Splenda is the brand name for sucralose, a sweetener with zero calories. Although it still sweetens like sugar, it passes through the body without being broken down and, therefore, converted to a carbohydrate. The FDA approved Splenda for use in 1998 and, since then, it has been used in many diet drinks. Consumers who want drinks sweetened only with Splenda need to check labels carefully because some use a combination of sweeteners that might include aspartame.
Coca-Cola Products
The original Diet Coke product is sweetened with aspartame. Although the company has kept the original Diet Coke formula the same, in 2005, it introduced Diet Coke with Splenda; it also includes the sweetener acesulfame potassium (Ace K). Their Coca-Cola C2 soft drink is made with a combination of sweeteners: high-fructose corn syrup, aspartame, Ace-K and sucralose.
Coke also introduced Diet Nestea, an iced tea drink, which is sweetened with sucralose as well. Other products offered by the company include Dasani flavored waters as well as Minute Maid Lights, which are low-calorie fruit juice drinks sweetened with aspartame, Ace-K and sucralose.
Pepsi Products
Like Coca-Cola, Pepsi opted to keep its original Diet Pepsi the same and introduced Pepsi One, sweetened with Splenda, in 2005. This, too, contains Ace-K. The company has incorporated sucralose in several other beverages, in most cases as a blend of sweetening agents. The only beverages sweetened with only sucralose are certain flavors of Aquafina FlavorSplash waters: grape, raspberry and wild berry. The other flavors use a combination of Splenda and Ace-K. Other drinks also made with this combination of sweeteners include: AMP energy drinks; Lipton Diet Ice Tea with Lemon; Lipton Pure Leaf Tea - Diet Lemon; G2 low-calorie sports drinks; Sugar Free No Fear; SoBe Sugar Free Adrenaline Rush; and Propel enhanced waters.
Pepsi also makes Starbucks Double Shot Light Coffee Drink and Starbucks Frappucino Light Mocha with Splenda and Ace-K. Diet Mountain Dew and Caffeine-Free Diet Mountain Dew are sweetened with a blend of aspartame, sucralose and Ace-K.
Other Diet Drink Products
Diet Rite Cola was the first to use Splenda in a cola. The Cott Company also produces Diet RC Cola, which is sweetened with sucralose. Hansen's Natural Soda has a diet version in a wide variety of flavors that are sweetened with sucralose. Weight Watchers also uses Splenda in the company's line of diet soft drinks.
There are a variety of powdered drink mixes using sucralose, including Crystal Light and Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa. A company named Baja Bob's even makes mixed drinked mixes using sucralose so you can make your margaritas lower in calories.
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