Can I use splenda instead of sugar???

Im sure this has been discussed here many times, but as a newb, my search results were very overwhelming....

I am trying out some fruit wine-making...Can I substitute the sugar with splenda???

Not if you want it to ferment, splenda won't be able to be used by the yeast. I have heard of people using it to sweeten after fermentation.

As a back sweetener, yes.

Welcome to HBT!

thanks for the welcome!

so, I guess Splenda is out of the question.....

It seems alot of the fruit based wines require ALOT of sugar. What are some wines I could make (and recipes) that are a bit "healthier"?

You won't be consuming any of that sugar, it is fermented by the yeast, that's where the alcohol comes from. More sugar doesn't make it sweeter, it makes more alcohol.

Correct, that sugar gets broken down and converted into co2 and alcohol

You will be amazed at just how little sugar can be in a fully fermented to dry wine.
Almost undrinkable (to some).

ah yes. I should have known this. thanks so much! total newb here! ha ha.

A dry wine will only have 2 grams per liter of residual sugar and even a sweet dessert wine will be less than an ounce per bottle.

I dont even use splenda to backsweeten...(for heath reasons) but especially since it has been found that it CANT be broken down even in our water supply. Its now found in rivers, lakes....

Nomadic_Joel said:

I dont even use splenda to backsweeten...(for heath reasons) but especially since it has been found that it CANT be broken down even in our water supply. Its now found in rivers, lakes....

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Just because something is found doesn't necessarily mean it's doing damage to the environment. There are all kinds of chemicals and metals that get into water sources and either settle out, are absorbed and stored by plants, or remain in low enough concentrations that there's no measurable negative effects.

As far as health reasons, I haven't seen any reputable sources saying that sucralose is dangerous or harmful to humans in any reasonable amounts (a pound of sugar a day will mess you up pretty bad, so will excess water or vitamins/salts/metals that are otherwise considered essential for our bodies, so I'm not too shaken by studies that give rats and mice insane amounts of it and then say it's messing up their DNA or pancreas, or whatever). A packet or two worth of Splenda here and there, or even daily, isn't likely to shorten your life by much more than it takes to consume it.

I don't mean to jump on anyone's back here, but there's so much pseudoscience out there demonizing artificial sweeteners and things like that and it bugs me. Comparing Splenda to DDT is ridiculous, and yes, it's been done.

It reminds me of this silliness:

BEER HAS EVERYTHING???

According to this all of us beer drinkers are really just pot heads without cotton mouth


If there's any good evidence to show me a different reality (about sweeteners, not the link, ) then I'd appreciate it being brought to my attention.

-BB

Thank you BB, I'm with you all the way.

Sigh, I did not realize such a small opinion would make people so passionate about sugar. Please allow me to rephrase my quote:

"I dont even use splenda to backsweeten...(for heath reasons) --Because I am a severe diabetic"
**Sugar is something I have to know, and its something I feel well read on.

With regards to the water supply, I am not talking about minute traces. Recently the Canadian health agency has began a watch on 3 water sources on these "sucralose" sugars that dont break down. I do not know about you, but I think people should have a choice about consuming a sugar that is making it past our water filtration plants.

In the end I am not going to start quoting peer reviewed journals, as my original comment was more along the lines of "Hey, if you can use natural sugar why not?" The original question was if Splenda could be used for backsweetening....I feel the thread covered all the main points and gave balanced points of view.

This is what forums are for!

Nomadic_Joel said:

In the end I am not going to start quoting peer reviewed journals...

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Those same peer reviewed journals you are referencing are the same ones that change their minds on EVERYTHING more often than some people change socks. Aspartame was once thought of by those journals to be the best invention ever. Then it was "proven" to be a killer chemical. Then those claims were "proven" to be false. Now, it's been revised to it's fine in small doses but not on a reguar basis... There is never a clear cut idea with them.

Those same journals can also turn out very accurate reports and studies that prove all sorts of things are dangerous (water, vitamin C, iron). I put little stock in these journals making claims of unsafe products because while I believe their findings to be technically true, the usefulness of the studies is nil due to the perposterousness of the test amounts used.

Nomadic_Joel said:

I do not know about you, but I think people should have a choice about consuming a sugar that is making it past our water filtration plants.

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I work for the guys that make Splenda, and actually make my living doing stability tests on it.

The fact that your body doesn't absorb it or break it down is the cool part. It just goes right through you. Other artificial sweeteners can break down inside of you or bioaccumulate.

As far as making it past filtration plants, most things make it out. For the most part all they care about filtering out is solids and organic wastes. If they were in the business of filtering chemicals from the water it wouldn't be illegal to flush heavy metals down the drain. I would be much more concerned about the estrogen in our water supply from all of the women on birth control pills. As far as water the local utility supplies to your home, sucralose can be removed fairly easily.

Guys, I am here to tell you personally, too much splenda can be a bad thing for certain individuals. A little bit probably okay, but I overdid it on a low carb diet for several months. Now if I even have one drink with splenda I get severe cramps, and have to spend the next 6 hours in the bathroom. There is a reason Diet Coke pulled it. But I know many people who have used occasionally with no issues. Make up your own mind, but don't insult those of us who are trying to warn you by calling us lunatics.

The splenda-like stuff they are quietly mixing with stevia might be a better option because it is chemically not as harsh on the body supposedly. I tried it once with no ill effects. and no, I don't work for any companies and yes I still drink nutrasweet and sacharain and evil white sugar.

I'm not saying people have to use anything or should never use another thing, and I'm not saying that any single article is going to change anyone's mind, and while even credible science can be wrong or go back and forth, I'm just saying I haven't seen any credible sources say that Splenda (or most other widely used artificial sweeteners) are dangerous in average amounts for average people.

For diabetics and people with allergies/intolerances or other conditions obviously there could be a very different situation based on how these things get metabolized.

I don't even consume very much of this stuff (I write as I drink a Seirra Mist I just realized is diet ) because I'm not big on the flavor of most of them, but I guess I've just gotten one too many dirty looks from people who are lunatics about this stuff while sipping an occasional diet soda and just wanted to throw down my two cents on the matter (since that's what forums are for )


And yeah, there are some things in my own local drinking water that I'm more concerned about than splenda that have also gone through people and come out the other end...Culligan FTW!


Oh, and the stevia thing is interesting to me, I've actually never tried it, but I think it's funny that some of the same people (I'm speaking personally here, about people I know) who frown on artificial sweeteners are so ready to grab onto this "natural" sweetener when there's also been supposed evidence (not conclusive or genuinely convincing from what I understand, kind of like that for artificial sweeteners) that it may actually have some damaging effects itself.

So what does all of this tell us?

Stay home, don't eat or drink ANYTHING, and don't believe what ANYONE says EVER!!!!!!!

BTW, just because I write a long winded rant-like post doesn't mean I'm getting all worked up or anything, I just like to hear myself type I'm going to go finish my diet soda now.

-BB

Welcome to Sugartalk.com

I just don't understand why so many people think so many things need so much sweetener of any type. Most manufactured food is so sweet I just cannot eat it anymore. Then again, I love salt and think everything is undersalted, where most people think the other way. Confusing!

rmchair said:

Guys, I am here to tell you personally, too much splenda can be a bad thing for certain individuals. A little bit probably okay, but I overdid it on a low carb diet for several months. Now if I even have one drink with splenda I get severe cramps, and have to spend the next 6 hours in the bathroom. There is a reason Diet Coke pulled it. But I know many people who have used occasionally with no issues. Make up your own mind, but don't insult those of us who are trying to warn you by calling us lunatics.

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Not trying to insult you or anything, but personal anecdotes are generally regarded at the worst kind of scientific evidence. If it were the case that isolated events that only happen under certain circumstances made people shy away from the things that caused them, no one would be taking ibuprofen for fear of "anal leakage."

borracho_brewer said:

Oh, and the stevia thing is interesting to me, I've actually never tried it, but I think it's funny that some of the same people (I'm speaking personally here, about people I know) who frown on artificial sweeteners are so ready to grab onto this "natural" sweetener when there's also been supposed evidence (not conclusive or genuinely convincing from what I understand, kind of like that for artificial sweeteners) that it may actually have some damaging effects itself.

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Whatever man, if it's natural it must be good. Like, you know, Belladonna, dart frogs and poison sumac.

ok. Enough. The topic is "can I use Splenda instead of sugar??" All off topic posts will be removed.

No one needs to have a debate on the health benefits, or the half-life. Take it somewhere else.

Sorry, going with mod order here.