.

Source

Does the artificial sweetener known as aspartame cause cancer? For quite a while, this was thought to be the case. But now, the FDA is claiming that it has not seen any data to support earlier studies that claim aspartame has a hand in causing cancer.

With the belief in the FDA's ability to understand and even interpret certain things these days, I'm taking this story with a grain of salt at the moment. The ability of the FDA to go back and forth on so many issues these days instantly raises the suspicious flag I think. But, all sides need to be considered.

The FDA's statement that "Our conclusion, based on a comprehensive review of all data we had, is there is no evidence that aspartame is a carcinogen or any evidence to change our previous conclusion: that aspartame, the way it is used, is safe" still won't make me drink diet soft drinks or anything with aspartame. How about you?

Source

When you read the words "made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar," what do you assume about the product? Do you assume it's natural? Do you assume that it's made from sugar? Would you assume it was safer than other similar products? That's what legal minds are trying to figure out after the makers of Equal and NutraSweet filed a lawsuit against the makers of Splenda, saying that Splenda fools customers into thinking their product is natural with their misleading advertising slogan.

The truth is, sugar is used in the making of Splenda, but all sugar is burned off during the process and there is no sugar in the finished product. Splenda is made from synthetic compounds, just like Equal and NutraSweet, but these competitors claim that consumers don't understand that the products are very similar in nature. Splenda argues back that consumers like their product better because it tastes better and can be used in in baking. Splenda sales make up 60% of the artificial sweetener market right now, so there's a lot of money at stake on both sides.

Do you use artificial sweeteners? If so, let's take an unofficial poll: Which sweetener do you like better? If so, why? And did you understand that Splenda was not sugar-based and not natural? Does that make a difference to you? And if you're like me and you don't use these sort of products at all, tell us what helped you make that decision.

Source

When people go on a diet, one of the first things they cut back on is sugar...and rightfully so. Diets loaded with sugary foods are packed with empty calories and leave little room for foods with actual nutrients. Often, though, dieters trade in their sugar for artificial sweeteners, thinking they're doing themselves a favor by cutting the calories but still getting the sweet taste.

Like the saying goes, however, there's no free lunch, and artificial sweeteners come with their own set of consequences. For instance, did you know that people who use artificial sweeteners are no less likely to develop diabetes than those who use regular sugar? Experts believe it's because people who choose artificial sweeteners tend to eat more sweets as a matter of course. In fact, a 2004 study found that the calorie-free nature of sweeteners like Nutrasweet and Splenda may cause the body to crave more sugar. The sweet taste of artificial sweeteners tell the body to expect calories, and when none are received, the body gets confused. Concerns over the safety of these products has arisen as well.

So it appears, if you're trying to lose weight, sugar may not be any worse than artificial sweeteners. In the summer, watermelons and cherries help keep my sweet tooth at bay, but during the winter it's harder to find fresh fruits that satisfy me. What about you? How do you feed your sweet tooth when you're trying to take off pounds?

Source