[ExtendYourHealth] The Potential Dangers of Sucralose (Splenda)

[Guest guest]

Dear Bryan & Pam,

Thanks for posting this great article on your site... The links

listing the foods this affects don't work in this forwarded copy...

Is there a way you can track down that list, from where ever you got

this message from?

Misty L. Trepke

http://www..com

 

The Potential Dangers of Sucralose

 

 

Check out my book, The No-Grain Diet, to help you conquer grain and

sugar addictions for good!There's a new artificial sweetener on the

block and it is already in a wide range of products, some even sold

in health food stores and manufactured by nutritionally-oriented

companies. But is it proven safe? Does it provide any benefit to the

public? Does it help with weight loss? Are there any long term human

studies? Has it been shown to be safe for the environment? The

answer to all of these questions is unfortunately a resounding NO.

 

The artificial sweetener sucralose, which is sold under the name

Splenda™, is one of the up-and-coming " next generation " of high-

intensity sugar substitutes. It is non-caloric and about 600 times

sweeter than sucrose (white table sugar), although it can vary from

320 tp 1,000 times sweeter, depending on the food application. The

white crystalline powder tastes like a lot like sugar, but is more

intense in its sweetness.

 

How it is Manufactured

 

Sucralose is produced by chlorinating sugar (sucrose). This involves

chemically changing the structure of the sugar molecules by

substituting three chlorine atoms for three hydroxyl groups.

 

History

 

Sucralose was discovered in 1976 by researchers working under the

auspices of Tate & Lyle Ltd., a large British sugar refiner. In

1980, Tate & Lyle arranged with Johnson & Johnson, the world's

largest health care company, to develop sucralose. Johnson &

Johnson formed McNeil Speciality Products Company in 1980 to

commercialize sucralose.

 

 

In 1991, Canada became the first nation to approve the use of

sucralose.

 

 

In April, 1998 the US Food and Drug Administration granted approval

for sucralose to be used in a variety of food products. Diet RC cola

was the first US product with sucralose, introduced in May 1998.

 

 

Sucralose is not yet approved for use in most European countries,

where it is still under review.

 

Safety Concerns

 

Few human studies of safety have been published on sucralose. One

small study of diabetic patients using the sweetener showed a

statistically significant increase in glycosylated hemoglobin

(Hba1C), which is a marker of long-term blood glucose levels

and is used to assess glycemic control in diabetic patients.

According to the FDA, " increases in glycosolation in hemoglobin

imply lessening of control of diabetes " . Research in animals has

shown that sucralose can cause many problems in rats, mice, and

rabbits, such as:

 

 

* Shrunken thymus glands (up to 40% shrinkage)

* Enlarged liver and kidneys.

* Atrophy of lymph follicles in the spleen and thymus

* Increased cecal weight

* Reduced growth rate

* Decreased red blood cell count

* Hyperplasia of the pelvis

* Extension of the pregnancy period

* Aborted pregnancy

* Decreased fetal body weights and placental weights

* Diarrhea