Splenda rubbished!

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Splenda rubbished!

The Alliance for Natural Health has no time for the artificial sweetener, sucralose, especially under its brand name of Splenda.

Here are just few quotes from a lengthy and interesting article posted on their website:

…… last September, the chairman of the national nonprofit consumer advocacy group Citizens for Health, James Turner, was said to have ‘expressed shock and outrage’ after reading a report from Duke University scientists. His published comments were that "the report makes it clear that the artificial sweetener Splenda and its key component sucralose pose a threat to the people who consume the product. Hundreds of consumers have complained to us about side effects from using Splenda and this study, published this past week in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health Part A, confirms that the chemicals in the little yellow package should carry a big red warning label".

Numerous adverse effects on rats
The study results were published in January 2008, and the lead scientist, Professor Mohamed Abou-Donia, concluded that a 12-week administration of Splenda “exerted numerous adverse effects”. These included increase in body weight (strange for a weight-loss aid), a reduction in beneficial faecal microflora, increased faecal alkalinity, enhanced expression of liver enzymes and a transporter protein, which negatively affects the bioavailability of nutrients and orally administered drugs.
Unsurprisingly, this study has been heavily criticised by Mcneil Nutritionals, part of Johnson and Johnson, who market Splenda, and, granted, it was partly funded by the sugar association. Nevertheless, in an email to FoodNavigator.com, Professor Sam Kacew, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A, was said to have “expressed his strong support for the methodology used in the study, refuting claims from McNeil that good laboratory practices (GLP) were ignored”. A ruling by US District Judge Dale S Fisher that this study was irrelevant due to the fact that it was conducted on rats has also been called into question by Professor Abou-Donia due to the fact that “Splenda itself was approved for use based on animal, mostly rat, studies”.

….. What about humans?
Astonishingly, there has been very scant research carried out with humans on the safety of sucralose, and there have there been absolutely no long-term trials of any kind. However, despite the dearth of scientific studies, the many consumers who have reported adverse side effects from using sucralose shouldn't be ignored. It should also not be ignored that despite the glaringly obvious deficiency of safety data, sucralose slipped sweetly through the FDA approval process and has gone on to worldwide use.
Adverse effects found in humans as a result of sucralose ingestion include: headaches and migraines, and a long list of consumer-reported side-effects including: skin rashes/flushing, panic-like agitation, dizziness and numbness, diarrhea, swelling, muscle aches, intestinal cramping, bladder issues, and stomach pain.

To read the full article