The Truth About Artificial Sweeteners

There are various “sugar-free” sweeteners available on the market today, most of which should be avoided and better yet banned from production. 

The harmful sugar substitutes are commonly known as: 

• Aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet Sweet N’ Low)
• Sucralose (Splenda),
• Saccharin High Fructose Sweeteners
•  Refined Sugars and Acesulfame-k (Sunette, Sweet & Safe, Sweet One) Let’s explore these “Natural Sweetener Imposters” and see if you aren’t appalled. 

Aspartame

When you see “sugar-free” or “Sweetened with NutraSweet Sweet N’ Low”, or “Sweetened with Equal” on a food label, or if the ingredients include aspartame, a red flag should start waving.

Aspartame is an artificial sweetener synthesized from two amino acids: phenylalanine and aspartic acid with methanol (wood alcohol).  It is used to sweeten unheated diet foods, diet beverages and powdered sugar substitutes.  Recent European research shows that ingesting aspartame leads to the accumulation of formaldehyde in the brain, other organs, and tissues.  Formaldehyde has been shown to damage the nervous system, immune system, and cause irreversible genetic damage in humans.  Apartame has thus been linked to brain chemistry changes, tumors, behavior changes, headaches, depression, seizures, hives, vision problems, and menstrual difficulties. 

Researchers also found that foods containing aspartame, when consumed by women during pregnancy, have had an adverse affect on fetal brain development.  Aspartame has also been linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

An extremely large number of toxicity reactions have been reported to the FDA and other organizations.  However, the FDA has repeatedly chosen to ignore this evidence.  A recent report, just one of many, states that, “Of the 166 studies felt to have relevance for questions of human safety, 74 had Nutrasweet industry related funding and 92 were independently funded. One hundred percent of the industry funded research attested to aspartame’s safety, whereas 92% of the independently funded research identified a problem.” (Survey of Aspartame Studies: Correlation of Outcome and Funding Sources, by Ralph G. Walton, M.D., Chairman of The Center for Behavioral Medicine)   

Third party studies also found that the chemicals, which the sweetener aspartame breaks down into, could be up to 50 times more toxic in humans than in rodents.  Is this “sweetener” something that you actually want to ingest if given a choice?  You have a choice, and I recommend that you just say no.

Sucralose (Splenda)

Let’s talk about Splenda, otherwise known as Sucralose, also marketed by Johnson & Johnson under the catchy phrase, “It’s made from sugar so it tastes like sugar”.  Splenda sales have far surpassed those of any other artificial sweetener.  This “chemical” has monopolized the “Sugar-free” market behind the premise that it is a calorie-free natural sweetener.  There is not one piece of evidence that can substantiate those claims! 

Is Splenda a natural sweetener?

Read here and you be the judge: Splenda is a chemically altered version of sucralose.  Sucralose, by itself, starts off as a sugar molecule.  Splenda is produced by the process of morphing sucralose into a synthetic chemical through many stages in the laboratory.   This new “Natural Sweetener” is actually made by combining sugar molecules with three times as many chlorine molecules.  This new type of sugar molecule, known as a fructo-galactose molecule, does not occur in nature and therefore your body does not possess the ability to properly metabolize it.  Hence, the FDA is falsely claiming that sucralose passes through the body unabsorbed.  Since your body can’t metabolize it, the chemical remnants are stored throughout the body.  Sucralose consumption is equivalent to ingesting tiny amounts of chlorinated pesticides. 

According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, as of 2005, only six human trials, totaling 36 people, have been conducted on Splenda.  The only long term studies (a whole 3 months long) done on Splenda were after the FDA had already approved the artificial sweetener.  Of the entire population, 36 people is not a large enough sample to guarantee safety, but the FDA’s usual guidelines of what is safe for human consumption, and what is not does not fall into JGE’s guidelines by a long shot.  What is even worse is that the longest trial lasted only four days and they were looking at sucralose in relation to tooth decay, not human tolerance.  Furthermore, because Splenda is only a food additive and not a drug, the number of studies required to receive FDA approval is substantially less than a drug.  A scary fact is that no actual Long-Term Human Research has been done on this commonly ingested chemical.  

In the same way that Splenda was marketed with few studies proving any safety, few studies were conducted on aspartame and saccharine.  Studies didn’t really begin until the negative health effects of aspartame and saccharine began to rise, raising alarm and provoking investigations.  According to the Sucralose Toxicity Information Center, health side affects include shrunken thymus glands, enlarged liver and kidneys, decreased red blood cells, aborted pregnancy, diarrhea, reduced growth rate, and there are others.  Also be aware that Splenda is found in about 3,500 food products and surprisingly many products do not list Splenda/Sucralose as an ingredient.  Demand now, the labeling and research of this chlorinated chemical sweetener.  Splenda is not sugar, is not natural, nor has it been proven safe! 

*For further information and documented research, refer to: www.holisticmed.com and www.mercola.com .