Splenda Abuse & Stomach Upset

[batgirl]

*Warning-describes a v.v. unpleasant experience*

I didn't think it was possible to o.d. on Splenda, but I think I managed it over Xmas.

I made a sugar-free cheesecake for an office party and ended up bringing half of it home. Well, it being chocolate, and I being weak, and to busy to cook , I ended up eating cheesecake for lunch AND dinner, plus I capped the night off with a hot chocolate (also sweetened with Splenda). This was severe dairy, chocolate and Splenda abuse, so I'm shouldn't be surprised at the results.

I woke up at 3 am, shaking and sweating. Luckily, I reached the bathroom in time to hit the trash can. :Puke:
There wasn't that much, but it was exceedingly nasty/acidic, and strangely chalky and gritty. When I rinsed my mouth, it tasted so sweet I was nearly sick again. I even checked the glass to see if it had something in it. It was clean. It took 4 rinses to get the sickly sweet taste out of my mouth.

I can only guess that the Splenda just wouldn't digest, especially on top of all that dairy. Since I rarely eat any powdered Splenda, let alone that amount in one day, I had never had any previous problems, plus I've never heard of this happening to anyone else. It's very strange, but I learned my lesson. I made apple 'pie' for Xmas - no crust, sweetened with honey, walnuts and pecans on the top. I'd rather have the extra carbs and calories than get sick again.

[Tex]

Hiya BatGirl,
Just a quick FYI - I've chatted with several people who say Splenda in any quantity makes them sick: upset stomach, sweating, anxiety, etc.

If you do a search for Splenda or Sucralose + side effects, or try Splenda + Upset stomach, you'll find a lot of interesting reading.

Personally, I do use Splenda for my morning decaf, and have tried cooking with it. I made the lemon mousse in the Atkins recipe book and loved it. My husband tried it and was up all night, very sick and unable to sleep.

Like anything, it seems to be good in moderation. Your pie crust sounds dishy!

[PlaneCrazy]

A lot of the artificial sweeteners affect people in different ways. I cannot, at all, eat the low-carb chocolates because of, what I presume is one of the sweenters used. It took two episodes of massive cramps, constant runs and feeling just generally like dying for me to connect the dots. Others can pound down the russel stovers until the low-carb cows come home.

Personally, I've stopped ingesting artificial sweeteners except in diet pops. those I can handle, anything else is too much. If I absolutely have to have sweetener, like for my German red cabbage recipe, I figure a couble of tablespoons of sugar or honey in a large dish is not going to hurt me too much. But that's a rare thing anyway.

Plane Crazy

[LukeA]

Planecrazy, it is most definately the sugar alcohols that are in sf chocolate that causes problems, not sucralose. Sugar alcohols cause problems with most people to some degree, and they are even an active ingredient in several laxatives.

Batgirl, just because you were sick (and sorry, it sounded horrible!), doesn't neccesarily mean it was the sucralose you ingested. Any abrupt change in a persons diet often causes digestive upset, whether that be a large increase in fat or protien or carbs or dairy etc..

[batgirl]

Any abrupt change in a persons diet often causes digestive upset, whether that be a large increase in fat or protien or carbs or dairy etc..

That is true, but, it was the Splenda (an nearly only Splenda) that came back up, not the fat, etc.

So, that kind of narrows it down a bit, in my mind. :lol:

[aniuk]

Have you tried stevia. Splenda is nearly as bad as aspartame as a sweetner health wise. Diet pop PlaneCrazy. If you are addicted to it do a search on the dangers of aspartame and you may soon stop. I dont know how things are going but there is a law suit in process for companies knowingly selling a dangerous substance to us. I dont know the latest this is all I could find in a search for the law suit. There is so good info here.

www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2004/04/09/aspartame_neurotoxic_coca_cola_pepsi_nutra_sweet_sued_in_california.htm

[batgirl]

I drink herbal teas sweetened with stevia. But for baking, I just don't think it does a good a job by itself. Usually, I'll mix in a little stevia in addition to the Splenda, just for that extra kick of sweetness.
As for Aspartame, yah, I know that causes brain rot, or whatever. My mom complained about her poor memorty, thought she was getting alzheimer's, I pointed out the 2 liters of Diet Coke she drank everyday. She has since switched to Diet Rite. :rolleyes:

[Harpoo]

Not sure about that... It seems everyone here is pretty Splenda-happy. I have been reading some disturbing things about their marketing practices. I don't want to keep bringing it up, but it seems that maybe this is something people should know...?

[Hellistile]

Spenda and/or sucralose gave me muscle pain the first time. I quit it for 2 weeks and then started up again last week. Really bad muscle pain returned. I'm going with Stevia for two weeks to see if muscle pain improves. Then will try Splenda again for the 3rd round to see if muscle pain returns. I have a lot of allergies so it's not unreasonable that Splenda may trigger problems for me. That doesn't mean that Splenda is bad for everyone. It just may not be good for me. It's like nut allergies, doesn't mean nuts are bad and should be avoided by everyone else.

[batgirl]

I have a bunch of Da Vinci Splenda syrups leftover from my Atkins days. They aren't bulked up with the starch like the powdered stuff is. The syrups don't seem to cause me any stomach upset when I use them in coffee or something occasionally. However, it's much harder to over indulge with them. I'd have to drink a whole bottle, ewww.

Perhaps the starch exacerbates the stomach upset, or other reactions?

[planet52]

I don't tolerate artificial sweeteners well. My mother was a Sucaryl addict for years and ended up with some kind of dementia that started in her late 40s which could or could not be related. I am experiencing concentration problems when I eat russel stover's sf chocs. The same thing happens with just about any sugar free "sweet". I have decided to give up diet sodas and sugar free candies. If I just need something to sip on I drink water or Lipton's Passion fruit, Guave, Orange flavor green tea. It has a nice delicate aromatic flavor which is reminiscent of something sweet. I agree with the person who puts a tablespoon of sugar in her cabbage dish. I don't think honey or a pinch of sugar is that harmful IMHO. I feel beat up after ingesting the artificial stuff as well as the concentration problems I mentioned. T'is a balancing act.