Artificial Intellegence

A friend recently asked me what my take on Splenda was, so I figured I would share my opinion with the blogosphere, considering this is a pretty heavily debated topic lately. First of all, if you can cut out artificial sweeteners entirely, I would suggest that, but we all know I am anti-sugar above all else, so I completely understand the appeal of artificial sweeteners. I've compiled a list of what I believe are the 5 most common artificial sweeteners out and about and where I stand on the acceptability of each one.

1. Acesulfame Potassium (commonly found in diet sodas, diet syrups, sugar-free candies, etc.)
Tiny Tummy says: Red flag! Big red flag! Studies have linked this sucker to cancer. Avoid at all costs.

2. Aspartame (aka Acesulfame Potassium's evil twin; commonly found in the products mentioned above, as well as Equal)
Tiny Tummy says: Like I said, this guy is AP's evil twin and partner in crime. Companies often use a mix of the two to poison, I mean flavor, their sugar-free "diet" products. Avoid this guy like the plague as well!

3. Sucralose (commonly found in packets of splenda, as well as diet sodas, candies, etc.)
Tiny Tummy says: This one is debatable. There is no direct link between Sucralose and cancer, but there are no studies that prove it doesn't cause cancer either. Since science can't decide, neither can I. While I try to avoid it as much as possible, I am much less put off by Sucralose than the two listed above.

4. Erythritol (commonly found in many sugar-free baked goods, and stocked in market shelves for your own home baking)
Tiny Tummy says: Erythritol is a sugar alcohol which effects some people's GI's quite a bit, so if your Tiny Tummy is sensitive, I might suggest avoiding it; however, if you can tolerate, I actually don't have a problem with erythritol at all. I actually prefer the taste to most of the other sweeteners.

5. Stevia (commonly found in the baking section of supermarkets, and increasingly replacing the evil cancer causing culprits listed above in packaged products)
Tiny Tummy says: If you've read any of my other blog posts, you probably already know that Stevia is my favorite sweetener. This all natural, plant-based extract is sweet, calorie-free, and not linked to cancer. I am always impressed when I see a company switching to Stevia as their SOC (sweetener of choice!) because it is certainly mine! It's available in both powdered and liquid form also! Pin It