Your Sweetness Is My Weakness

Not to sound like that old fool Andy Rooney on 60 Minutes but, "Does anyone use real sugar anymore?"

I've been giving it some thought lately because circumstances led me to switch from my usual Sweet'N Low artificial sweetener to Equal. You see, I drink mostly iced tea at home and always buy bulk on both teabags and sweetener at the Costco.

Recently, the store I shop stopped carrying the pink one and started selling the blue one. I resisted at first - old habits die hard - and started buying smaller boxes of Sweet'N Low at the regular supermarket. Well, I was out of the sweet stuff and found myself at the Costco the other day so I bit the bullet and bought a box of 800 Equals for the first time.

Imagine my surprise to find out how much more I liked it! Equal kicks Sweet'N Low's ass!!!!! Praise Allah!!

But wait! if I was so wrong about Sweet'N Low's superiority over Equal, what do I make of the Splenda? I know people (and relatives) who swear by the yellow packets. So what to do?

Help me out, dear readers. What is the best artificial sweetener and why? Are any of them healthier than the others? Are they all about the same calories? Are there any other reasons to use one over the other? Please discuss.
 

Comments

[Stacey]

I use real sugar or honey on some things, but I drink my tea unsweetened.

Saccharin's fine for me, but aspertame and splenda wreak havoc with my g.i. system.

[Tracy]

Splenda rules! No aftertaste.

[LiLa]

I like to swing both ways, but I always go back to the pink!

[alisa]

the pink stuff ruins a good cup of coffee like nobody's business. of the three, splenda has the least aftertaste.

[Edmund F]

As bad as I eat I refuse to use cancer packs.

[Karen Haynes]

Bean, Its all about Stevia. Its an ALL NATURAL sweetener and its great! It only takes a little bit to sweet and its completely natural and healthy for you. Try it. You can get it at trader joes or in any health/nutrition site/ catalog.

[Raul]

Don't use artificial as I go for the natural sugar rush but I hear Splenda is the best

[Christina]

Sorry, can't help you here. I am a turbinado (sugar in the raw) kind of gal. Good luck!

[Ana]

Pink stuff for Ice Tea,
blue stuff for coffee,
no yellow stuff (but I will use it, if there is nothing else) and, finally, I use agave nectar (it's actually pretty good) for hot tea.

[bruin]

shocking to hear Bean procures his teabags in "bulk"

[Heather]

Count me in the 'yellow stuff' column. My sister will only use Splenda so I bought it to have when she comes to visit. The rest, as they say, is history...

[Lucy]

Splenda all the way baby! If there's no Splenda, I'll actually use real sugar instead of the pink or blue.

[Nicole]

Splenda hands down tastewise.

I am relieved you are not eating Sweet&Low anymore- it is so bad for you. Also, I read some bad stuff about Stevia as well. Equal isn't as bad for you as Splenda, but the report I recently read said so far Splenda is not shown to be harmful because it is derived from sugar.

[Liz]

Well from working in a coffee shop for about a year, I've tasted many and i personally prefer Splenda....
antoher interesting fact i picked up is that Equal does not do well when put into Hot beverages....theres a chemical change in the "sugar" structure that ends up making your hot drink taste more bitter....i'm no scientist, but i wouldn't be surprised.

Have you tried "Sugar in the Raw"?

[Your mom]

Stevia rules! Get it at Trader Joe's

[Lisa Rocks!]

They all cause cancer. Does it matter?

[Chris Kiefer]

Splenda! My office ran out of Splenda so I tried Equal and found it gross. Sweet & Low is just okay.

[IHeartBean]

As far as the artificial sweetners go, Splenda is the best. It has the closest taste to real sugar. Give honey a try. I use it as a sugar sub often.

[phil]

splenda-

[Tammy]

I'm a pink girl in restaurants and a yellow girl at home. If blue is my only choice then I switch to water or soda- it doesn't disolve and is gross.

[Michael]

Splenda, my friend.

I have been known to search through a restaurant going from table to table looking for the yellow packet of pure sugar wonder.

[your daughter]

dad, it is 2008. we have been telling you for ages the equal is better than sweet n' low, but now it is all about the splenda. it is MADE from sugar, so it TASTES like sugar. plus, you can bake with it. whatever you say about my kitchen skills, think about the peanut butter cookies that "you" made and brought to that party a few years ago. my secret? sub splenda for the white sugar and use regular brown as called for. works every time.

[Wag]

you have issues. you should not add anything to ice tea including lemon. if you want sweet go for kool-aid, if you want lemon go for lemonade if you want ice tea go for tea straight up on the rocks.
if you must add sweet to your tea consider this; that package phony sweetner will kill you as fast if not faster than surgar. that's as bad as that fake butter junk. why not die happy and eat sugar?

[karlee]

i switched to splenda from the real stuff about 3 years ago. I did not like the pink and or the blue. what i have noticed is splenda is cup for cup like sugar, however the pink and blue are not. so a little of them goes along way, but you get that nasty aftertaste. splenda does not have that.
they are all acquired tastes though. good luck

[heather]

I like both Sugar in the Raw and Agave syrup in my tea. :)

[Jessica]

Splenda is what happens you take Equal and Sweet n Low and improve it 1000%. I often find myself stealing it at eateries I frequent, because it is so fabulous. Try only using 1 packet, it can almost be too sweet sometimes!

[juliette]

i use splenda and equal to kill the ants that wander into my kitchen. i think it's the aspertame that kills them. well, sometimes - it doesn't always work.

[Lynne_T]

All those little packets are poison, cause cancer and are contributor to dementia and memory loss. I use the natural sweetener, Stevia, found at Trader Joes or Whole Foods and Xylitol, found at Whole Foods. A little bit more expensive but healthier for you. FYI they are starting to use Stevia to sweeten Coke in Europe.

[Chris]

Agave is where its at. No funky taste and all natural. Save yourself!

[Heather]

Splenda is actually better for you because of the fact that it is Aspartame free. Although no artificial sweetner is good for you. Splenda is the lesser of the evils. I use it in my coffee and My ice tea, but will use real sugar if they don't have splenda. I've also found it doesn't have the aftertaste that the other two do.

Yellow packets all the way.

[cathy g]

i have used the pink stuff for years, i have stayed away from splenda, but with all you people speaking its wonders, i think i might have to try it in my ice tea the next time...

didn't diet coke add splenda???

[The Secret]

Don't you all know the Government has infultrated the sugar-substitute industry and combined mind-altering substances with the so-called Splenda, Equal and Sweet 'n Low? Thought you folks were smarter than that. Oh well, enjoy your cancer.

[Lisa]

I personally loved Equal until I tried Splenda and I love it! I does contain real sugar and since I am on Weight Watchers as well, if I have 4 teaspoons it amounts to 1 point whereas Equal is still 0 Points. But the taste is worth it!!

[Colleen]

Good Lord, Bean - eat the damn sugar already! At least your body knows what to make of it and how to process it. If you're worried about the calories, take a walk.

[Kelly]

Stevia! You can get it at Whole Foods, or online at http://www.sweetleaf.com

Zero Calories and its a supplement so its also good for you!

[Vive la revolution]

Many comments on sweeteners:

if you spend that much time just to choose your sugar, it makes me understand why the moderm man lacks time.

Please go on but the right question is:
are beverages just mediocre or disgusting if you need to systematicaly add sweeteners?

[dana]

doesn't Stevia adversely affect one's regularity?

i got my Something last week! it's a small (10" x 12") lime green tote. it's lined with nylon and sporting a flat bottom so it sits. my fancy new lunch sack cost me just 10 bucks and was totally worth the fun!

[dana]

sorry -- meant to also stipulate Splenda. used to use Equal. will only use Sweet'N Low if the others aren't available.

[Kevin]

oh my god.... is your life really that pathetic?

[andy bird]

Splenda rocks. Plus you can use it in baking.

[Nicole McDevitt]

Sounds like your blog needs a decider. LOL.

[gigi]

Bean--Splenda is the best tasting and the least harmful. Keep up the good work. long live the Edmund Fitzgerald

[LisaLisaLisa]

I say go for the real stuff (sugar) or Stevia.

[John]

Which artificial sweetener should you use? Easy... The one that tastes best to YOU. Asking someone else for advice on what sweetener tastes best is like asking what type of art or music is best. It's a matter of personal taste.

As for all those saying artificial sweeteners cause cancer, I think that's nonsense, and there's no conclusive evidence that has yet to prove otherwise. The testing that led to the saccharin cancer rumors in the 70's has been widely discredited due to the ridiculously high levels fed to the lab rats. The U.S. National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences has since concluded that the rat studies are not applicable to humans. You also have to consider that the powerful sugar cartels benefit from the spread of false rumors of safety problems with artificial sweeteners:

http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/bigsugar/

[Splenda Blows]

Splenda is so gross. It has a chemicalish aftertaste to me that I can't get over. Plus it makes me pee like every 5 minutes. Too much information? Sorry....

[Jerry]

Bean,
I agree that there's just something about the taste of Iced Tea with an artificial sweetener. I seriously think it enhances the flavor. Been drinking it that way for years.

[Bryan]

i've always been a fan of Equal over Splenda. Why? because blue is my favorite color. :D

[Suz]

If you buy Splenda in bulk rather than in the little packets, be aware that the bulk version has fillers in it so that it measures cup-for-cup the same as sugar (and can be subbed in baking etc). The stuff in the packets is sweeter and more concentrated, and if you were to open a ton of packets to get a cup of Splenda for a recipe, the dish would turn out way too sweet. The filler (I forget what it is, something benign) actually adds significant calories and carbs. My vote? Splenda is the least evil artificial sweetener, and the best tasting. But I still try to avoid it.

there is no evidence to support the claim that artificial sweeteners CAUSE cancer you insolent dolts. Christ. Not an advocate of the equal-industrial complex here, but check your facts before you post bull****.

[monica]

iced tea? perfect with splenda. mmmmmmm