Ever since the very first artificial sweetener came out in 1897, chemical companies and food manufacturers have realized that sweetness without calories is worth its weight in gold.
And while we’ve heard some really bad news about these fake sweeteners, especially aspartame, they continue to crop up in the supermarket in more and more products.
But what about sucralose, a.k.a. Splenda? I’m sure you’ve seen the ads that show how it’s just like sugar but with only a tiny fraction of the calories. And sure, it may start out that way, but once it’s been “chemically manipulated,” the end product no more resembles sugar than a cleaning product under your sink does.
If you’ve switched to Splenda or some generic version of sucralose as your go-to sweetener, the time has come to take a long, hard look at these little packets and see them for exactly what they are – a dietary wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Because there’s nothing sweet about what sucralose can do to your gut.
Souring the pot
In 1976, a “young scientist” was told to “test” a new compound called sucralose, but he mistakenly thought he was supposed to “taste” it.
Lo and behold, it was sweet – resulting in another eureka moment in the laboratory!
That’s how the Splenda website tells its story. But here’s what the brand won’t tell you: Perhaps if that worker had done his job right and actually tested the chemical, we wouldn’t have millions of people consuming an artificial sweetener that’s now known to be devastating to the gut.
And that’s just for starters.
Several new studies have come out revealing just how bad this seemingly benign sweetener can be for your health. Researchers have found that it can trigger metabolic syndrome (an umbrella term for conditions that significantly up your risk of heart disease), promote diabetes, worsen Crohn’s and other inflammatory bowel diseases, and cause an overgrowth of pathogens such as E. coli in your intestines.
But that’s not all…
Two years ago, researchers from the Ramazzini Institute, a nonprofit consumer group out of Italy, found that sucralose could cause leukemia and other blood cancers in laboratory mice. Lead scientist Dr. Morando Soffritti sounded the alarm bells, even presenting his evidence at the Childhood Cancer conference held in London.
But the big corporations that profit from artificial sweeteners are extremely powerful, and they were able to shoot down Dr. Soffritti’s research as some kind of internet rumor.
Well, those corporations can’t do that with all of these studies, that’s for sure! And with the growing body of evidence coming out about the harmful effects of sucralose, it’s getting difficult to continue to sweep it under the “rumor” rug.
In these latest findings, researchers from Case Western Reserve School of Medicine said that patients with Crohn’s need to “think carefully” about using Splenda or generic forms of sucralose.
The researchers discovered how the sweetener can cause an “overgrowth” of E. coli bacteria, deplete beneficial gut bacteria, and cause “inflammation and disease flare-ups.” And that was all in only six weeks! Just what someone with IBD needs, right?
Scientists at George Washington University in D.C. recently also discovered that at “a cellular level,” people who consumed sucralose had increased glucose “uptake” and “adipogenesis,” which is a technical term for the formation of fat.
And guess who was found to be more prone to these adverse effects? Why, none other than people who are already struggling with their weight.
In a very telling comment, a George Washington University researcher said that artificial sweeteners (all of them) can have the same negative effects of real sugar, such as inflammation, insulin spikes, and weight gain.
But I’ll go beyond that statement and say that they’re much worse for your health than any real sweeteners. Ones such as raw honey and maple syrup even have numerous bona fide health benefits!
Look, these sweet fakes have gone far beyond just diet drinks. Once the FDA approves an additive, the sky is the limit as to where it will turn up.
That means that you’re going to have to carefully check labels on all kinds of products to avoid them. Sucralose, just one of several, is already in thousands of processed foods — including yogurt, cereals, snack bars, tea, and juice.
And while you’re checking those labels, also leave any products containing aspartame, Neotame, or acesulfame-K right on the shelf where you found them!
“Artificial sweeteners impact metabolic health even on a cellular level” Kristen Monaco, March 20, 2018, Medpage Today, medpagetoday.com
