Splenda, why not to use it?

[jj-]

I'm glad we are seeing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylitol in more and more products. I've never used it as a direct sugar substitute, but its great in gum and toothpaste.

You ain't got no sweet tooth. How come you care about substitutes?

 

[specsaregood]

You ain't got no sweet tooth. How come you care about substitutes?

I care about dental health. And unlike everything else listed in this thread, xylitol has been proven to promote good dental health and some claim it can help remineralize teeth. If you are gonna eat something sweet, seems like a nice bonus to have something that cleans your teeth too. oh, and also eliminates bad breath.

 

[jj-]

I care about dental health. And unlike everything else listed in this thread, xylitol has been proven to promote good dental health and some claim it can help remineralize teeth. If you are gonna eat something sweet, seems like a nice bonus to have something that cleans your teeth too. oh, and also eliminates bad breath.

I see. Good point.

 

[QuickZ06]

So right now I am in a bit of a debate on another site about Splenda. Now I have tried to give some reason to these people but they just don't want to here it, as they believe the FDA (government), over unbiased private sources. They keep telling me, but bread is altered at the molecular level just like Splenda. But one would think a laboratory alteration is a lot different than yeast causing bread dough to rise which is nothing more than a single-celled fungus. So am I right to believe this?

 

[specsaregood]

So right now I am in a bit of a debate on another site about Splenda. Now I have tried to give some reason to these people but they just don't want to here it, as they believe the FDA (government), over unbiased private sources. They keep telling me, but bread is altered at the molecular level just like Splenda.

You can't argue with stupid. glad I could be of assistance.

 

[QuickZ06]

You can't argue with stupid. glad I could be of assistance.

HAHA, I am trying. Weird I am seeing all these stories pop up. Been out seance 1998, so seems about right to be seeing the long term side effects to start popping up.

And I appreciate the assistance.

 

[donnay]

I think the English language is pretty awesome, too. It appears we are destined to have our differences.



Not all agave syrup/nectar is in this range. If people cannot be bothered to read labels, I'm not sure what's to be done with them. It's not like you are supposed to be drinking this out of the bottle, either, or using it in the same amounts as sugar. You know what has a lot of fructose? Honey. You were talking about how awesome it was earlier. HFCS = 42 to 55 grams of fructose per 100 grams. Honey = roughly 41 grams of fructose per 100 grams.

What's that? Different kinds of honey from a variety of sources have lower fructose ratios than that? You don't say.

* * *

Just saw Elwar's post about "sugar substitutes" for diabetics. Being diabetic does not mean you can't have sugars or carbs. It means you have to be more balanced about it, and try to avoid peaks and valleys in blood glucose levels. There is this odd misconception that diabetics can't have sweets, or have to use things other than sugar, or can't have candy, or fruit, or juice. That's just setting oneself up for failure and dangerous glucose lows throughout the day.

Oh and back on the earlier subject. Orange juice is terrible for you as far as sugar goes. Most commercial brands are loaded with all kinds of things you would never add to it at home. The solution is to squeeze your own. The same could be said for a great many other things, but I'm sure some really long post with a lot of quotes and possibly a YouTube is coming to tell me I'm all wrong now lol

Again, the warning about Agave Nectar/syrup:

High Levels of Fructose

Agave nectar naturally contains even more synthetic fructose than dangerous high fructose corn syrup, and the body is unable to use this fructose isomer for energy. Instead, it is transformed into triglycerides--fat. The body accumulates this as body fat rather than absorbs it.

Health Dangers of Fructose

According to food industry executive Russ Bianchi, the high levels of synthesized fructose put people at risk for obesity, heart disease, artery inflammation, high blood pressure and increased insulin resistance. Sally Fallon Morell and Rami Nagel, authors of "Agave Nectar: Worse Than We Thought," write that obese people who drank fructose sweetened drinks with a meal had blood triglyceride levels 200 times higher than equally obese people who drank glucose-sweetened drinks. In other words, fructose is very bad for you, and agave nectar is packed with it.


Read more: What Are the Dangers of Agave Nectar? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/list_5914103_dangers-agave-nectar_.html#ixzz1wt33ANIS




It's the carbs that most diabetics need to be concerned about. Honey is much better for a diabetic (Type-II) to use then any other sweetener so long as the honey is pure and unadulterated by glucose, starch, cane sugar, and even malt (malt being the worst for diabetics in general). Honey has a significant amount of sugar, but it consists largely of two units of sugar-- glucose and fructose, which are absorbed at different ratios into the body. Therefore not spiking their blood sugar levels.

 

[PaulConventionWV]

Maple syrup is little different from table sugar. Both are basically sucrose (maple syrup is over 90% sucrose- table sugar is 100%) though maple syrup has very small quantities of other things including anti-oxidants. Probles is that you would need to comume a lot of that sugar to get the anti-oxidant benefit. Kinda like using sea salt to get more minerals- you need to consume a lot of the salt to get enough of the minerals to make any difference. (and the "Maple Surup has Compounds which fight cancer and diabetes" study was paid for by the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada). Press releases conveniently leave off how much (or how little) of these beneficial compounds are actually in the syrup.

http://www.diabeteshealth.com/read/2011/05/24/7158/maple-syrup-a-sweet-surprise/


May be slightly better than sugar but don't count on consuming it to improve your health. Blueberries would be a much better choice for your pancakes.

That ~10% can make a really big difference. In molecular biology, things that are "basically the same" can turn out to be quite different. Modern scientists barely scratch the surface because most of them are bought and paid for by the drug companies and FDA.

 

[Eagles' Wings]

Overall, a shift away from ALL sweeteners is best for the body. Just took a class from my favorate Weston Price practitioner and she says, "Eat an apple a day, and eat it with a protein. Make sweet potatoes, eat only sugars that are local, ie honey, maple syrup from a local farmer and even those.....LESS IS BEST. Stevia and agave syrups are highly processed, have little nutrient value and are expensive."

 

[ryanmkeisling]

Just make sure it is local.

...and make sure the hives are not within a 10 mile radius of any GMO crops. Also make sure the bee keeper is not using antibiotic and pesticide strips in his/her hives, cause most of them are.

 

[donnay]

...and make sure the hives are not within a 10 mile radius of any GMO crops. Also make sure the bee keeper is not using antibiotic and pesticide strips in his/her hives, cause most of them are.

Great points! +rep

There is only one honey that I use, when I am sick or have a nasty wound, and that is Manuka honey. Otherwise I buy local raw organic honey.

 

[Working Poor]

Wink.....

I like the organic oak aged tequilas that my Mexican friends know about that cannot be bought in America.

 

[Eagles' Wings]

Louise it is a blessing. I have over 200 sugar maples on my property. I am surrounded by farmers and ranchers so I rarely go to a grocery store.

donnay, I wish we were neighbors! We need a thread about this - where to find real food. What to ask farmers - beware of farmers markets that sell "old" produce discarded from grocery chains, etc.

 

[donnay]

donnay, I wish we were neighbors! We need a thread about this - where to find real food. What to ask farmers - beware of farmers markets that sell "old" produce discarded from grocery chains, etc.

I would love to be your neighbor IRL. Start a thread on that, I'll put in my $0.02 worth!

 

[presence]

nevermind

 

[Zippyjuan]

That ~10% can make a really big difference. In molecular biology, things that are "basically the same" can turn out to be quite different. Modern scientists barely scratch the surface because most of them are bought and paid for by the drug companies and FDA.

Not 90% like sucrose but 90% of the molecules ARE sucrose which is table sugar. I do underatand that a chemical which is 90% different from another chemical can react completely differently but this would be the same as using say nine tablespoons of sugar in a food instead of ten tablespoons. You are still getting the sugar and in your body it will react to it exactly the same.