I just had to share with you some more information on Spenda! Dr. Mercola is continually posting new research and it’s so great that I need to pass it on to you.
He writes in this detailed article the following:
The researchers from the University of San Diego study mentioned in the CNN article above uncovered a very telling difference between regular sugar (sucrose) and sucralose (Splenda) in their findings:
“Only sucrose, but not sucralose, stimulation engages dopaminergic midbrain areas in relation to the behavioral pleasantness response. Thus, brain response distinguishes the caloric from the non-caloric sweetener, although the conscious mind could not.
This could have important implications on how effective artificial sweeteners are in their ability to substitute sugar intake.”
In other words, as far as “sweetness satisfaction” in the human brain is concerned, your brain can tell the difference between a real sugar and an artificial one, even if your conscious mind cannot. And artificial sweeteners seems to inspire more communication in the brain’s pleasure center, yet at the same time provides less actual satisfaction.
According to the author of the study:
“Our hypothesis is that Splenda has less of a feedback mechanism to stop the craving, to get satisfied.”
The implications of this are both disturbing and profound.
First of all, this may explain why when you consume an artificial sweetener; your body craves both more of it along with more real sugar, because your brain is not satisfied at a cellular level by the sugar imposter!
This supports and explains the growing body of research that tells us artificial sweetener use actually leads to weight gain.
Also discussed in the article above is the fact that artificial sweeteners in recent years have been linked to an increased risk of low bone mineral density in women, type 2 diabetes, and stroke. This is actually just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the health dangers linked to artificial sweeteners, which include sucralose (Splenda), aspartame, neotame, which I will discuss in more detail below.
Splenda, the Artificial Sweetener that Chemically Resembles DDT
Splenda is the brand name for the chemical compound called sucralose that is 600 times sweeter than sugar, and is the subject of many previous articles on my site, so if you’re just reading about Splenda for the first time, you might want to start here, and also this article for a primer on this dangerous additive that the FDA has allowed into your food supply.
It’s worth noting that Splenda is actually 99 percent sugar (dextrose and maltodextrin, which are derivatives of high-fructose corn syrup), with 1 percent sucralose added. This is how strong a sweetener sucralose actually is.
Economically using Splenda makes no sense, since it only saves you a handful of calories, and that isn’t even taking into consideration the health implications of using this toxic chemical!
Both sucralose and DDT are organochlorines, meaning they are in a class of man-made chemicals that have a chlorine molecule bonded to their chemical structure through synthetic processing (organochlorines are not found in nature).
Some other examples of organochlorines are a host of pesticides that have been banned worldwide because they disrupt both animal and human health, including being linked to the following:
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Neurological damage
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Cancer
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Parkinson’s disease
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Birth Defects
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Respiratory Illness
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Abnormal immune system function
The makers of Splenda insist that their organochlorine (sucralose) is not metabolized or absorbed by your body, despite the fact that their own research submitted to the FDA indicates that between 11-27% of Splenda IS absorbed and metabolized by your body. According to Betty Martini, founder of Mission Possible International:
“Despite the manufacturer’s claims to the contrary, sucralose is significantly absorbed and metabolized by the body. According to the FDA’s “Final Rule” report, 11% to 27% of sucralose is absorbed in humans, and the rest is excreted unchanged in feces.
According to the Japanese Food Sanitation Council, as much as 40% of ingested sucralose is absorbed.”
“Plasma sucralose has been reported to have a half-life of anywhere from 2 to 5 hours in most studies, although the half-life in rabbits was found to be much longer at about 36 hours.”
“About 20% to 30% of absorbed sucralose is metabolized. Both the metabolites and unchanged absorbed sucralose are excreted in urine. The absorbed sucralose has been found to concentrate in the liver, kidney, and gastrointestinal tract. According to The Sucralose Toxicity Information Center, sucralose is broken down “into small amounts of 1,6-dichlorofructose, a chemical which has not been adequately tested in humans”.
If you try searching for safety studies related to the long-term human consumption of 1,6 dichlorofructose, you won’t find any — because they haven’t been conducted. Nor will the manufacturer of Splenda (Tate and Lyle) fund long-term health studies, because 1,6 dichlorofrutose is more closely related to DDT than it is to actual sugar.
The Health Dangers of Splenda
According to James Turner, the chairman of the national consumer education group Citizens for Health:
“[Ingesting Splenda] is like putting a pesticide in your body. A person eating two slices of cake and drinking two cups of coffee containing Splenda would ingest enough sucralose to affect the P-glycoprotein, while consuming just seven little Splenda packages reduces good bacteria.”
The web site www.truthaboutsplenda.com lists a variety of consumer complaints from Splenda consumption, such as:
Gastrointestinal Problems
Blurred Vision
Migraines
Allergic Reactions
Seizures
Blood Sugar Increases
Dizziness
Weight Gain
My site also contains a long list of personal testimonials from readers who have suffered side effects from Splenda. In fact, we have more people on our site that have reported adverse reactions to Splenda than were formally studied in the research submitted for FDA approval!
The symptoms are so numerous I can’t include them all here, but the following are common symptoms, usually noticed within a 24-hour period following consumption of Splenda products:
| Skin — Redness, itching, swelling, blistering, weeping, crusting, rash, eruptions, or hives (itchy bumps or welts). These are the most common allergic symptoms that people have.Eyes — Red (bloodshot), itchy, swollen, or watery.Heart — Palpitations or fluttering.Joints — Joint pains or aches,Neurological — Anxiety, dizziness, spaced-out sensation, depression.Blood sugar increasesStomach — Bloating, gas, pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or bloody diarrhea.
Head — Swelling of the face, eyelids, lips, tongue, or throat; headaches and migraines (severe headaches) Nose — Stuffy nose, runny nose (clear, thin discharge), sneezing. Your Healthiest Alternatives |
If you have a craving for sweets, rather than trying to find “healthier” ways to continue indulging in them, it is in your best interest to learn ways to relieve your cravings.
The obvious one would be to stop eating any of the products to begin with. But sweets are powerfully addictive – sugar has even been shown to be more addictive than cocaine. Stevia is a preferable natural substitute, which can be used in making most dishes and drinks. My favorite are the liquid stevias that come in flavors like English Toffee and French Vanilla.
However, complete avoidance of sweets is often necessary to break your addictive cycle, as your hormones insulin and leptin likely play an important role in your cravings.
If you are unable to achieve abstinence from sweets, your emotional connection to cravings might be an important factor for you. One of the most profound methods I know of for diminishing the effects of food cravings is the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). EFT is the psychological acupressure technique routinely used in my practice to help people reduce their cravings.
There is enough evidence showing the dangers of consuming artificial sweeteners to fill an entire book — which is exactly why I wrote Sweet Deception.
If you or your loved ones drink diet beverages or eat diet foods, this book will explain how you’ve been deceived about the truth behind artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose — for greed, for profits … and at the expense of your own health.
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