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Chemists Were Wrong About Splenda

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Re: Chemists Were Wrong About Splenda

#21

Post by technojunkie »

chucknelson wrote: post #17
technojunkie wrote: post #14

It's good to see that Splenda isn't the potential toxic substance we began to wonder it was, but I agree that it tastes icky. That said, I wonder why Stevia isn't considered to sweeten drinks? It's very sweet, it's natural like sugar (meaning it's not synthetic or lab-grown), it also has zero calories, and it doesn't taste icky!

I've always assumed Stevia hasn't taken off yet because that means companies have to spend money on trying to rework "flavor profiles" to work with Stevia. I long for a Stevia-powered Coke Zero...until they realize Stevia also causes horrible things in humans :-/

They do have Stevia Coke and Pepsi but I've never had them.

http://money.cnn.com/2014/10/02/news/companies/coke-pepsi-st...

Re: Chemists Were Wrong About Splenda

#22

Post by nilkn »

bunderbunder wrote: post #11
draw_down wrote: post #2

Too bad it tastes weird.

I don't really understand the popularity of artificial sweeteners. They all taste totally teh ick to me. I would much rather have something that is not sweet than something that is artificially sweet. But judging from the beverage selection available at just about any convenience store, I'm possibly the only person in the USA who would rather drink something that isn't sweet than something that contains 0 calorie swe…

I'll admit that I do enjoy the occasional sugary soda, but I try to keep that to a minimum. I find that I prefer flavored sparkling water like La Croix (which does not contain any sweetener) over diet soda. I still don't find La Croix in restaurants hardly ever, but it's becoming more and more common in grocery stores.

Re: Chemists Were Wrong About Splenda

#23

Post by grillvogel »

technojunkie wrote: post #14

It's good to see that Splenda isn't the potential toxic substance we began to wonder it was, but I agree that it tastes icky. That said, I wonder why Stevia isn't considered to sweeten drinks? It's very sweet, it's natural like sugar (meaning it's not synthetic or lab-grown), it also has zero calories, and it doesn't taste icky!

>it's natural like sugar

cyanide is also natural

Re: Chemists Were Wrong About Splenda

#25

Post by hammock »

chucknelson wrote: post #17
technojunkie wrote: post #14

It's good to see that Splenda isn't the potential toxic substance we began to wonder it was, but I agree that it tastes icky. That said, I wonder why Stevia isn't considered to sweeten drinks? It's very sweet, it's natural like sugar (meaning it's not synthetic or lab-grown), it also has zero calories, and it doesn't taste icky!

I've always assumed Stevia hasn't taken off yet because that means companies have to spend money on trying to rework "flavor profiles" to work with Stevia. I long for a Stevia-powered Coke Zero...until they realize Stevia also causes horrible things in humans :-/

Stevia is HUGE. It's biggest benefit is that it can be marketed as "natural" allowing you to put "no artificial sweeteners" on the package. Pretty much everything sugar-free or reduced-sugar in Whole Foods has stevia in it. One of the reasons why you don't see it EVERYWHERE is that it's much more expensive compared to Ace-K and aspartame.

Re: Chemists Were Wrong About Splenda

#26

Post by lobster_johnson »

personjerry wrote: post #4
draw_down wrote: post #2

Too bad it tastes weird.

Have you tried aspartame? I've found that Coke Zero tastes much closer to real sugar than Diet Coke.

In many countries (such as Germany), Coke adds sodium cyclamate to the usual aspartame + acesulfame-K. I find that cyclamate improves it immensely, and eliminates the bitter aftertaste of aspartame. Unfortunately, in the US it's still banned, even though the consensus is that it's harmless.

Re: Chemists Were Wrong About Splenda

#27

Post by Amezarak »

technojunkie wrote: post #14

It's good to see that Splenda isn't the potential toxic substance we began to wonder it was, but I agree that it tastes icky. That said, I wonder why Stevia isn't considered to sweeten drinks? It's very sweet, it's natural like sugar (meaning it's not synthetic or lab-grown), it also has zero calories, and it doesn't taste icky!

> it's natural like sugar,

Why is that relevant? That's orthogonal to whether it is healthy or unhealthy. There's no reason, based on that information, that I should expect it to be any more or less toxic than Splenda. I mean, the wrong 100% natural mushroom will kill you pretty dead.

Re: Chemists Were Wrong About Splenda

#28

Post by TheGorramBatman »

chucknelson wrote: post #17
technojunkie wrote: post #14

It's good to see that Splenda isn't the potential toxic substance we began to wonder it was, but I agree that it tastes icky. That said, I wonder why Stevia isn't considered to sweeten drinks? It's very sweet, it's natural like sugar (meaning it's not synthetic or lab-grown), it also has zero calories, and it doesn't taste icky!

I've always assumed Stevia hasn't taken off yet because that means companies have to spend money on trying to rework "flavor profiles" to work with Stevia. I long for a Stevia-powered Coke Zero...until they realize Stevia also causes horrible things in humans :-/

They have Coca Cola Life. Stevia + Sugar. Not particularly great though.

Re: Chemists Were Wrong About Splenda

#29

Post by mixmastamyk »

xirdstl wrote: post #12
personjerry wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you tried aspartame? I've found that Coke Zero tastes much closer to real sugar than Diet Coke.

Diet Coke uses aspartame also. I figured the difference between Coke Zero and Diet Coke was branding for people who don't want to drink something labeled as diet. EDIT: I drink both regularly (including today), and I personally do not perceive difference in taste. YMMV.

Zero also has less caffeine.

Re: Chemists Were Wrong About Splenda

#30

Post by draw_down »

bunderbunder wrote: post #11
draw_down wrote: post #2

Too bad it tastes weird.

I don't really understand the popularity of artificial sweeteners. They all taste totally teh ick to me. I would much rather have something that is not sweet than something that is artificially sweet. But judging from the beverage selection available at just about any convenience store, I'm possibly the only person in the USA who would rather drink something that isn't sweet than something that contains 0 calorie swe…

I used to feel that way too, but years ago I dated someone who only ever drank Diet Coke, and I started to like it after repeated exposure. For a long time after that, real sugar drinks were way too sweet tasting and gross to me, though now I can enjoy a regular Coke now and then.
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