21. I don't know what to think about this, but I am concerned since I use it to sweeten my about 2 cups of tea everyday. :(

No side effects yet though...

Posted at 10:49PM on Mar 22nd 2007 by Sarah

22. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1328
Migraine from sucralose, Bigal ME & Krymchantowski AV,
Headache 2006 March; formaldehyde from 11% methanol part of
aspartame or from red wine causes same toxicity (hangover) harm:
Murray 2006.04.24

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1257
Comet assay tests groups of 4 mice to show sucralose genotoxicity
in stomach, colon, lung, Yu F Sasaki et al, Mutation Research 2002,
full plain text: Murray 2005.11.22

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1152
reply to Ferne Hudson, Tate & Lyle PLC, re Splenda (sucralose) policy:
Murray 2005.02.08 rmforall

Posted at 11:13PM on Mar 22nd 2007 by Rich Murray

23. I agree with using the real sugar or if you feel guilty only add a little. That artifical anything will catch up on you! Use only the real deal stevia is good.Everyone body is different, just because you dont have symptoms does not mean all is well!!

Posted at 11:26PM on Mar 22nd 2007 by MJ

24. I've used it daily for more than a year -- I can't tolerate full sugar. I've tried Stevia, but find it TOO sweet and I don't like the powdery form. Splenda has no aftertaste to me, it produces no headaches, and I've never noticed a single side effect. Like another poster said, that's not to say that all is well -- but for now, I'm happy, my tongue is happy, my sweet Thai Tea is happy, and my gastro-intestinal system is happy.

Posted at 11:45PM on Mar 22nd 2007 by k

25. Does stunning gas and bloating count? This guy's experience is not unlike mine, though I still use Splenda-based syrup in moderation:
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Miracle-of-Splenda---Its-a-Gas!&id=80053

Posted at 2:47AM on Mar 23rd 2007 by Alf

26. Hell, I get stomach aches and rashes from pistachios. Can we get the FDA to revoke those too?

With the organic foods movement, people have started to get way too carried away with denouncing anything man-made as the devil. I can't even drink a Diet Coke anymore without 3 people telling me about how it's turning my blood into formaldehyde and shrinking my genitals.

Posted at 2:57AM on Mar 23rd 2007 by Marumm

27. I believe that this artificial sweetner causes canker sores! I usually do not get them, however, after I started chewing Orbit gum and I mean a lot of it, I started getting these sores regularly. It took a year for me to figure this out, so I stopped chewing sugarless gum altogether. An occasional diet coke or artificial sweetner isn't bad but having it in your mouth for hours at a time is not good.

Posted at 10:13AM on Mar 23rd 2007 by maggy

28. Marumm:

I assume you would prefer the days when doctors would recommend the brand of cigarettes they like best.

Despite rampant inaccuracies, in general the internet HAS served to create a more informed consumer base ... one that recognizes the dangers of things like soft drinks. It's a common reaction to dismiss facts that are not convenient to accept, but it doesn't change their validity.

Posted at 10:14AM on Mar 23rd 2007 by David

29. Its the Stevia effect, the industry feels threatened so they are going after Splenda trying to take it out. It worked with Stevia because there was no big $$$ behind Stevia but with Splenda there is money to fight with.

Posted at 12:50PM on Mar 23rd 2007 by Richard Ahlquist

30. Does Splenda have a side effect?

Yeah, it makes my wallet lighter.

Love it. I use it everyday, no physical side effects.

Posted at 12:53PM on Mar 23rd 2007 by kookiejar

31. Splenda's side affect is that you can cook & bake with it, as opposed to nutrasweet, which deteriorates with heat.

I think the market should decide what they want. If I want to rot holes in my brain with aspartame, or rot holes in my teeth with sugar, who is the government to decide which is better for me?

I'm allergic to grapefruit. NOT oranges, NOT lemons, NOT limes, NOT tangerines...So you know what? I don't eat grapefruit. The trouble is I LIKE GRAPEFRUIT... and I choose to suffer the consequences if I choose to consume it.

Posted at 1:51PM on Mar 23rd 2007 by Chef JoAnna

32. Just because you read it on the Internet, that doesn't make it true. If there were real, peer-reviewed studies indicating that these products were dangerous, you would be reading it on reputable reference sites and in the mainstream media, not on some crackpot conspiracy theorist's blog.

I have nothing against organics and do not question the idea that a diet of whole foods is good for you (because there's actual research that says this, not because this girl I work with has a sister whose boyfriend got like, totally sick after eating a south beach bar). However, I don't know of any evidence that processed foods/artificial sweeteners can't be part of a healthy diet when they're ingested in reasonable amounts.

Posted at 2:54PM on Mar 23rd 2007 by Heather

33. I use very little Splenda. My friends and relatives have had side effects from flushing of the face, abdominal cramping, nausea, headaches to explosive diarrhea. Nutrasweet is a neurotoxin, so I try to limit that,too. If it isn't natural - it's not good for you.

Posted at 3:30PM on Mar 23rd 2007 by dr.ellen

34. If you believe that only "natural" things are good for you, I guess you must not ever use any over-the-counter or prescription drugs then, huh? And I sure hope you don't use any shampoo, soap, or cosmetics except those you manufacture yourself out of bark and leaves.

People followed "natural" diets for thousands of years and suffered from all sorts of nutritional deficiencies. But then, I guess you must be against multivitamins and fluoride in the water, too, since they aren't natural.

Posted at 5:12PM on Mar 23rd 2007 by Heather

35. "the chlorinated artificial sweetener Splenda"? Is chlorine or a chlorine compound mixed in solution with Splenda, or is this guy pulling a dihydrogen monoxide and referring to the fact that there's chlorine in the compound, ala evil chemicals like table salt?

And really, hands in the air - who's ignorant enough to honestly be unaware that the FDA does test food additives for toxicity and side-effects?

Googling this group, they appear to be against the use of technology on food and in favor of things like holistic medicine and dietary supplements - you know, those things the FDA doesn't test?

Posted at 10:08PM on Mar 23rd 2007 by Eric

36. The comment from "alf" thanks !!!checked out the site about the gas and am still in tears from laughing.really needsd a good laugh!!!

Posted at 11:53PM on Mar 23rd 2007 by MJ

37. Saccharine is not carcinogenic, the tests that found this were faulty and that's why the packets don't have the warning anymore.

Posted at 2:51AM on Mar 24th 2007 by Gmrpr7

38. As evidenced in the range of commentary above mine, food choice -- what you put in your body and why -- is a highly personalized thing. As is an individual's response to any given food product. My boyfriend is allergic to NutraSweet -- it gives him violent headaches. I'm allergic to legumes, which in large doses can send me into anaphylactic shock. We make our choices accordingly.

I tend to resist the suggestion that the government intervene -- banning one product or endorsing another. The FDA lost whatever shred of credibility they had with me during last summer's spinach fiasco -- they are simply not equipped to protect an unsuspecting American public. Before you grab your keyboard for a hasty rebuttal, here me out. Yes, the FDA serves a purpose. Corporations -- food and otherwise -- are driven by profit, not goodwill. FDA approval attempts to ensure that marketing claims are accurate, labelling is consisent, and food is safe for most consumers. But I don't take FDA approval as gospel that a food is good for me (or a recall as a prohibition).

Instread I try to make semi-educated (or at least informed) decisions. I do reserch. Where I can, I get to know the people who produce my food. Where I can't, I evaluate marketing claims for what they are -- an attempt to sell a product. I read the small print. I try to evaluate foods on their merits (rather than assuming artificial = bad, organic = good)

Posted at 5:53PM on Mar 24th 2007 by Dolores

39. Yes Eric, Sucralose is C12H19Cl3O8 (basically regular sucrose, C12H22O11, but with three hydroxyl pairs replaced with chlorine)

I don't care if you poison yourself but when you go to the potty, you deposit it in nature and messes up for the rest of us. Sucralose doesn't degrade well in those anaerobic environments and it gets accumulated.

We don't need yet another organo-chloride POP. We still haven't gotten PCB out of circulation and it hasn't really been used since the 70s.

Posted at 11:49PM on Mar 24th 2007 by mmm

40. "Yes Eric, Sucralose is C12H19Cl3O8 (basically regular sucrose, C12H22O11, but with three hydroxyl pairs replaced with chlorine)"

Ah, just like dreaded sodium chloride.

"Sucralose doesn't degrade well in those anaerobic environments"

Hint: nothing degrades well in anaerobic environments. Bury a carrot in a landfill, and it'll still be hard and orange 50 years later.

Posted at 1:22PM on Mar 26th 2007 by Eric