Can you really be Splenda-intolerant?

The first 4 days I had no splenda at all. I don't really like fake sugars anyway, and I was really trying to detox w/o making any fake sweet things.

Well, the last 2 nights I have experimented and made a tiny amount of something "sweetish" to try. By tiny amount I mean I used less than 1 tsp of granular Splenda each time.

Both times, I ended up with a stomachache about a half-hour later. Both times, I had cravings the rest of the night (not that I indulged, but...).

Is this something I will not be able to eat? Will I just not be able to have Splenda for a while and then try it again?

The prospect of never being able to make a sf dessert kinda stinks. But if that's what it takes, I can accept it.

Thoughts?

Kimberly

[Peytonn]

I think you can.... I'm not the pro here... but I definately think we all respond to things in different ways....

I've learned my lesson about some 'fake' sweets.... I tried the York no sugar peppermint patties... there's some stuff like lactitol in there... there's a warning about the potential for diahrrea in some people...

but my GOD I thought I'd die... I had the most painful bloated gas I've ever had in my LIFE... I was literally in tears.. and couldn't bear to move... I couldn't lay down nor sit up.... I was frantically (at one point) scrambling the cabinets for Gas-X, tagamet, etc... finally settled for plain old TUMS (yes I know they have sugar.. at that point I didn't car)....

it was the most painful thing I've ever had from food..

SO.. I've gotten much more 'leary' of the different sweetners.....

so.... if YOu don't like the effect Splenda has on you.... then ditch it... you are also allowed saccharin (it's in the cheap stuff like sweet n low'..)... and it's legal...


good luck!

[lbrowne]

Is this something I will not be able to eat? Will I just not be able to have Splenda for a while and then try it again?

I'd suggest leaving all sweeteners alone for a while and then trying again. Right now your body is in a major mode of changing. It is possible you won't be able to tolerate Splenda, but it's also likely that at some point you might be able to.

At one point I thought I'd never be able to eat fruit again without major cravings. I continued to follow the program on extended induction and eventually, as I slowly moved up the rungs of OWL, I was able to add berries and fruits back in without the adverse reactions I had earlier.

When you do try sweeteners again, you might check into using liquid Splenda (either pure, or in sugar free Davinci and Torani syrups) and/or stevia or other options.

Cut the usage back even more. Your taste buds will change and you'll be able to get by with very little sweetener. Even cream and butter taste very sweet to me now, if I keep 'sweets' out of my diet. 1 tsp of Splenda seems like quite a bit to me now, depending on what you were using it in.

I also opt for the packets, sometimes using several packets in a large recipe, but often using less than a packet when working with smaller amounts of food. It has much less filler in it than the bags or boxes of Splenda.

Knowing that you are sensitive to artificial sweeteners, I'd highly recommend staying away from sugar free candies and bars in the stores!

~ Linda

[not2late]

We've have a couple of members here who have blood sugar instability symptoms with Splenda. We had one member who was a diabetic and demonstrated that Splenda raised her blood sugar. And we have one member who breaks out into a rash whenever she uses Splenda.

I agree with Linda. Your tastebuds do change on this WOE if you limit your sweets. I can't eat the Hienz 1 carb ketchup because it's too sweet for my tastebuds. In fact, I can't eat or drink many packaged things sweetened with Splenda or any other artificial sweetener like the sugar alcohols because they are simply too sweet for me and therefore taste horrible.

And I won't consider this a handicap to your diet either---especially if indulging in sweets was one of the reasons you're on this diet. It could be your body's way of telling you "I don't need that stuff right now!" Our bodies are really remarkable because it will reject things that are harmful or potentially harmful to us (I learned during OWL that I can't eat certain wheat products because it aggravates my asthma). So look at this as your body trying to help you lose the weight and get healthy, rather than as your body is trying to punish you.

Good stuff Megs!



I will just give up all faux-sugars for the next month or so.

[FightingTheFight]

We've have a couple of members here who have blood sugar instability symptoms with Splenda

I am also one of those people. I did a glucose test on myself after reading what you said before Not2late about only what, 85% being absorbed? Turns out my blood sugar rises then drops rapidly after ingesting it.

Gotta love cephalic insulin response.

[Finelly]

Oh, the human body is so interesting. Everyone is different. I think the advice given here is good, and it's smart of you to give it up for 4 weeks and then see.

Wanna hear my weird thing? Meat prevents me from losing pounds. I kid you not. If I eat meat, no change the next day or two. If I don't eat meat, I lose. And it has nothing to do with sodium because I don't salt meat. It just happens to be the thing that makes my body go into reject-mode.....

[2big4mysize]

I'm one of ADBBs splenda challenged members. I think there are 8 or 9 of us that can go into a craving frenzy just from eatting a splenda sweetened food because of the intense sweetness of it.

As Megs said you will be amazed at how fast your tastebuds will be resensitized and soon many of your veggies will taste sweet. I was shocked when my chicken has a sweet taste to it without any sauce or chemicals added. And cream cheese tastes like candy to me. When I post my recipes I add a note for folk to add sweetner if they chose cause i don't.

If it bothers you then for you it is taboo. I can't eat celery even though it is an acceptable induction veggie cause i know eatting it will send me on a craving binge. Keep a log of your foods and how you feel both before during and after eating and you can begin to see patternes emerge and isolate any problimatic foods.

Happy low carbing.