Just keep in mind that Splenda is not good for you, especially not good for children. I use sugar in the raw. (unbleached). As long as you limit how much sugar you use, there is nothing wrong with the real, natural thing. If your children are diabetics, why not try Stevia? Artificial and chemical sweetners should really be avoided. Just google Splenda on the internet, you will be surprised. Some websites even refer to it as DDT light. Scary. We don't use syrup, we use honey on our pancakes for for dipping cooked chicken breast. At least honey has antioxidants. And they really only drink juice when at school or a friends. Here they just eat oranges/apples and drink water. I don't think Kool Aid even has any juice. Just chemicals.

The other person who replied is right, there is a lot of information on this online or from nutrionists. It's hard to know what's good to use with all this advertising and catering towards concerned moms. But Splenda is considered unsafe, particualrly for kids. This happens a lot, something is said to be safe and then slowly we find out that it's actually not good for you, or adequate testing has yet to be done. Your best bet is always to go with what nature's made, then there's no doubt. Substitute sugars are made artifically (I took nutrition courses in university), to make a molecule similar to sugar. And it's chemical structure resembles some pesticides.

Once it gets into your intestines, sucralose (splenda) goes largely unrecognized in the body so that's why it has no calories. Most people don't absorb a significant amount of Splenda in their small intestine (around 15% some say). The body tries to clear unrecognizable substances (like splenda) by digesting them, so it's possible that the healthier your gastrointestinal system is, the more you'll absorb the chlorinated molecules of Splenda. There are no long term studies (on humans) on Splenda, that's the main problem. We are being the guinea pigs for this chemical. The companies own short-term studies showed that sucralose caused shrunken thymus glands and enlarged livers and kidneys in rodents. I don't want to scare you of course, in small amounts it should be ok. Knowledge is power though, it's never too late to change... sometimes we just have to be tough, and at some point they have to eat what we give them, if that's all they get and slowly their tastes will change!

But if you need to use sugar, it's best to use sugars in their natural form (least refined possible, thus will get into your system less quickly), raw sugar cane, honey, natural maple syrup or molasses, or adding natural fruit juices or purees to sweeten. And kool-aid is full of chemicals, it's not real juice. Real all natual fruit juice, may be diluted with water, is best. Everything in moderation.

Hi,

I just wanted to clarify that Splenda is NOT safe. Yes, it goes into the lab as sugar, but comes out as something completely different. Splenda is a sugar derivative with a chlorinated base. They do compare to DDT - which is a pesticide banned in our country. We know that it messes with the thyroid, liver, and kidneys!

You should not give your kids artificial sweeteners! The only sweetener that I know of that is safe is Stevia. It is a plant that has been around for thousands of years - and never killed anyone....

Sugar in moderation is much better than aspartame and splenda (sucralose).

I hope that helps!
Tricia

Yeah! I loved your detailed response. It explained it all. Hopefully people will start catching on that the Splenda commercials are only hype and no truth! Would you really give you kids a dose of ddt in their juice or cereal if you knew??

take care-
Tricia

All those chemicals scare me. Why does milk have to be chocolate anyway? What's wrong with enjoying it in the natural state? Try 100% juice with no sugar added instead of the kool aid - yeah it will have more calories but it will contain good stuff too and not weird chemicals. Tropicana makes a fruit drink that is really great - it's mostly water with a splash of fruit but it's more fruity tasting than regular flavored water. It's only 10 calories per serving (20 per bottle) and contains no sweeteners.

Agave nectar or honey make good alternatives to sugar in some things. I always use honey to sweeten iced tea and you can use much less than sugar, it has a lower glycemic index (less hyper-inducing for the kids) and it's supposed to help with allergies. For the occasional soda treat I like Jones Kiwi because its caffeine free and they use all natural cane sugar instead of that high fructose crap or fake chemicals. Not a health drink but a can of it once every week or two is fine. For pancakes I like the real true maple syrup and just use a little bit because it really goes a lot farther than that fake stuff does.

But again, I would be really really wary of feeding my kids those low cal sweeteners.

I just looked up the Tropicana Fruit Squeeze - the water drink with a splash of juice - and was disappointed to see that it has sucralose as the sweetening ingredient also. My youngest won't drink plain water so it's hard to find beverages she'll drink besides milk and juice. I'd like a calorie free or low calorie beverage since she otherwise would just drink all her calories if I let her!

How much food do your children eat? ....I am talking about a 2 year old or 3 1/2 year old?
My daughter does not seem to understand that children "snack" ABOUT ALL DAY.
She thinks they should eat at meals (3 x a day) and then gives them chips or something as she has during the day but says they aren't that hungry. when they are at my house they are eating most of the day....I give them yogurt and other such good snacks...like
carrots, apples, cucumber, tomatoes, etc.
What can I do to convince her? These babies are hungry!

Have you ever tried a healthy dark chocolate from saratoga peanut butter company? Oh man it is really, really healthy and with a rasberry jam it makes a healthy sandwich that will blow your kids away. They also have a maple peanut butter. Do that with thin sliced apples on toast for as snack. This stuff is so yummy. NO MORE JIFF OR SKIPPY!

I have 3 daughters one with some heallth issues. I have always tried to feed them healthy foods and avoid the processed/colored foods. I've just thought its just some advertising gimmick. EX. Blue food not w/bluberries. I however had one vice Diet Pepsi. After consuming up to 5 a day( way too much I know) I had brain fog, memory problems, hair loss, weight gain, fatigue, etc. Look up any thyroid symptom I had it. I have since kicked the habit and the symptoms disappeared. I would say I strongly craved the caffeine as well as the other chemicals. They should call it Diet Crack ! Now I drink water and if I want something different I drink Green Tea w/ Stevia. Stevia is all natural but does have some appetite suppressent qualities. Great for most of us but not for little kids that don't eat much anyway. The Native people of South America have chewed on the Stevia leaves for years to stave off hunger while hunting. As seen on the Discovery Channel. If your kids like the fruit flavor of syrups Polaner makes fruit spreads still sugary but with more fruit than jelly or jam. Just say NO- to Sacharrin, Equal, Sweet-N-Low, Splenda!!

OMG! You are definitly not doing the right thing!!!

It's better for your kids to eat real sugar any day!! Why are you putting these artificial stuff in your child's bodies..you are doing more damage to them.

Everything in moderation is the best rule...I think it's very ignorant to do what you are doing....

If you give them choc milk get it from Trader Joe's they have an organic one
as for drinks, Target carries a low sugar fruit pouch called " healthy kids" it's ok to give kids juice as long as it's only 4 to 6 oz a day. they should be drinking water and milk the rest of the time. you can always use Smucker's low sugar jam, it has just little sugar in it and nothing artificial..if you want to feed them Yogurt..get the Wallabys' aussie organic yogurt which has only 14 to 15 grams of sugar.

I think you need to read lables..anything that says..High fructose corn syrup or partially hydrogenated oils (palm oil) or it says autolyzed oils or trans fat it's not good for you..always look for labels that say made from butter and also labels that has at least 4 grams of fiber...

Read labels...it helps...

As a diabetic, I can testify, that artificial sweeteners, and sugary foods make you want more. They don't seem to ever satisfy the initial craving, because it wasn't for something sweet after all! Anyway, thanks for the tip on the honey in the iced tea. I will try it for sure. How much do you use for, say, 1 or 2 quarts?