Thanks,

Stevia, which is an herb, is better for you than Splenda. I use it in liquid form. It might be hard for you to find though, don't think it's in regular markets.

Stevia is great! You can get it at vitaglo.com or iherb.com in many different forms.

Sweetener in the Spotlight: Is Splenda Safe?
Lawsuits Put New Focus on Splenda and Other Artificial Sweeteners

Now...sugar is a chain of carbon atoms. They remove a few and replace them with chlorine.

(I don't use treated water BTW. We use well water and bottled).

Splenda: Safe? Maybe not. I'm not going to stop using it yet though. There are MANY more things that I could be doing which would be more toxic to my body than a simple sweetener.

I found this online - could be just hysteria - but I ain't gonna mess with it. Anyway, any sugary kind of stuff makes me feel weird, artificial or not:

The Lethal Science of Splenda, a Poisonous Chlorocarbon by James Bowen, M.D.

James Bowen, M.D., A physician, biochemist, and survivor of aspartame poisoning warns about yet another synthetic sweetener, Splenda.

Hawaii, May 8, 2005 -- The chemical sucralose, marketed as "Splenda", has
replaced aspartame as the #1 artificial sweetener in foods and beverages.

Aspartame has been forced out by increasing public awareness that it is both a neurotoxin and an underlying cause of chronic illness worldwide. Dr. James Bowen, Researcher and biochemist, reports:

"Splenda/sucralose is simply chlorinated sugar; a chlorocarbon. Common chlorocarbons include carbon tetrachloride, trichlorethelene and methylene chloride, all deadly. Chlorine is nature's Doberman attack dog, a highly excitable, ferocious atomic element employed as a biocide in bleach,
disinfectants, insecticide, WWI poison gas and hydrochloric acid.

"Sucralose is a molecule of sugar chemically manipulated to surrender three hydroxyl groups (hydrogen + oxygen) and replace them with three chlorine atoms. Natural sugar is a hydrocarbon built around 12 carbon atoms. When turned into Splenda it becomes a chlorocarbon, in the family of Chlorodane,
Lindane and DDT,

"It is logical to ask why table salt, which also contains chlorine, is safe while Splenda/sucralose is toxic? Because salt isn't a chlorocarbon. When molecular chemistry binds sodium to chlorine to make salt carbon isn't included. Sucralose and salt are as different as oil and water.

"Unlike sodium chloride, chlorocarbons are never nutritionally compatible with our metabolic processes and are wholly incompatible with normal human metabolic functioning. When chlorine is chemically reacted into carbon-structured organic compounds to make chlorocarbons, the carbon and chlorine atoms bind to each other by mutually sharing electrons in their
outer shells. This arrangement adversely affects human metabolism because our mitochondrial and cellular enzyme systems are designed to completely utilize organic molecules containing carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen,
and other compatible nutritional elements.

"By this process chlorocarbons such as sucralose deliver chlorine directly
into our cells through normal metabolization. This makes them effective
insecticides and preservatives. Preservatives must kill anything alive to
prevent bacterial decomposition."

Dr. Bowen believes ingested chlorocarbon damage continues with the
formation of other toxins: "Any chlorocarbons not directly excreted from
the body intact can cause immense damage to the processes of human
metabolism and, eventually, our internal organs. The liver is a
detoxification organ which deals with ingested poisons. Chlorocarbons
damage the hepatocytes, the liver's metabolic cells, and destroy them. In
test animals Splenda produced swollen livers, as do all chlorocarbon
poisons, and also calcified the kidneys of test animals in toxicity
studies. The brain and nervous system are highly subject to metabolic toxicities and solvency damages by these chemicals. Their high solvency attacks the human nervous system and many other body systems including genetics and the immune function. Thus, chlorocarbon poisoning can cause cancer, birth defects, and immune system destruction. These are well known effects of Dioxin and PCBs which are known deadly chlorocarbons."

Dr. Bowen continues: "Just like aspartame, which achieved marketplace approval by the Food and Drug Administration when animal studies clearly demonstrated its toxicity, sucralose also failed in clinical trials with
animals. Aspartame created brain tumors in rats. Sucralose has been found to shrink thymus glands (the biological seat of immunity) and produce liver inflammation in rats and mice.

"In the coming months we can expect to see a river of media hype expounding the virtues of Splenda/sucralose. We should not be fooled again into accepting the safety of a toxic chemical on the blessing of the FDA and
saturation advertising. In terms of potential long-term human toxicity we should regard sucralose with its chemical cousin DDT, the insecticide now outlawed because of its horrendous long term toxicities at even minute trace levels in human, avian, and mammalian tissues.

"Synthetic chemical sweeteners are generally unsafe for human consumption. This toxin was given the chemical name "sucralose" which is a play on the technical name of natural sugar, sucrose. One is not the other. One is
food, the other is toxic; don't be deceived."

Dr. Bowen also calls attention to another seldom recognized and deadly
permanent effect of these chemicals: "Aspartame, sold as NutraSweet, Equal,
E951, Canderel, Benevia and under other names, is a hypersensitization
agent which causes Polychemical Sensitivity syndrome. Chlorocarbons
strongly induce uncurable hypersensitivity diseases which are now becoming
rampant." (James Bowen, M.D.)

I'll probably avoid Splenda for the most part in favor of other types...

I have found that sugar alcohols are NOT good at all! I was eating sugar-free candy frequently and got into a bad yeast problem. When I stopped the candy, I was OK.

Not all Atkins products use sugar alcohol.

I ended up at a Fourth of July Picnic and ran out of water. Coke, both Reg and diet were the fluids options. I drank one of each. I felt a bit caffined up but nothing bad happened! I'm still here and my yeast is still in check.

I have lost 23 lbs in the last 1 1/2 months! Not because I don't have an appetite, but because I don't know what to eat. I'm allergic to gluten (there goes all wheat flower products, and eggs.) Then you take out sugars are that makes it tough! Just mainly leaves protein!

Thanks,

If you are allergic to gluten you can still eat egss (or are you allergic to eggs, too). Rice and quinoa are options as is tapioca flour. Some people allergic to gluten can tolerate oats, some cannot.

Be careful. I cut out too many carbs and now I have ketones in my urine, which means I am breaking down the protein in the body to use as energy. I lost 30 pounds.

Splenda, so far, has not made a difference with my symptoms.

But I also am aware that Splenda is probably no better than Aspartame and Nutrasweet.