Splenda Vs. Agave -- YIKES!

[CountryNaturals]

We made the switch from sugar to Splenda cuz we thought it was a healthy alternative, would help with weight loss, and Bob has just been diagnosed with high blood sugar. Today he was talking to a store owner who is also a nutritionist. She had shocking things to say about Splenda. She said the reason it works is because the sugar molecules are are stripped down, then bombarded with chlorine that's supposed to be thrown off by our bodies. 

She recommended agave instead as a sweetener. She sold us some. It's more like honey than anything else, but milder. It's very expensive and messy, but seems to have other health benefits, including being "diabetic friendly" and beneficial to the intestines. Anybody have any experience with agave?

[FroggysPad]

We made the switch from sugar to Splenda cuz we thought it was a healthy alternative, would help with weight loss, and Bob has just been diagnosed with high blood sugar. Today he was talking to a store owner who is also a nutritionist. She had shocking things to say about Splenda. She said the reason it works is because the sugar molecules are are stripped down, then bombarded with chlorine that's supposed to be thrown off by our bodies. 

She recommended agave instead as a sweetener. She sold us some. It's more like honey than anything else, but milder. It's very expensive and messy, but seems to have other health benefits, including being "diabetic friendly" and beneficial to the intestines. Anybody have any experience with agave?

I've heard of it.
I use Stevia which is supposed to be more "system friendly" than splenda.  It's a powder in little packets just like the other artificial sweeteners, but costs a little more --- but not all that much.
You might want to ask the nutritionist about Stevia.

[philipt410]

Oh, every sugar supplement they come out with, they find something that may or may not do something to the human body. Equal was said to effect the memory, never bothered me in the....... what were we talking about.....

[CountryNaturals]

Oh, every sugar supplement they come out with, they find something that may or may not do something to the human body. Equal was said to effect the memory, never bothered me in the....... what were we talking about.....

 

[CountryNaturals]

I've heard of it.
I use Stevia which is supposed to be more "system friendly" than splenda.  It's a powder in little packets just like the other artificial sweeteners, but costs a little more --- but not all that much.
You might want to ask the nutritionist about Stevia.

We tried Stevia years ago. It was supposed to be several times sweeter than sugar. We didn't like it. I don't think it's artificial, however. I think it's an herb or some kind of plant. Anyway, I think the problem was that it was misrepresented to us back then.

We tried the agave in our coffee this morning and we really liked it. Instead of fighting with the coffee, like Splenda, it seems to enhance the flavor, so we don't mind using less.

I'm gonna do some more research. I'll see if I can find some comparisons to Stevia. One thing fer shure -- it's messier, cuz it's a syrup, not a powder.

[CountryNaturals]

I sent this question to everyone I know who's into healthy living. One of my friends sent back this very helpful response, so I'm sharing it, here.

Here's what I know about Splenda.  When it was first invented in the early eighties and written up in Scientific American, it was called "the left-handed sugar that had almost no calories" because they replaced Hydrogen-Oxygen atoms with 3 Chlorine atoms (most commonly found in table salt). 
 
You wouldn't drink liquid Hydrogen, and you wouldn't drink Chlorine either but we all breathe oxygen, drink water, and eat salt -- none of them are harmful unless the proportions are out of bounds.  We have to remember we're talking about ATOMS -- not market product names.  Her explanation of Splenda sounds like she left you with the thought of pool chlorine added to your sugar to remove the calories.  That's really NOT correct.  But it sure did a great job of selling you the expensive alternative her store promotes.
 
Now -- Agave is a plant primarily grown in Mexico.  Agave nectar (or Agave Syrup Natural Sweetner products) is manufactured in Mexico, considered sweeter than honey, and used as an alternative.  You can Google Agave Nectar get a whole list of marketers and their prices.  It's a pricey product that relies on the fad factor to build a market.  When they can produce quarts of Aloe (the other plant product from desert succulents) by the gallon on the cheap, it's hard to understand what justifies the prices for Agave except that it's new and marketed to people who are generally WILLING to pay more.
 
Another one you might look into is Stevia -- also more pricey than Splenda.  Google it for more info.  But keep in mind the American Diabetes Association has a lot of recipes that call for Splenda (  http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/recipes/ ) and if there was a health risk in how it's made, they'd recommend something else.  They do sometimes use powdered sugar as a garnish, even when Splenda is in the recipe.

[FroggysPad]

SUPER info Suz ------ Thank your friend for letting you share that with us.

[Riley]

Yeah  Thanks so much!!!