The artificial sweetener war...at Walmart.

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 1:54 am

I've been using artificial sweeteners of various brands for several years, ever since I contracted Diabetes. I guess I tried every brand I could find (can't drink black coffee). I settled on Splenda......the most expensive, but the one that tastes best. Well the other day at Walmart, I found a new brand......Altern. Suspiciously it is packaged very similar to Splenda, contains the same chemicals, and most of all tastes exactly the same.

No wonder.....it is Splenda. Apparently Walmart is obtaining the stuff from the same plant that makes Splenda, at least at the beginning of this affair. Lately there is speculation Walmart is now getting the stuff from China. Of course there were threats of law-suits flying around, and Altern was removed from Walmart for a while......but now it's back at some stores anyway.

It's worth a try if you use artificial/lo-cal sweeteners. It costs about 1/3 less than Splenda......you can't tell any difference.

One of many Google links

tehfire · Post by **tehfire** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 6:05 am

Just a question...

I remember the Splenda commercials from a while back. They said that it isn't sugar, but it tastes like sugar because it's made from sugar...WTF?

What's it made out of?

jharne · Post by **jharne** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 6:27 am

tehfire wrote:Just a question...

I remember the Splenda commercials from a while back. They said that it isn't sugar, but it tastes like sugar because it's made from sugar...WTF?

What's it made out of?

Yeah the sugar industry isn't so happy about that.
http://www.truthaboutsplenda.com/ (FUD warning)
Basically it's a chemical like sugar, but saying it's made from sugar is stretching it a bit.

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 6:35 am

My wife uses Splenda and I noticed that one of our grocery chain stores ("Albertsons") has a plain-wrap version of Splenda for sale. It may be the same stuff that Wally World is selling.

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 7:20 am

Splenda starts off as plain sugar.....but then under-goes so many chemical changes, it's not really sugar any more. The sugar industry is mad at Splenda, and Splenda is mad at other products that apparently duplicate the Splenda mfg process, which does have a few expired patents. Walmart is big enough to practically ignore the on-going sweetener wars, and just sell whatever they want.

Beyonder · Post by **Beyonder** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 10:11 am

I like my coffee thick and black. Gritty sludge at the bottom is icing on the cake. Sugar is for sissies.

Max Slowik · Post by **Max Slowik** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 3:49 pm

Basically it's a chemical like sugar, but saying it's made from sugar is stretching it a bit.

It is made from sugar. Sugar is an easily-digested disaccharide that is broken down at the hydroxyl and monosaccharide groups, to release its energy. Splenda is made by processing the hydroxyl out and replacing it with--wait, maybe the carbon is replaced, I forget, and chemistry is a fuzzy memory for me, yeah, it's the carbon that's replaced with--chlorine. That's why it weighs less, and part of the reason you can't bake with it.

Your body can't break apart the chlorine bonds, so you don't digest it. (Although an insignificant percentage of the molecules will naturally break, releasing a very tiny amount of chlorine into you. I wouldn't worry about it, you breathe in worse stuff all the time.)

Furthermore, the parts of the molecule that are interpreted by your sense of taste are identical to sugar, therefor it is impossible to taste any difference between Splenda and sugar, all by itself. However, the bacteria and yeasts in your mouth also can't digest Splenda, which means that you don't taste the bacteria's waste; if Splenda tastes different it is literally because it doesn't come with the delicious flavor of microorganism shit.

Another note for some diabetics is that because your body thinks it is dealing with sugar, Splenda can sometimes trigger insulin production to break down the unbreakable compound, leading to hypoglycemia.

And I like my coffee like I like my women. Quiet.

I told that one to my then-girlfriend's mom one Thanksgiving. She thought it was high-larious.

jhhoffma · Post by **jhhoffma** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 6:24 am

Sucralose = Sucrose + "al".

So it IS made from sugar!!!!

peteamer · Post by **peteamer** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 10:36 am

Bluefront wrote:I contracted Diabetes.

? .....

jharne · Post by **jharne** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 11:30 am

jhhoffma wrote:Sucralose = Sucrose + "al".

So it IS made from sugar!!!!

I think the sugar industry are more upset because of the common meaning of sugar, you can make sugars in a laboratory. I'll stand aside for Max though, as he actually sound like he knows what he's talking about.

I re-read that before I posted, I meant that as Max having a good understanding. Rather than as a slight against jhhoffma.

peteamer wrote:
Bluefront wrote:I contracted Diabetes.
? .....

Can't it be caused by vaccines?

Max Slowik · Post by **Max Slowik** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 12:37 pm

I went and checked out the Wikipedia article, because it hit me when I was about to fall asleep* that carbon weighs less than chlorine, and so what I said made no sense. I was right the first time, the hydroxyls get replaced.

In the Wikipedia article, it said that you can bake with it quite easily, so I called a baker friend of mine and he explained to me that Splenda doesn't caramelize right and tastes too sweet to use it to replace sugar 1:1, but you can use it cut back on sugar by replacing two of three parts with one.

We both agreed that making Splenda sticky buns is super-retarded, and instead of having 1,200 calories, they have, like, 950. Nothing substitutes for butter. On the flipside, there's a frozen yogurt place in Denver that makes an utterly convincing ice cream substitute with Splenda with something like 140 calories a pint. That's, like, a shitty handful of fun-size Snickers.

I mean, I'm not a healthy-food nut like so many other people in Denver. Hell, some mornings I like to stand on the sidewalk in front of my house wearing pajamas and blow smoke at the joggers, but I just can't eat a pint of ice cream anymore without feeling pretty sick for at least the rest of the day.

*I cannot be the only person to whom this occurs. My brain goes all "warm cat at feet. . .wonder if I'm going to dream about. . .wait, carbon is way the fuck up at the top of the table, chlorine is one of the middle halogens." Then I get out of bed and try to remember how moles work.

KansaKilla · Post by **KansaKilla** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 5:08 pm

Max Slowik wrote: *I cannot be the only person to whom this occurs. My brain goes all "warm cat at feet. . .wonder if I'm going to dream about. . .wait, carbon is way the fuck up at the top of the table, chlorine is one of the middle halogens." Then I get out of bed and try to remember how moles work.

I'm glad that now I have public evidence to show the matrimonial unit that I also am not the only one to which this happens.

jhhoffma · Post by **jhhoffma** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 6:24 am

jharne wrote:
jhhoffma wrote:Sucralose = Sucrose + "al".

So it IS made from sugar!!!!
I think the sugar industry are more upset because of the common meaning of sugar, you can make sugars in a laboratory. I'll stand aside for Max though, as he actually sound like he knows what he's talking about.

I re-read that before I posted, I meant that as Max having a good understanding. Rather than as a slight against jhhoffma.

PLEASE tell me you knew I was joking...it was a pun (sort of).

FYI, I am a chemist, so I'm not exactly ignorant either...

The artificial sweetener war...at Walmart.

The artificial sweetener war...at Walmart.

Re: The artificial sweetener war...at Walmart.