Splenda

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know if it is ok for toddlers to have Splenda?

[Anonymous]

imo, not enough research has been done on these artificial sweetners. we all thought saccharin was safe and then it turned out that it caused cancer. anything with splenda gives me stomach aches, too.

to each their own, though!

[Anonymous]

Splenda is probably the safest of all the artificial sweeteners. It is a derivative of sugar that is created in labs and so technically it is made from sugar which is why it tastes better in my opinion than the other sweetenters. It is heat stable and therefore you can bake with it where as the others are not. And honestly from my dietitian standpoint, unless your child has a big wt problem or has diabetes, then I wouldn’t do it as there is no reason to cut calories in a child. overwt isn’t even a reason to cut calories, we just try to alter where the calories are coming from.

[Anonymous]

Actually stevia is the safest. It is a natural sweatner and the only one that does not raise your insulin levels. You can find it in health food stores. Also you don’t have to use as much of it as you do sugar.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, I am definitely not using this as a substitute but have noticed lately a lot more products on the market that contain it such as reduced sugar cereals, puddings and the like so I was just wondering.

I have given him very small amounts of Crystal Light though. I thought it had Splenda but when I looked last night, it actually has phenylalanine (aspartame). He already gets this in his Prevacid Solutabs but I don’t think I will give him the Crystal Light anymore. I am sure it is safe in small amounts but I am more worried about the stomach effects. He did have more gas last night. I hate this though because of the reflux, we don’t do orange juice but he thought he was getting OJ since I was giving him the orange flavor.

Mom2Seth2007-6-20 9:11:47

[Anonymous]

Tiffany,

Have you thought about Tang or Sunny D. I don’t know what they contain juice wise, but they both have the orange flavor and I think they don’t have the same acid content as OJ. I don’t like OJ or anything orange flavored so I don’t really care for them but I know plenty of people that do. It might be worth a try. Also you are right about all the products on the market that have artificial sweeteners. They are so prevalent b/c of all the obesity now a days. Anyway, I don’t think small amounts will be that harmful. Most of the studies that have been done have been done on rats and when you translate the amounts of sweeteners they gave them into human doses it is very large amounts that are nearly impossible for any human to take in, so if you give him some and aren’t aware of it, I don’t think it will cause a problem and once he is 5yrs old or so you can probably do it regularly. We tell all of our diabetic children where I work to limit the use, but when they want sweets, you have to help them satisfy the craving without causing their blood sugars to go up. Anyway I am rambling. Sorry.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Beth, I don’t think you were rambling, I appreciate your comments!

That’s a good idea about the Tang and Sunny D- I did not think of those. I did look at some Caprisuns but they had OJ and/or pineapple concentrate so I did not know how he would do with those reflux wise. Plus, they have a lot of sugar. I’ll definitely check the others out!

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