Free Glide

Splenda is a zero calorie sugar alternative in those little yellow packets that’s been manufactured since the mid 1990s. Splenda is made from a chemical process that is created from the chlorination of normal sugar. Spleda is a sugar that has been chemically adapted. Splenda has enjoyed a broad rise in popularity, and many people find it sweeter than any other artificial sweetener.

Between 2000 and 2004, the percentage of households in the U.S. using Splenda grew from 3 to 20 percent. Splenda sales surpassed $177 million in a recent year during which there were only $62 million in sales for the aspartame-based sweetener Equal and $52 million in sales for the saccharin-based Sweet ‘N Low.

Many Splenda users have complained of adverse reactions to the artificial sweetener. The most reported Splenda side effects include bloating, headache, diarrhea, constipation, fatigue and nausea. The company that makes Splenda, McNeil Nutritionals, says that Splenda has prevailed in some of the most strict food trials on record for any food additive. McNeil says that over 100 such studies have been conducted on Splenda. Most of these studies were done on animals, thereby casting doubt on the safety report for humans.