today is day three of my *40 days of yoga* . . . and i had the chance to sit down with kate vickers (teacher for down dog yoga and founder of bountiful living) to discuss the benefits of eating well . . .

we didn't get very far when kate stopped me mid-packet - a desperate attempt to save me from the evil powder i was about to dump in my tea.  splenda . . .  spawn of satan!

after our conversation, i decided to do some research for myself. 

1. splenda is not natural; it is, in fact, a chlorinated sweetener.
   
2. there have been NO long term studies on its effect, yet many concerns have been raised in recent research conducted by duke university.
3. the use of splenda or other artificial sweeteners may actually boost weight gain.
4. many health conscious food stores, including whole foods, refuse to even carry splenda.
5. splenda is not at all on the food chain.