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.

Celebrity dietitian and motivational life coach Tanya Zuckerbrot, author of www.ffactordiet.com and founder of www.skinnyandthecity.com, has helped thousands of people lose weight and keep it off with her program. Her philosophy? Tanya believes you should never sacrifice taste, even when you're eating healthy foods. Have a recipe in need of rehab? Click here to submit!

Recipe may vary from photograph Photo: Getty Images

Carla from Ontario, Canada will not compromise on baked goods by buying boxed versions! She requested a recipe makeover for carrot cake sandwiches, which she calls her "triumph cookies," as they were a comfort food for her family through some difficult times, including her mom's battle and ultimate victory over cancer. This rehab reduces loads of saturated fat, while keeping fiber in the form of oats and raisins to keep the entire family healthy!

By swapping sugar for Splenda, I was able to cut out 100 calories and 25 g of sugar per cookie, without compromising taste. Splenda and their blends work well for baking, since they don't degrade when exposed to heat. Before approval, the FDA reviewed more than 100 safety studies, including studies to assess cancer risk. The results of these studies showed no evidence that Splenda, made from altered sugar molecules, causes cancer or poses any other threat to human health.

I basically eliminated the amount of saturated fat by using canola oil instead of butter and swapping low-fat cream cheese for the filling. The fiber from the original recipe was decent, but I bumped it up even further by switching the flour to whole wheat. Now Carla's carrot cake sandwich cookies are truly "triumphant" as a healthy treat.

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.

Frosting, of course, will never reach the 'healthy factor' of fresh fruit and vegetables. It can, however, be made more wisely to preserve the sweet flavor and creaminess while excluding all the fat.

My Fat Free Cream Cheese Frosting tastes amazing, spreads on easily and is the perfect substitution for the full-fat stuff. And ... if you're eager to go a bit further with it, substitute the sugar for Splenda and you'll have yourself a sugar-free treat as well.

Find this recipe on page 11 of my online recipe book at Fitzness.com. For more great recipes, pre-order my soon-to-be released book, The Everything Flat Belly Cookbook here.

Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answers. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose one per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Happy Holidays Fitz! I'll be hosting a Christmas party for some friends and family members next week and I need some help. I'm providing a healthy dinner buffet, but am stuck on a "not so awful for you" dessert. I could stick with fruit, but I think I should provide something more traditional. Have any ideas? Thanks in advance. Nina

A. Merry Christmas, Nina! I love your question because I am an expert on super substitutions. I can and do make almost every type of dessert in a more nutritious way. And! I do it without sacrificing flavor. Isn't that fancy? Oddly enough, if I weren't a fitness professional, I'd want to be a baker. I love baking! I'm just the weird kind of baker who hasn't owned oil or butter for more than 10 years. This forces me to be creative.

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Splenda makes you fat, or so says reports out of the UK.

Studies found that rats given Splenda were fatter than rats not given the sweetener. And that's not all -- they also had less beneficial bacteria in their guts. Of course,we're talking rats -- obviously humans are different. And, as I previously told you, apparently the study was funded by the sugar industry, which means you might want to question the motives behind this whole 'splenda makes you fat' claim.

Don't trust Splenda? Here's a quick list of what it's in:

• Some diet sodas
• Many low-carb or sugar-free chocolate bars and candies
• Diet Snapple Iced Tea
• Reebok Fitness Water
• Juicy Fruit gum
• Kids Trident sugar-free gum
  

You know what I'm going to say -- everything in moderation, be it Splenda, sugar or whatever. But personally, I'd choose regular sugar over artificial sweeteners any day, unless I had a medical condition like diabetes. What about you?

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Splenda: Love it or hate it? We all know one group who definitely counts Splenda among its enemies: The sugar industry.

Chances are you came across the recent news that Splenda has been labeled unsafe by researchers at Duke University -- according to these findings, Splenda promotes obesity, destroys 'good' intestinal bacteria and prevents prescription drugs from being absorbed. But The New York Times recently pointed out that the study was founded by none other than Splenda's main competitor, a sugar manufacturer.

Blah blah blah. We've heard this all before in the HFCS debate. And let's be honest -- this bickering getting old, not to mention irritating. Is it too much to ask for a neutral third party to step in and tell us once and for all what the deal is? In the meantime, I don't think either in moderation will kill you.

(via Calorie Lab)

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I'm an advocate for low-glycemic sweeteners like stevia and agave nectar. These sweeteners, which are natural and don't contain chemicals, are great alternatives to refined sugar and artificial sweeteners. Why don't more people use them, then?

Almost no people I know use anything but table sugar, Sweet and Low and Splenda to sweeten those "boring" drinks. Other sweeteners -- like sorbitol -- can even lead to extreme weight loss over time, according to a new report out this past week.

Weight loss is good when done in a gradual, methodical fashion. Extreme weight loss, though, should make you nervous. It doesn't give the body time to adjust to the changes it's undergoing and can be dangerous. If you're seeing -- or have seen -- extreme weight loss and you consume sweetened foods, drinks (or even gum) regularly, consult with your doctor and try to nail the reason down for your weight swings. It just could be that you're simply taking in too much sorbitol.

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After having personally lined up all available sweeteners myself in the last year, there are plenty of choices beyond refined table sugar that give a decent (but not stuffed) amount of calories while tasting great. And, they're not synthetic chemicals also.

Agave nectar and stevia are two of my favorites. You can completely replace refined sugar in most recipes with agave nectar and use it in tea and even water. But for sweeteners like maple syrup, avoid them unless you want a huge dose of calories in addition to that sweet taste.

Get up to speed with some of the better alternatives to sugar here. Then, get set to stock your pantry with them.

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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.

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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.

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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?

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In many cases -- heck, all of them -- I search out for natural sweetening alternatives like cane sugar, stevia and agave nectar when I need to add a bit of nutritious sweetness to my foods and drinks. I never use artificial sweeteners like aspartame, NutraSweet or Splenda. Why?

Well, I won't go into specifics, but aspartame and NutraSweet (just a brand name) are chemicals, that -- when I used to use them years ago -- gave me headaches. Once I researched what those items were, not only was I shocked, but I stopped using both products permanently.

On the trail of a never-ending quest to find sugarless and calorie-less sweeteners for products, sucralose was invented and given the name Splenda for marketing purposes I still prefer not to ever use fake sweeteners, including this one. Do you?

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Okay, so the title of this post is misleading. The 'calorie-free' foods listed in this article are not all truly calorie free, but their definitely low in Calories and good enough for you that they're worth consuming a few calories for. Anyway, here's the list of items that you should consume without consequence. Each as much of these as you want, eDiet's claims:

-Hot tea sweetened with splenda
-Berries
-Citrus fruits
-Sugar-free jello with sugar-free, fat free whipped topping
-Egg whites, prepared with calorie-free non-stick spray of course
-Veggies
-Water

I'm not a fan of artificial sweeteners and fat-free whipped topping has too many chemicals for my taste, so I'll stick to the fruit, veggies and water. What about you? What guilt-free foods do you snack on?

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