Emotion Collision: Sugar that is not Sugar

Sugar that is not Sugar

An ice cream company dropped off a cooler full of their new ice cream featuring Splenda. Splenda is this new sugar substitute that "tastes more like sugar because it's made from sugar". Supposedly, they alter sugar so it no longer looks like something the body wants to consume so it goes straight out of the system. According to one of my co-workers, it's all the Rage among the Atikins diet people.

To be honest, it didn't taste that bad. It still tasted slightly off compared to the equivalent sugar versions, but definitely acceptable. However, I'm going to pass on it...why bother if you can get the real thing and not worry about the potential side effects?

Your Insatiable One ~ 2002.08.15 14:40 PM

On August 15, 2002 4:00 PM, vince said

I've had the Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate made with Splenda (didn't even realize it at the time), and it was pretty good. No anal leakage as far as I know.

On August 19, 2002 9:47 AM, cardiac avenger said

Splenda is a formulation of Sucralose, which is just L-sucrose. L-sucrose lights up the tastebud sweet receptors (at a potency of 1000x, actually), but does not bind with digestive enzymes which actually care about the handedness and are thus looking for R-sucrose only (good ol' sugar to you and me).

No anal leakage. No funny effects. Just better living through stereochemistry.

On August 19, 2002 2:09 PM, vince said

I had some Splenda-rific Diet RC the other day. The one thing I would say for the taste - it reminds me of powdered sugar. Not bad, necessarily, just different.

And much better than anything with NutraSweet, which gives me headaches.

On August 19, 2002 7:01 PM, Your Insatiable One said

Hmm...perhaps I should investigate this Splenda further then. Never hurts to cut out a few more calories.

On June 23, 2004 6:50 PM, Siggy said

Actually, Splenda is NOT L-sucrose... it is normal sugar with 3 O-H groups replaced by Cl atoms.

There is an L-sucrose. About 10-15 years ago I remember reading about there being high hopes of it being exactly like sugar but without the calories (since the enzymes couldn't digest it) but I have been unable to track down any more recent mentions of it. It may have been too expensive to make, it may not have worked with our taste buds the way R-sucrose does or it may simply have been sweet, cheap, low-calorie and poisonous.