about a year or so ago after hearing aspartame was so bad, i stopped drinking diet coke (for the most part!) and switched from sweet n low to splenda because IDIOT that i am thought sweet n low was aspartame! so when diet coke came out with their splenda version i tried it. but it was nasty to me so i only drink diet coke now (aspartame version) if i'm having a mixed drink.

anyway, i just recently discovered during a disagreement with hubby that sweet n low is actually SACCHARIN! i am so mad at myself for wasting all the money i have on splenda, its sooo expensive compared to all the other sweeteners. duh, i cant believe i didnt know EQUAL was actually the one that contained the aspartame! so which is YOUR sweetener of choice and why? and please do not say sugar or i will have to give you a swift kick you know where!

I head saccharin is really bad for you. I think all sweetners probably are. I was told aspertame is the only one safe for breastfeeding and pregnancy from the nurse in our prenatal class.

I RARELY ever have anything that I have to add sugar too, but for my cerial I like splenda! Its tastes just like sugar!

I use Stevia, because it's a natural herb that is not harmful in any way. I think it's the most expensive sweetner, but it's worth it to me. It tastes great too.

Sarah

At the threat of angering WW, I have to admit that I really don't like the taste of any sweeteners, so I don't add them to my food. However, I do eat occasionally pre-manufactured sugar free stuff (which of course uses artificial sweeteners), like sugar-free pudding, but I have no idea which ones they use. I think all of AS bad for you to some degree, with some beign worse then others, but if you use them sparingly, its ok.

I have to agree with Stevia. I've been reading on all the sweeteners and that's the only one so far to not SEEM to have any problems. But of course the FDA wont approve it b/c its actually HEALTHY. They'd rather use the money makers that cause cancer and shrinking thalumus'. Sorry to break it to you all, but the ONLY one that cares about your health is YOU so make sure you do and do a lot of research b/c no one will do it for you as I've learned, b/c they just don't give a flying you-know-what.

Most sweeteners in the supermarkets ive checked all contain lactose or some other thing im intolerant of, so i use something called Nutra-sweet...anyone heard of that? Apparently there was a study that said it caused cancer, but i guess like someone on here once said before, everything seems to cause cancer now awadays...i use a cellphone, i use lazer remotes, i drink diet coke, and i have sweeteners...but...i dont smoke, and i dont get sunburnt and my diet apart from that shouldnt cause me stomach cancer...so i think im doing ok...we cant protect ourselves from everything right? If it was really that dangerous..wouldnt it be off the market though?

I'm a little late on this, but if I'm going to have a sweetner, I just use sugar. Splenda has a terrible aftertaste, and although I prefer aspartame as a sweetener in diet sodas or yogurts, when it comes to my tea or coffee, it's got to be sugar.

*Prepares for kick in the rear* Really though, a heaping teaspoon of sugar is only 25 calories, I'd much rather add 25-50 calories to my diet, than deal with the possible side effects of artifical sweeteners.

Did you know that Splenda can have an laxitive effect if you eat too much of it? I have friends who can't eat Aspartame without getting terrible headaches.

I really don't add any sweeteners to my food or drink. But for 'light' and 'diet' food and drinks, I buy products with splenda. Splenda is turned into chlorine after being metabolized by the liver, while nutrasweet is converted into formaldehyde, so I see splenda as the lesser of two evils. And saccharin was even banned as a known carcinogen, who would risk that! I've also heard of stevia, but it doesn't come in ready made products from what I could find.

Well, to get the 'good stuff', stevia, takes more work. It's available at Fruitful yields. I think there are books specifically made to bake with Stevia. The more ppl use it, the more attention it will get and maybe be in ready-made foods.

I use Equal..yes, I said it...aspartame! First aspartame is bad for you, then saccharin, then something else. As far as I'm concerned all the competing companies market these rumors to villanize the others product.

My doctor recommended Equal when I was pregnant for the onset of gestational diabetes and I trust that opinion more than any other out there without supported valid documentation.

Its not a question if they are bad for you, because they are. Its a question of how bad. Not very bad in my opinion, everything you do in life is a balance of risk. If aspartame is converted to formeldahyde after digestion, it depends on factors like how much formeldahyde is produced, and at what level does it become unsafe. Same with splenda and how it converts to chlorine. Splenda is 600X sweeter than sugar, so how much splenda do you actually ingest to give the desired sweet effect. Not very much. And you can actually drink bleach and it won't kill you. But thats getting off topic. Anything can be bad for you. Sugar kills daily through obesity and diabetes. But many people would rather die from a natural food like sugar than taking a risk on a relatively new product to society. The effects of new things are often not realized for decades. Just like breast cancer cases multiplied in the 21st century, and they try to think of all kind of reasons why cancers increase. Hello? Look at how polluted the world is today that we live in. But back to the synthetic sweeteners. Saccharin was banned by the us goverment because it was considered a known carcinogen when tested on mice/rats. But does it cause cancer in people? Who knows. The only difference between sugar and the synthetic sweeteners is, the risks of sugar are well known while the risks of the others are not. And its the unknown that scares people.

Well said...AMEN!

Sure its only 25-50 cals but what about the bad carbs that are going to turn into fat.

I dont have any "prefered" sweetener, but I do use Splenda. However, I have gotten so sick of the after taste that I drink my coffee straight black out of the dripper.