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you’ve betrayed me FDA
By heather | October 12, 2007
If you’ve talked to me lately, you probably know that I’ve been getting bad headaches and dizziness, some days to the point of being non-functional. What this means is I stumble around walking into walls, if I move my head too fast I feel carsick, and Brett follows me around when I’m carrying Alex to make sure I don’t drop him. (Brett – I know you do because you hover, and we appreciate it.)
Completely randomly this morning, one of my new co-workers and I started talking about coffee and artificial sweeteners. He mentioned that Splenda had given his brother, who is diabetic, severe migraines that started in the back of his neck and moved up to the front of his head. At this point, I hadn’t mentioned anything about my issues because it’s not exactly how you introduce yourself to people unless you want to be labeled a whiny complainer or hypochondriac.
My eyes must have widened, because he asked me if I used it and if I ever got headaches. Without relaying the entire conversation because that would bore you and me, I put down my 2-Splenda coffee and googled splenda and headaches and can I just say OMG Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (WTF for you non-military types)? (To digress – Someone actually had a blog titled “Splenda Sickness” which, really? How do you write an entire blog about this? Do you keep using the stuff every day just to see how bad it gets?)
The articles I found the most interesting were not the ones with people complaining about their issues but this one, which taught me that while Splenda is made from sugar, the way they make it is by replacing three molecules with CHLORINE molecules.
And that it was actually discovered when scientists were trying to create a better PESTICIDE. How can this be? The manufacturer and the government say it’s made from real sugar! It’s natural! I’ve been hoodwinked by the evil corporate machine! Again! I can’t remember when I started using 2 packets a day in my coffee but it’s been at least a month. And I’ve been generally feeling crappy for at least a month.
So yeah, my project this evening will be cleaning out the cupboards. I’ll be taking my Splenda, mixing it with a little water and using it to kill the spiders that are starting to stealthily creep back and spin new webs in the kitchen windows.
************Edit**********
I hereby apologize to my desk chair at my old job. The headaches are not your fault after all. But you still sucked.
************Edit #2********
Lead in lipsticks is the latest thing to worry about. I linked to this particular article because it included an FDA quote saying the agency was aware but has no plans to do anything. And before you think that I allow the government to be 100% responsible for my health and well-being, I do not. For the most part, I distrust much of the media and government. The point of this post is that sometimes your wake up call to take better care of yourself comes in unexpected ways.
Topics: food, self improvement, this is why | 1 Comment »
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March 10th, 2010 at 4:19 pm
[...] treats, but what actually goes in our food and how it affects us. I’ve written before about my disgust with Splenda, so I’m not sure why I’m continually surprised by the research and reading I’ve [...]