Sugar substitutes

Someone asked for some sugar free recipes on the Thanksgiving thread. Which one do you use? We have Canderel, but I might start getting Splenda. What is aspartame exactly?

i use splenda

It's the stuff in Equal. It is actually the natural sweetener found in many foods, processed and concentrated to be used as a sweetener. It does not have the after-taste that saccharin has but is still extraordinarily sweet. Personally, I can't taste the difference between Equal and Splenda.

i use splenda, on the odd occasion i use a substitute, but in general i use real sugar.

i use splenda, on the odd occasion i use a substitute, but in general i use real sugar.

Certainly healthier, in moderation...tastes better, too!

Splenda, which I use, is sucralose; it is made from sugar, like the adverts say. 

I stopped using Aspartame - or Nutrasweet/Equal - after discovering Splenda.  I didn't like what I was hearing about Aspartame.

I can taste the difference, however, between Aspartame and Splenda, and I think Splenda tastes better.  It also seems a lot better to cook with.  It's not the sweetness factor that I was always disappointed with in things like cake and ice cream containing Aspartame, it was always the texture.  The texture just wasn't right.  The texture of things is much more "sugar-like" with Splenda.

It's the stuff in Equal. It is actually the natural sweetener found in many foods, processed and concentrated to be used as a sweetener. It does not have the after-taste that saccharin has but is still extraordinarily sweet. Personally, I can't taste the difference between Equal and Splenda.

*Warning this is one of my "pet" rants*
 
 I can taste an after taste with both Equal and Splenda.. yuck can't stand the stuff!!  Plus neither is really healthy for you.   There is some major debate about Equal and it's effects on your brain and possibly causeing seziures in young childern (btw Aspertame is not a natural sweetener found in many foods, it was "discovered" by a Scientist in 1965),and Splenda can be addictive... so I only use real sugar.
  If you have a problem such as Diabetes and are trying to watch your sugars, or are just trying to cut down on sweets in general, cutting back on carbs might be a better idea.. it's really too complicated to go into on a post but I have 3 family members who are diabetic (one a type 1) and I am Hypoglycemic so I know of where I speak.
 Sorry didnt mean to hijack the post

ahhhhhh the great sugar substitute debate...

splenda is horrible for you, I substituted it for sugar 2 summers back and apon drinking half an ice coffee my throat swelled up I couldnt breathe, all my limbs went numb..I busted out in red splotches all over my body..I was in the car with a freind when this happened she had to carry me into the hospital...I was suffering a major allergic reaction to splenda...so come to find out by the nurses, dr and research of my own splenda is actually sugar that is chlorinated..

here's some info from a website researching splenda..

"There is no question that sucralose starts off as a sugar molecule, it is what goes on in the factory that is concerning. Sucralose is a synthetic chemical that was originally cooked up in a laboratory. In the five step patented process of making sucralose, three chlorine molecules are added to a sucrose or sugar molecule. A sucrose molecule is a disaccharide that contains two single sugars bound together; glucose and fructose.


The chemical process to make sucralose alters the chemical composition of the sugar so much that it is somehow converted to a fructo-galactose molecule. This type of sugar molecule does not occur in nature and therefore your body does not possess the ability to properly metabolize it. As a result of this "unique" biochemical make-up, McNeil Nutritionals makes it's claim that Splenda is not digested or metabolized by the body, making it have zero calories.

It is not that Splenda is naturally zero calories. If your body had the capacity to metabolize it then it would no longer has zero calories.


there are accounts of peoples reactions similear to the one I had along with pics to what splenda did to them..http://www.mercola.com/2000/dec/3/sucralose_dangers.htm#



I dont reckon any suger substitute is 100% safe but I can say I keep faithfully to equal and sweet n low since my experiances with splenda

*edited to add*

Ohhhhh and ladies and gentleman..if you do make Thanksgiving goodies using any kind of sugar substitute please be sure to tell your guests that they were used in the chance perhaps one of them are allergic.

wow, i just went to look at that link and got the following:

Attorneys acting on behalf of the manufacturers of sucralose, Tate & Lyle PLC based in London, England, have requested that the information contained on this page not be made available to Internet users in England.


Yikes!  I think i may just stick to sugar!

Okay I think I will just do with out it.............

BTW can we get sweet n low over here I haven't seen it all.......? It's not in the stores.....or any I have here

there are accounts of peoples reactions similear to the one I had along with pics to what splenda did to them..http://www.mercola.com/2000/dec/3/sucralose_dangers.htm#

Pretty scary stuff! I've forwarded the link to my niece who is diabetic, pregnant, and swears by Spenda! Thanks!

I am a regular sugar kind of woman so I don't endorse this, but in light of the conversation, has anyone tried Stevia? Do a google search on it and you will find both positive and negative reviews. The FDA hasn't approved it as a sugar substitute yet but you can still find it in the grocery store- my sis found it in the local Safeway- or vitamin stores and of course online.

I use real sugar at all times unless I'm having tea or coffee, hot or iced.  Then it's Sweet-n-Low.  Sugar and Splenda just don't disolve right in cold beverages, and I actually like the taste of "pink packet", as I call it.  My step-mother and her daughter use Splenda all the time.  I'll have to send that site to them.

Thanks!!  Great information!!

~Liza