My cousin who started to switch to alternative sweeteners when my son was diagnosed with diabetes. He wanted to see the flavor difference and maybe make a healthier choice. He ended up with violent migraines, severe stomach upset (constipation and loose bowels) along with dizziness and nausea. He eliminated the splenda from his diet and he was fine. I noticed that Niklas gets really bad headaches when drinking juice sweetened with splenda (crystal light, healthy balance apple juice etc). I did research about this and was appalled to find that headaches and all the symptoms my cousin experienced are COMMON side effects. Plus another adverse side affect is that it actually makes you gain weight instead of helping you lose it!
Has anyone else experienced these effects? How common are these problems associated with splenda? I did talk to my son's endocrinologist who said that small amounts are ok. But I have found that sucralose (splenda) is in everything - how could that be? I find it horrible that this is endorsed by many organizations as the safe alternative to sugar if this is true!
We haven't had a problem with splenda, but if my daughter has something with any of the others she is rolling around on the floor in pain about an hour after she goes to bed. Splenda is the only one that doesn't bother her.
I use Splenda all the time. So does my mother & sister (also T1). My husband and son have it when I cook with it. My husband actually prefers diet soda. My in-laws use it in their baking for my benefit, but also eat it themselves. No side effects on anyone, nor have I ever heard that there were such effects. Was the research you did on legit research, or did you just google it?
Hasn't caused me problems, but we're all different. My husband had to cut chocolate and caffeine from his diet. For some reason it gives him terrible headaches, so he just knows to avoid it.
You may try unsweetened Kool Aid and mix it with a different sweetner like Stevia. Also, I think there are sodas available online that use other sweetners.
Splenda's been great for me, way better than the other sweeteners. From what I understand, they currently believe it's the safest artificial sweetener with the least occurance of side effects.
That said, it certainly doesn't mean everyone should be just fine using it. There's a lot of controversy out there about aspartame/Nutrisweet/Equal, to use an example that's been around a lot longer than Splenda. Some people argue that all the nasty side effects you read about (google, you'll find a TON of info!!!) are an evil secret that the companies don't want us to know will happen to all of us (dramatic conspiracy music: dum, DUM, DUMMMMM!). But most people are fine with it. I'm not one of them! If I drink more than, say, one drink with aspartame in a day, I feel like utter and total crap. Headaches and grumpiness with some general"I don't feel good" and "I can't think clearly." (This isn't uncommon. Some people just can't handle aspartame, and even end up with health problems if they keep using it.) Therefore, if I drink soda it's going to have either Splenda or stevia.
Similarly, I'd say that if someone is using Splenda and they feel like crap, then they stop using it and feel fine, that means they probably shouldn't use Splenda.
My cousin who started to switch to alternative sweeteners when my son was diagnosed with diabetes. He wanted to see the flavor difference and maybe make a healthier choice. He ended up with violent migraines, severe stomach upset (constipation and loose bowels) along with dizziness and nausea. He eliminated the splenda from his diet and he was fine. I noticed that Niklas gets really bad headaches when drinking juice sweetened with splenda (crystal light, healthy balance apple juice etc). I did research about this and was appalled to find that headaches and all the symptoms my cousin experienced are COMMON side effects. Plus another adverse side affect is that it actually makes you gain weight instead of helping you lose it!
Has anyone else experienced these effects? How common are these problems associated with splenda? I did talk to my son's endocrinologist who said that small amounts are ok. But I have found that sucralose (splenda) is in everything - how could that be? I find it horrible that this is endorsed by many organizations as the safe alternative to sugar if this is true!
How does everyone else feel?
Thanks!
[/quote]We started using Stevia sweetner. Its a natrual sweetner. Works great and I don't know of any side effects. It does not raise the blood sugar level. No sugars or carbs in a packet. You can buy it for cooking as wel. It comes from the Stevia Leaf or Plant. Check it out.
I don't use Equal, Splenda, Sweet & Low or any of the other products. It works warm or cold. Only requirement is to stir it.
Two studies suggest that long-term consumption of large quantities of stevia might cause reproductive problems. An animal study, published in 1985 in the "Journal of Food and Hygienic Society of Japan," found that male rats had reduced sperm count and signs of infertility after 22 months of high stevia consumption. Another study, reported in the May 1998 edition of the journal "Drug and Chemical Toxicology," found that hamsters who were fed large doses of stevia had smaller birthweight babies than hamsters who didn't eat stevia. There are so far no studies showing similar effects in humans.
I couldn't find the original two studies but then found this article that does a fair job on the down side of this sweetener - that said I use it - in moderation (also use Splenda)
Just keep in mind that "high doses" of just about anything will cause problems. Saccharine (the ingredient in Sweet n Low) was taken off the market entirely because rats given "high doses" got cancer. But it's now considered safe, in normal amounts, for just about anyone. (My personal philosophy is not to have too much of any one particular sweetener, though I definitely have more Splenda than anything else.)
They do, however, recommend pregnant women don't use Stevia during pregnancy. Not because of this or any other study, but because of the lack of studies on it. It's an herb, rather than a chemical sweetener like the pink, blue, and yellow packets, and some herbs cause problems in pregnancy. They haven't figured out if Stevia does or not yet (since it's only recently become legal to market as a sweetener instead of a "supplement" in the States).