Slim Pickins For Splenda-Sweetened Sodas

I get flooded with e-mails about Splenda-sweetened diet sodas

There is a lot of interest by people who are livin' la vida low-carb to find a diet soda that is sweetened with sucralose, commonly known as Splenda, instead of aspartame, aka Nutrasweet. Unfortunately, the options are few and far between and are getting smaller by the minute.

One of my readers wrote to me recently about how Diet 7-Up has changed from Splenda back to aspartame without even telling anyone. This happened about six months ago, but some people are only just now noticing the change.

Here's what she wrote in the e-mail:

My Mom and I are both diabetics and we bought some Diet 7-Up to drink knowing that it has Splenda, which is safe for us, instead of aspartame. There was nothing on the bottle about the change except in the ingredients label.

My poor Mother was in bad shape for an entire day because of the violent sudden diarrhea that aspartame causes in both of us. If you could warn your readers about this, I am sure many people would be thankful.

In my diabetic class, over 90% of us have some type of reaction to aspartame ranging from stomach problems to migraines. None of us ever had any problems from Splenda.

Because of this e-mail, I thought it would be best to share a list of the Splenda-sweetened diet sodas currently available on the market. It is certainly slim pickins, but well worth looking for when you want a diet soda.

Keep in mind these Splenda-sweetened sodas are mixed with another sweetener called acesulfame potassium, aka ACE-K, to enhance the sweetness:



CAFFEINATED SPLENDA-SWEETENED DIET SODAS
Diet Coke with Splenda (12-packs only)
Pepsi One (12-packs and 2-liter bottles)



SPLENDA-SWEETENED DIET SODAS WITH NO CAFFEINE
Diet Rite, all flavors (12-packs, 2-liter bottles, 20 oz bottles)
Diet Cheerwine (12-packs, 2-liter bottles, 20 oz bottles)
Waist Watcher (12-packs, 2-liter bottles, 20 oz bottles)

You can also find many store brands that are sweetened with Splenda and ACE-K, but most of them have caffeine in them. Just read the labels carefully to avoid the ones with aspartame.

It will be difficult, but try not to buy into the highly-marketed, hyped-up diet sodas like the new energy cola Diet Pepsi Max and even Diet Pepsi Jazz or the vitamin-infused Diet Coke Plus and the ever-growing line of Coke Zero products just because they taste good with the ACE-K blend. They all contain NASTY-tame (that's my word for aspartame!) and should be absolutely avoided since there are just too many good alternatives available with very real questions about aspartame's safety still left unanswered.

Incidentally, for people who don't like the thought of using ANY artificial sweeteners, you'll be pleased to know there's a new version of Diet Coke that is tentatively going to have the plant-based all-natural sweetener stevia in it that has many of us low-carbers thrilled. Hopefully it tastes as good as the NuNaturals brand of stevia.

Coke is currently going through the process of getting FDA approval for their name for stevia--rebiana--but The Coca-Cola Company has some corporate muscle to strongarm them into acceptance. If and when this comes out, it will become my new favorite diet soda. I'm assuming this one will also be an ACE-K blend.

The diet soda market is currently dominated by NASTY-tame offerings, but hopefully that will soon begin to change. If it's a cost issue, then I know I wouldn't mind paying a little more to get Splenda in Diet Cherry Coke or Diet Mountain Dew. I'd even like to taste Splenda in Diet Barq's root beer sometime.

Why not offer a few more choices?

For low-carbers like me who love drinking diet soda, that's all we're asking for. How about it soda manufacturers?

The Verdict Is In On Diet Coke With Splenda...

A few days ago I told you about the new Diet Coke with Splenda. Ever since then I have searched and searched for this product at every store I could think of.

I went to Ingles and Publix grocery stores on Thursday, but they didn't have it and nobody knew when they would get it. I went to Eckerds and Walgreens on Friday, but they didn't have it yet either and also didn't know when they would have it. I gave up my search yesterday frustrated that I couldn't find this product I've seen advertised prominently on television just a few days ago on "American Idol."

Finally, this morning on my way to church I stopped by the local corner convenience store to see if they had it in stock and I was in luck! I asked the sales clerk how long they've had it and he said they just put it out this morning. WOW! What great timing! I asked him if he had tasted it yet and he said he had not. I told him I would give him a full report about it after my taste test. At $1.69, this 20-ounce bottle had better be worth it!

Well, the verdict is in on Diet Coke With Splenda...ME LIKE ME LIKE! As someone who used to regularly drink about 200 ounces of Coca-Cola per day before I started livin' la vida low-carb, I could not believe my taste buds when I took my first few swigs. It was just like the Coke I remembered drinking and not the nasty flavor of the aspartame-poisoned regular Diet Coke. In fact, there were a few times I felt guilty about how much I was enjoying the full flavor of this new version of Diet Coke. But it has ZERO CARBS and ZERO SUGAR and ZERO BAD SWEETENERS! Why in the world did Coca-Cola even mess with their idiotic experiment with C-2, bragging about it having half the carbs and half the sugar of a regular coke? This Diet Coke with Splenda tastes so much better!!!

The only knock I have on this new Diet Coke with Splenda is that it still has caffeine (something you try to avoid when you are on a low-carb lifestyle) and sodium (which if you are susceptible to high blood pressure can cause you some problems). Other than that, I would say this arguably the best-tasting diet soft drink on the shelves today. I'll still drink my Diet Rite and Diet Cheerwine, but I will occasionally drink Diet Coke with Splenda, too.

I hope it does well so they can expand it into their other flavors, such as cherry, vanilla and lime. AND hopefully they'll make a caffeine-free version, too.

But, as with anything on low-carb, don't overindulge on these. It's still best to drink water first and foremost. Let your diet soda be your treat after downing a gallon of water. Your body will thank you for it and you will feel absolutely fantastic!

After church, I went to BI-LO, but they didn't have it. Then I went to Wal-mart to see if they had Diet Coke With Splenda yet, but all I saw there were the 20-ounce bottles on sale for $.78. Where's the 12-pack of cans and the 2-liter bottles? Don't you hate it when companies advertise a new product but they don't get it to the stores until weeks afterwards?! I guess I'll have to be patient and wait for it to come in. I'm sure EVERYBODY will have it by the end of the month.

ENJOY and post your thoughts about Diet Coke With Splenda. I'd love to know what you think!