I've been seeing that many of you use sugar-free pudding (not regular pudding) in cake mixes when you make your cakes. For those of you who sell your cakes, I would strongly caution against doing that without providing a warning to your clients. There are MANY people who have allergies/reactions to sugar substitutes (saccharine, nutrasweet, AND splenda), and when they order a cake with sugar in it, the presumption is that there are NO sugar substitutes in it.
Just a word of caution . . . I understand why so many of you are afraid of adding the extra sugar, but there are definite adverse reactions that are possible with even the small amount of sugar substitute that comes from the pudding mix. So . . . my suggestion would be, if you SELL your cake, or are baking for people that you don't know well, either use the pudding with sugar, or warn them in advance about the sugar-free substitute. People tend to think they are safe from sugar-free substitutes in a cake full of sugar - I know I certainly would! Although, now that I've been on this forum, I will certainly think twice before I eat a cake if I don't know what is in it.
never thought about that...
but i've also never seen a sugar free pudding...wouldn't mind one for snacking....
Jello puts one out which is called Fat Free and they use Aspertame in it..never thought of it though...I don't use them very often but good to know.Thanks!
I've been seeing that many of you use sugar-free pudding (not regular pudding) in cake mixes when you make your cakes. For those of you who sell your cakes, I would strongly caution against doing that without providing a warning to your clients. There are MANY people who have allergies/reactions to sugar substitutes (saccharine, nutrasweet, AND splenda), and when they order a cake with sugar in it, the presumption is that there are NO sugar substitutes in it.
Just a word of caution . . . I understand why so many of you are afraid of adding the extra sugar, but there are definite adverse reactions that are possible with even the small amount of sugar substitute that comes from the pudding mix. So . . . my suggestion would be, if you SELL your cake, or are baking for people that you don't know well, either use the pudding with sugar, or warn them in advance about the sugar-free substitute. People tend to think they are safe from sugar-free substitutes in a cake full of sugar - I know I certainly would! Although, now that I've been on this forum, I will certainly think twice before I eat a cake if I don't know what is in it.
She's correct,
a lot of sugar substitute give people gastric disturbances also! I'm one of those!..lol
I am terribly "allergic" to aspertame (I think it's normal for a body to reject chemicals). Just a taste of it will give me extreme headaches.
A friend of mine drank diet soft drinks with aspertame while she was pregnant with two of her boys, more with one than the other. By the time she got to the third boy, she gave up on the diet drinks and went for real sugar. The two boys that she had the aspertame (Nutrasweet) with are autistic, one worse than the other (the worse one is the one who she drank more Nutrasweet with).
Coincidence? Maybe. I do know that aspertame has a negative affect on my brain, so I can imagine it had a negative affect on the babies' brains while they were growing inside her.
Give me food, not chemicals. 
Interesting comment frider.....I have an autistic child, never thought of aspartame as a culprit though. Thanks for the insight.
The aspertame/autism thing isn't a coincidence. I had to see a multiple birth specialist when I was pregnant with my twins and she was very specific about not ingesting any sort of chemical like aspertame or the other sugar substitutes because the chemicals would alter the chemical reactions occurring during development of the babies. The only substitute that is alright is splenda because it's made from suger. Anyway, the results vary from death to birth defects to alterations in brain development... all depending upon what was being formed in the fetus at the time of digestion. I read several studies on it while I was pregnant, but don't ask me where to find them because, for the life of me, I can't remember...just thought I'd share...
sugar substitutes ... alter the chemical reactions occurring during development of the babies. The only substitute that is alright is splenda because it's made from suger. .
splenda is still an "altered" sugar...
this is one of the ones that irritates my tummy!
I know I had read and heard on the radio that the chemical composition of Aspartame changes to formaldehyde at like 98 degrees. So, in fact, when you ingest it--and it reaches body temperature--it in effect becomes formaldehyde.
It's interesting, but I don't do sugar-free unless I have to. I do remember like 19 years ago when I was pregnant with my first son, the doctor told me to avoid sugar-free drinks and specifically Aspartame at all costs. Her reasoning was that no one knew what was in it!!
Just my two cents.
--Knox--
I know I had read and heard on the radio that the chemical composition of Aspartame changes to formaldehyde at like 98 degrees. So, in fact, when you ingest it--and it reaches body temperature--it in effect becomes formaldehyde.
It's interesting, but I don't do sugar-free unless I have to. I do remember like 19 years ago when I was pregnant with my first son, the doctor told me to avoid sugar-free drinks and specifically Aspartame at all costs. Her reasoning was that no one knew what was in it!!
Just my two cents.
--Knox--
Smartest thing your doctor did for you.
I trust mother nature more than I trust a chemist, and if for some reason I couldn't eat any sugar..well then...I'd surely be up a creek without a paddle.
Everything in moderation.
When people complain that my icing is too rich...(without tasting it mind you!!) I tell them..well, you are only eatting a little piece anyways..not like you're going to jam a big honking piece in your mouth..haha!
That get's them off their sugar high horse in a hurry!!!
Now you guys have got me worried. I am pregnant with my fourth and I don't normally eat sugar free anything. So I am racking my brain trying to remember if by chance I could have eaten anything sugar free earlier in my pregnancy. The only thing I can think of is sugar free gum.
Just an FYI...my doctor said that Splenda has almost the same chemical make up of chlorine, she said she would recommend her patients to drink pool water, so she would recommend them using Splenda either. I try to stay away from any artificial sweetners, the side effects are too many!
Wow. I never thought that others would have seen a similar coincidence. I wish researchers would do more on this. I know they've been reporting higher and higher instances of autism, but they haven't been able to explain it. Is the answer staring us in the face?
I found this page...
http://www.autismlifeline.com/about-autism.php
OH MY GOSH!!! How the heck is this stuff still on the shelves??? I have 2 kids...thankfully, I didn't drink or eat dietetic food while pregnant, but as a young, intelligent woman who lives in NYC and reads and watches tv....why the heck didn't I ever hear of any possible link between artificial sweeteners and birth defects????
It's very scary......
In short, adven68, the money to do research comes from 1) companies interested in profit, 2) philanthropists (who tend to focus on other things or who may have stock in the companies from 1), and 3) the researchers own pocket, which is usually not filled enough to do it properly.
I am surprised that a link seems so evident. I thought perhaps I was being a bit paranoid.
Besides all the chemical additives in our food, women are also permitted, and even told it is not a problem to take certain anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications. They are considered B ranked, which means not totally safe but not blacklisted either. (probably someone out there knows a better defination of the drug weighting for pregnancy)
Many of the SSRIs like paxil and zoloft and prozac were considered safe during pregnancy 5,6,7 years ago. Now, they are changing the ranking from B to C. So, what does a drug that changes the way your adult brain functions (on the seratonin level) do to a developing brain? Many many many women were told that prozac in particular was perfectly safe for pregnancy. That is because they only look for Birth Defects. (do you have 10 fingers) and not at neurological effects, like ADHD or autism, or other learning disabilities, etc. I bet if someone could do a study they would definately find a coorelation, because the incidence of these drugs being used has increased many times in the past 10 years.
Just my 2 cents.
geeze! i am so scared right now! i am racking up my brain thinking if i had any "sugar substitute" lately..i am just 5 weeks pregnant and we know that it is the most crucial stage... 
oh no! now i remember having 1 can of coke zero..i hope it would not affect my baby.. 
...and if aspartame is converted to formaldehyde in 98 degree temp (our body temp), then we are being preserved alive!
Congrats marj: Don't dwell on what you may have had, please don't. Just be careful from now on. Good luck! Hope your pregnancy is uneventful!
tnx lukerubyjoy! i am going to call my family and closest friends to warn them about it!..and yes, i hope this pregnancy is uneventful unlike my first one.. 
For those of you who are currently pregnant and worrying while reading these posts, I wanted to say that I ate/drank quite a few sugar-free products during all three of my pregnancies and my kids are just fine. I was personally more concerned with caffeine than sugar substitutes. I also have a diabetic friend who HAD to drink sugar free soft drinks and her kids are fine also.
I'm open to the possibility that sugar substitutes can be harmful, but remember that lots of other foods we eat can be, too. You can worry yourself sick if you're not careful.
Happy gestating!
My Dad has to have sugar substitutes for his health. I think if they were too bad for you his doctors would have had him do something different for his diet. Yes I agree that too much of anything is bad for you. So Moderation in Everything.
As for the pregnant women...my sister is pregnant right now and her doctors told her she can't have deli meats.
deli meats? Becaue of preservatives? That is a new one to me. Wow. Sometimes it is like you're damned if you do, and you're damned if you don't. I have read so many different articles I'm dizzy!!!
Yep, I've heard about deli meats, too. And hot dogs. I think it may have something to do with the nitrates and/or bacteria in them. Also, pregnant women aren't supposed to eat much canned tuna or shellfish ... too much mercury.
Here's a link to an informative article at the March of Dimes website: http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/681_1152.asp
I think the moral of the story is to avoid Frankenfoods. Eat real foods, not chemicals.
While not everyone is affected by aspertame in an obvious way, a lot of people are (like me with my headaches from it). Call it an allergy if you like, but I'd rather not find out that a baby I was carrying was sensitive to aspertame after eating/drinking a lot of it.
The doctors will warn you? No way. Do your own research and find out for yourself; it's the only way.
Either way, it's really important to disclose ingredients. I would be soooooo angry if I found out that someone had slipped a Frankenfood or chemical that I didn't want into a cake I ordered.
I think Frider's point is key here. . . I certainly did not mean to start a pregnancy panic on the website - the key here is be aware of what you are baking with, and disclose ingredients to your clients so that they can make informed choices and decisions. People can make decisions for themselves about what is/isn't appropriate for them, but only if they know what is in your cooking/baking! Certain key foods (like nut-based products) and sugar-substitutes when in otherwise apparently sugared cakes are particularly controversial and can cause reactions, some more serious than others. It is not for us to judge whether or not people SHOULD or SHOULDN'T be ingesting various foods/chemicals, or even to warn them about what we think is or isn't harmful about various chemicals. I know I have certain food allergies - I cannot have coconut based products, or sugar substitutes because I get sick - no other judgments/assumptions about whether those products are appropriate for anyone else. I merely meant to suggest that it is best to disclose when using certain foods (such as nuts, coconut oils), and chemicals (sugar substitutes) so that people do not make incorrect assumptions and get sick. We live in a society where people are not afraid to sue, and there are certain obligations to disclose about the contents/ingredients of your products. In that spirit, I highly urge people to be aware of food allergies, particularly with respect to hidden ingredients such as sugar-free substitutes in sugar-based cakes! It is kind of like sneaking garlic or onions into a cake - no one thinks to say "I'm allergic to garlic or onions" when requesting a cake . . . but if you put garlic powder or onion powder as your secret ingredient in your cakes, you might want to disclose that, too!
Just an FYI...my doctor said that Splenda has almost the same chemical make up of chlorine, she said she would recommend her patients to drink pool water, so she would recommend them using Splenda either. I try to stay away from any artificial sweetners, the side effects are too many!
Actually drinking your regular tap water you could ingest more chlorine than swallowing what's in your pool.... you can get a pool test kit and test your water at home - and imagine you shower in that too? And if you take a hot shower you're ingesting all that chlorine "gas/vapor". I use a shower filter & a kitchen sink filter for my water - and I would ESPECIALLY do it when I was pregnant and watch what I gave my children b/c children and the elderly have weaker immune systems....
Just thougth I'd add too
Oh and I've eaten a lot of sugar-free things but I don't know if they've had aspertame in them.... guess I should check and cut down on it and make sure if I ever get pregnant I avoid those things!
I know I had read and heard on the radio that the chemical composition of Aspartame changes to formaldehyde at like 98 degrees. So, in fact, when you ingest it--and it reaches body temperature--it in effect becomes formaldehyde.
It's interesting, but I don't do sugar-free unless I have to. I do remember like 19 years ago when I was pregnant with my first son, the doctor told me to avoid sugar-free drinks and specifically Aspartame at all costs. Her reasoning was that no one knew what was in it!!
Just my two cents.
--Knox--
I just thought I'd touch on this. I spoke to a pharmacist a number of years ago when this was all over the internet. He works for a large pharmaceutical company in developing new medicines. He said there was "ABSOLUTELY NO WAY" that nutrasweet turns into formaldehyde. That is an urban myth.
I still wouldn't eat or drink anything with anything artificial, or with caffeine when pregnant though. My OBGYN said to try to consume only natural things at least during the first trimester- including the Rx's that are supposedly safe for preganancy.
.............
I still wouldn't eat or drink anything with anything artificial, or with caffeine when pregnant though. My OBGYN said to try to consume only natural things at least during the first trimester- including the Rx's that are supposedly safe for preganancy.
I figure that if it's bad during pregnancy, it's bad always.
As for the tap water... I don't use tap water either. In fact, in my area some people became very ill from the city tap water and at least one child died from drinking it. Something had gone wrong during the chlorination cycle.
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