Sweeter Than Sugar

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Around five years ago I went on a really unhealthy and incredibly too low calorie diet. During that time period I switched from sugar to Splenda and never switched back. That is until recently. When I started eating healthier a few months ago, I started using honey and agave syrup. But I was still baking with Splenda.

I’ve heard all the talk about how toxic Splenda is for you and with my science background, I didn’t believe or worry about it. However, I wanted to do some research. After looking at articles by the FDA and Splenda and “medical” sites against it, I’m not worried about it being toxic.

Yes, Splenda has chlorine molecules in it. So does NaCl, or table salt. This chlorine is what changes sucrose (sugar) into sucralose. Sucralose is what most people worry about being toxic. Most of the research I found stated that it was not unhealthy in small doses, and there in a minimal amount in Splenda.

However, I also found out that the fillers in Splenda (dextrose and maltodextrin) contain calories that aren’t listed. Why? Because if the calories amount is less than a certain number per serving, they don’t have to list it (this also goes for trans fat in other food items – which I did not know about). They can call it zero calories if it is less than 5 calories.

Serving Size : 1 teaspoon = 0 calories (as stated on container) / 0 g carbs

Serving Size : 1 teaspoon = 2 calories (as stated on their website) / 0.5 g carbs

Serving Size : 1 tablespoon = 6 calories / 1.5 g carbs

Serving Size : 1 cup = 96 calories /24 g carbs

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I know this isn’t a lot of calories and still a ton less than sugar (around 678 less per cup). But instead of adding a tablespoon of Splenda I can add a teaspoon of agave syrup (20 calories) and not feel as guilty