I am convinced that having TOO MANY CHOICES available for everything from toothpaste to televisions may cause: a) headaches, b) discontent, c) insatiable wants, d) inability to distinguish NEEDS from previously-mentioned wants, e) agitation, f) irritation, g) traffic, h) the rising cost of gas, i) ADD and ADHD in children AND adults, j) Marie Osmond’s choice of costume last night, j) and general twitchiness.
Are FIVE sweetener alternatives really necessary? Refined sugar, turbinado sugar, Sweet’N Low, Equal and Splenda. And in case you were worried, they’re ALL "safe":
Refined sugar: "Following FDA’s 1988 affirmation that sugar was Generally Recognized As
Safe (GRAS), several major nutrition policy statements accepted and
incorporated FDA’s conclusions."Turbinado sugar (marketed as "Sugar in the Raw"): "…is safe for people with celiac disease…." (but not recommended for diabetics).
Sweet’N Low: "We are pleased that the National Toxicology Program is removing
saccharin from its list of cancer-causing substances. This announcement
supports what we have known all along: saccharin is safe for human
consumption," said Marvin Eisenstadt, president of Cumberland Packing
Corp."Equal: "The sweetening ingredient….aspartame…is composed of two amino acids (the building blocks of protein)." See? It’s H.E.A.L.T.H.Y. "…In the body, aspartame breaks down into the amino acids aspartic acid and phenylalanine…[and] recognizes and uses these components in exactly the same way, whether they come from aspartame or common foods…. Leading health authorities including the American Medical Association, the American Dietetic Association and the American Diabetes Association have also recognized aspartame’s safety."
Splenda: "The company is extremely proud of the strong clinical database that supports the safety of sucralose…"
GREAT, I WASN’T concerned, but after surfing their websites my thorough investigative reporting–and EVERY one of their sites touting their safety–maybe I’ll make the switch to Agava after all….
Postscript: And this, ladies and gentlemen, is WHY I have unfinished projects in the house–what began as a simple, BRIEF, PHOTO POST about exce
ssive choice, morphed into a diatribe on sugar and its derivatives.
Raise your hand if you think I should rename my blog "Bunny Trails"…….
** s i g h **
Photo credit: Ele M
Oh I absolutely LOVE your blog as it is but that bunny tail is cute!
I don’t care what they say, anything but real sugar gives me migraines.
Cute picture, is it meant to be a metaphor for your attention span?
😉
Ugh, caught them word verif. out of the corner of my eye as I clicked the “x” to close the window.
What I said was…we use stevia or organic sugar.
Too funny – we had this discussion last night at my weight loss group!
Need vs. want – we need food, clothing, shelter, and love. EVERYTHING else is a want. I have this discussion in every toy aisle in every store in every town!
I only use REAL sugar – it’s only 10 calories per tsp. The rest of that stuff was made in a lab somewhere – kind of scary to me.
You crack me up. I like your bunny trails!
Im with Lisa. Sacchrin raises my blood pressure, safe or not. Either eat real sugar or go without, that is much safer.
I think you have so many unfinished projects because you spend all your time at Swampy’s trying to identify everything in her house.
I will stick to sugar for two reasons. First, artificial sweeteners taste bad. Second, I had a condition Erythematosis nodosum that was a result of drinking sodas with fake sugar (cyclamates).
Oh my goodness, you’re even amusing through my misreading. I read “chores” instead of “choices” and spent a good five minutes trying to figure out exactly what chores you have that involve toothpaste (beside brushing your teeth, obviously).
I kinda like chores as your title. You crack me up chicky! (Oh and I’m with Karmyn on the real sugar- I’ve learned WAY too much about how the fake stuff is “made”.)
OK, sweet-sweet chicka ! The shoe box will be on its way next weeka. I have had to made an emergency trip to OK and won’t be home until Monday. Someone needs to tell sweet-sweet Melissa in NZ she won, too. Oh, and by the way, did you notice that “MY VEHICLE” was nowhere to be seen? Giggle Giggle.
Very funny, I am going to have to watch this dancing thing just because I have heard so much about Maire Osmond, I need to see this for myself.
Yeah for real sugar!
What? You need sugar to be sweet? And, here I am thinking you’re that way au natural. ;P
As for Marie, though I like her as a person, during that performance I kept thinking of a CSI title “Dead Doll” (good episode, btw)
Great post – the choices sometimes make me absolutely insane! I think cold medicine is one of the most annoying.
As to Bunny Trails . . . nah, I don’t think so. #1 – people would wonder where Pensieve went, and it’s such a great name & story behind it. #2 – it’s the name of my blog and since you have greater bloggy popularity, my half dozen readers wouldn’t show up any more once they found you. LOL! But I have noticed that a lot of other bloggers wander out onto the Trail with me. 😀
Dear robin. I have the perfect antidote. Move to Ukraine. The only thing you’ll have ‘too much choice’ about is vodka, beer and cigarettes.
Just close my eyes and point. I prefer sugar, but haven’t tried the agava
I’m with you on the choice thing. I remember when my partner first came to the States when we were still living there. Going to Subway drove her crazy – she wanted to say “Just give me a f**king sandwich!!” There is such a thing as too much choice!
Came for your WW shot, but this was more fun!
I say unless you’re diabetic, stick to the real stuff…sugar!! If you don’t want that, you could always go with Stevia too!!
Aww, bunny!
That whole Marie Osmond free-style dance was scary. SO glad Helio won as I predicted!
Lisa, Thank you!
‘Nother Lisa, the answer to your question? No, but yes it could be :).
Robinella…I forgot about Stevia (but I’ve never seen it…).
Sandy, my husband is the world’s best as distinguishing between the two.
Karmyn, I know….yikes! But I still use Splenda :/.
Thanks, NJ Robin!
Karisma, can you imagine not sweetening with SOMETHING? What a B&W world it would be!
WT, so what are you saying?
Yikes, Molly!!
Simply Jenn, 🙂 and your COMMENT cracked me up!
Swampy, yes, I noticed, thankyewverymuch!
Alix, it’s like watching a train wreck (that dance, I mean)…you can’t take your eyes off!
Pear Lady, weeeell, I don’t exactly melt in the rain ;).
Oh, Dianne, is that a back-handed compliment? lol
Dear Little Miss Moi, well 2 out of 3 ain’t bad (okay, I’m j/k, but it fit so well!).
Pamela, My FIL swears by it.
Chris, well, I’m all about the fun!
Jana, ME TOO ME TOO!