Today I thought I would go on a little bit of a health tangent, and tackle the issue of Splenda, something which especially since I've been spending more time away from the SF Bay Area I've realized is SERIOUSLY plaguing Americans in their misguided quest to get rid of sugar and "lose weight" or "stay thin".
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| Splenda is toxic, evil, and deceptive. Don't believe me? Read on! |
Upon moving in with them and becoming a regular witness to their daily routines, I was shocked to learn that although they had brought a Keurig to fuel their coffee addictions, they had failed to bring any sugar to sweeten their coffee with... instead they had brought bucket loads of... Splenda?!
When I asked them why they used Splenda, they both laughed it off and said they had simply grown accustomed to the taste, but I realized that their real motives were actually along the lines of losing weight, adding zero extra calories to their numerous daily cups of coffee, and also, just being healthy in general because of the absence of sugar.
Wait a minute– why would two regular eighteen year old girls feel the need to be replacing 15 to 30 calories worth of sugar with artificial chemicals (especially when neither of them was overweight, or had diabetes!)?
Easy. Our culture has painted a dangerously misleading picture of Splenda, and it's perceived benefits, while at the same time demonizing sugar.
Oh hey, guess what? I just made a whole video about this! If you would like to watch my interesting facial expressions and here my passionate rant, then watch the clip below... but if you would simply prefer to read the summarized points, so be it (just scroll down, they're written out below!)
1. Splenda is MUCH worse for you than sugar! We shouldn't replace sugar with a synthetic chemical that has to be produced in a lab! If you're worried about your health, it seems pretty obvious that naturally occurring sugar in any amount is better for you than a CHEMICAL, let alone a chemical such as Splenda of which we don't even have any long term studies about, and really have no clue what our body does with after we consume it, or what health problems it could lead to down the road– or even right now!
2. Substituting sugar with Splenda leads to MORE SUGAR intake! A lot a lot a lot of people see Splenda as a great way to double their sweetness intake without doubling their calories, but this couldn't be further from the truth! People overcompensate for the sugar they replace in their coffee with treats that are MUCH higher in sugar than what they originally would have eaten. There are only 30 calories of sugar in a cup of coffee that's sweetened with 2 packets of sugar, and there are just over 100 calories of sugar in a small sticky bun (you know, the one you saw through the dessert window at Starbucks, and thought you could afford sugar wise if you swapped out the sugar in your soy chai tea latte with Splenda...). All in all, even if your case may not be as extreme as a sticky bun (which is still not one of the more extreme cases), it's almost always the case that you will end up eating more sugar than if you hadn't swapped... and then your body has to deal with both the extra sugar, and with cleansing out the Splenda...ick.
3. Cutting out Splenda is SO MUCH MORE IMPORTANT than Cutting Out Sugar! If you're suddenly health conscious enough to want to cut your sugar intake down, then you should AT LEAST be health conscious enough to NOT BE EATING SPLENDA! I can guarantee you that eating any synthetic man-made chemical is going to be much, MUCH worse for you than eating something than humans have been safely eating (IN MODERATION) for years and years and years and years...
Plus, there have been plenty of studies on the effects that sugar has on our bodies, so it's easy to make an informed decision about how much sugar you want to introduce into your body, whereas it's impossible to make an informed decision about how much Splenda you should be consuming by weighing the effect Splenda has on your body (I can guarantee you it does affect your body though, and that it is NOT good for you. At. All.).
So, instead of turning to the evil, unhealthy, deceptive Splenda, try to cut down on your sugar in other ways! Replace it with fruit, or even by drinking water every time you get a craving (a lot of times we confuse hunger with thirst, so you may as well kill two birds with one stone and stay hydrated while breaking your sugar addiction!). After a few weeks, your palette will actually have retrained itself, and once you no longer crave sugar, you'll find that you are more sensitive to the amount of sugar in things, and any lingering cravings can be easily satisfied with only small portions of sweets!
So, what are your experiences with Splenda? Why do you hate it? Why do you need it? Are you trying to cut down on sugar without turning to deceptive artificial sweeteners? Do you know people who are addicted to Splenda? Why is our culture so caught up on demonizing sugar and glorifying synthetic chemicals?
I want to hear your thoughts!!!
Leave your comments below, and let's have a conversation! :)
Oh hey, want some proof to back up my claims that Splenda is evil? Check out these studies about how it destroys your gut with it's many secret side effects!
http://consciouslifenews.com/splendas-many-secret-side-effects/
What, you still want more food for thought?! Then check out this great article by Food Renegade!
"A good rule of thumb: Only eat food that your great grandmother would have recognized as food. Splenda is a new, manufactured, edible sugar-like substance created in laboratories. It is not food."
-- Food Renegade
http://www.foodrenegade.com/the-dangers-of-splenda/
Til next time...
xo,
Abby
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