What about Splenda?
July 16th, 2010Splenda is a zero calorie sweetener in those little yellow packets that’s been commercially available for 10 years. Splenda is produced from a chemical process that has its roots in the chlorination of normal sugar. Splenda is a sugar that has been chemically modified. Splenda has enjoyed a broad rise in popularity, and many dieters and diabetics find it has less of an aftertaste than any other artificial sweetener.
Between 2000 and 2004, the percentage of households in the U.S. using Splenda sweetener increased from 3 to 20 percent. Splenda sales exceeded $177 million in a recent year while there were only $62 million in sales for the aspartame-based sweetener known as Equal and $52 million in sales for the saccharin-based Sweet ‘N Low.
The company that makes Splenda, McNeil Nutritionals, notes that Splenda has prevailed in some of the most demanding food trials on record for any food additive. McNeil claims that over 100 such studies have been conducted on Splenda. Most of these studies have involved animals, thereby casting doubt on the safety report for humans.
The chemical name of the Splenda molecule is sucralose. While sucralose starts off as a sugar molecule, it is the manufacturing process that is concerning. Sucralose is a laboratory produced chemical that is manufactured in a five-step patented process. During this process, three chlorine molecules are added to a sugar molecule. The initial, natural sugar molecule is a disaccharide made up of two single sugars bound together; these single sugars are glucose and fructose.
The chemical process to make sucralose changes the chemical composition of the sugar so much that it is converted into a molecule that does not normally occur in nature. Because this molecule is not naturally ocurring, the body does not know how to break it down it. According to the manufacturers of Splenda, this is the very grounds on which Splenda has zero calories — it is not broken down or digested in the body. Splenda simply makes its way through the digestive track without depositing any caloric footprint.
This is misinformative, however, as Splenda’s no calorie status would only be valid if the body did have the capacity to metabolize it. More problematically, the fact that Splenda is a completely artificial ingredient elicits questions about its safety, especially if used in large amounts over a long period of time. There is a further problem of insulin reaction. While research reports are still unclear, the medical community widely theorizes that Splenda elicits an increase in insulin levels, which, whatever the caloric content, will signal the body to hold on to fat reserves or even store more fat.
Learn how to detox from Splenda.