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What is Splenda? Is it an artificial sweetener or does it have some natural qualities? If you aren't sure of the right answer, you're not alone. It seems consumers are confused about what Splenda is and they are buying it because they think it is healthier than other no calorie sweeteners. With childhood obesity on the rise, kids are being impacted by this.
This is an interesting little tidbit from Beverage.com:
The date is finally set for a landmark court case between in the US-based Sugar Association and Johnson & Johnson over the marketing of its Splenda sweetener. District Court judge Dale Fischer said the long awaited trial, which relates to allegations that McNeil Nutritionals, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, had misleadingly marketed Splenda as a natural product, will commence on 6 January 2009.
The case could bring an end to a long-standing dispute between McNeil and the trade body, which claims that Splenda’s tag line - 'Made from sugar so it tastes like sugar' - is deliberately being used to make consumers believe that the artificial sweetener contains sugar.
The Sugar Association therefore maintains that the claims show a deliberate attempt to misinform consumers into believing that Splenda is a no-calorie natural sugar product.
However, McNeil continues to refute the allegations, claiming that all material supplied to customers regarding its man-made sweetener are not misleading or deceptive.
“Splenda Brand Sweetener (sucralose) is made from a process that begins with sugar,” the company stated. “In fact, 10 tons of sugar are used every day to make Splenda.”
The ingredients maker claims that it promotes the product as a lower calorie alternative to sugar to tap into concerns over increased obesity rates and other health issues. According to the manufacturer, this distinction has helped the product to become the US’ biggest selling zero calorie sweetener of the last five years.
Do you let your kids consumer artificial sweeteners? Which do you think is worse sugar or artificial sweeteners?
-NewsAnchorMom Jen
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6 comments:
Sugar all the way. I have no problem with the consumption of sugar and prefer it to any sugar free or corn syrup alternatives, the sweets for my kids are fine as long as they contain only sugar as a sweetener. No HFCS and no artificial sweeteners so no "diet products"
I concur with "anonymous," except that HFCS is almost impossible to avoid, since it's in nearly everything... salad dressing, yogurt, etc. But we don't do artificial sweetener in our house at all. Sugar all the way.
Me three.
I can't say we completely avoid HFCS, (soda is a downfall) but I do try and will always choose sugar over that or anything else. I can't believe how many products have sucralose in them.
A little over a year ago, I got on a big Crystal Light kick and was drinking it a LOT. I started having weird things happen to me - things that would not normally be associated with anything dietary (i.e. pain in my arm, for one...). When I looked it up, I was shocked to see some of the symptoms associated with aspartame-overload. My symptoms disappeared when I quit the Crystal Light. That convinced me.
As a newswoman, I would think you would dig deeper and see how bad it is. Aspartame is a neurotoxin
Aspartame Consumer Safety Network
Fox News Nutrasweet Equal Aspartame
Idaho Observer: The World’s Best Ant Poison
Sweet Misery, A Poisoned World (trailer)
Diet Sweeteners Can Make You Sick and Fat
One Woman's Astonishing Experiment
History of Fraud and Deception
Just go to my blog and see all of the links.
Daniel Faiella
www.recoveringMatthew.blogspot.com
I was about to say "a mix" but then realized, nope, I'm the only one using the splenda (in my tea). My kids don't eat "diet" foods and don't drink soda (unless we are eating out), so their consumption of non-caloric sweeteners is pretty much nil. I am sure they get quite a bit of HFCS through such things as yogurt, ketchup, and other processed foods, but I really believe that is a non-issue. The overall calorie/fat/nutritional content is more important to me than whether something contains HFCS.
I aim for sugar. Husband is a different story. :/
Since you posted this, I've been paying more attention to commercials (we have Tivo, so I usually fast forward.)
There's a Splenda commercial that plays on Nick Jr. that bugs me now. It appears that they're suggesting the mom give her kids beverages sweetened with Splenda in order to avoid the sugar-rush that other more 'standard' beverages will result in. Wouldn't artificial sweeteners (including Splenda) provide the same sort of blood sugar fluctuation?
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