Many of our friends and family members have been duped into believing that artificial sweeteners like Splenda® are saviors to prevent diabetes and obesity. However, the health risks associated with the ingredients in Splenda, or sucralose, are extensive and downright troublesome. As research continues to investigate the details, more negative effects are surfacing.
Sucralose is one of the top artificial sweeteners that’s used globally in reduced-calorie and diet foods and beverages. Although it’s marketed as a better alternative for your figure, the health profile for sucralose has raised concerns among researchers, and the many sucralose side effects and dangers can’t be ignored.
Instead of grabbing those yellow packets of Splenda and turning to “sugar free” products in hopes of cutting calories, opt for healthier sugar substitutes that give your recipes a natural sweetness and provide antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and even fiber.
What Is Sucralose?
Sucralose is a chlorinated sucrose derivative. This means it’s derived from sugar and contains chlorine.
Making sucralose is a multistep process that involves replacing the three hydrogen-oxygen groups of sugar with chlorine atoms. The replacement with chlorine atoms intensifies the sweetness of sucralose.
Originally, sucralose was found through the development of a new insecticide compound. It was never meant to be consumed.
However, it was later introduced as a “natural sugar substitute” to the masses, and people had no idea that the stuff was actually toxic.
In 1998, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved sucralose for use in 15 food and beverage categories, including water-based and fat-based products like baked goods, frozen dairy desserts, chewing gum, beverages and sugar substitutes. Then, in 1999, the FDA expanded its approval for use as a general-purpose sweetener in all categories of foods and beverages.
Facts on Splenda
The most common sucralose-based product on the market today is Splenda. It is one of the most popular sweeteners in the United States.
That’s probably because it’s about 600 times sweeter than sugar. Here are some general facts about Splenda that may provide cause regarding its use:
- Splenda is a synthetic sugar that isn’t recognized by the body.
- Sucralose only makes up about 5 percent of Splenda. The other 95 percent contains a bulking agent called maltodextrin, which serves as filler, and corn-based dextrose, a type of sugar.
- Splenda is used as a sugar substitute in cooking and baking, and it’s added to thousands of “zero calorie” food products sold throughout the United States.
- The calorie content of Splenda is actually 3.36 calories per gram, which comes from the dextrose and maltodextrin.
Data shows that across the globe, the range of product utilization for sucralose is more extensive than for any other artificial sweeteners.
Why is sucralose so popular for use in our foods and drinks? It’s readily soluble in ethanol, methanol and water.
That means it can be used in both fat- and water-based products, including alcoholic drinks.
Other artificial sweeteners, like aspartame and sodium saccharin, aren’t as soluble. Therefore they have more limited product applications.
Side Effects and Dangers
1. May Cause Diabetes
A study published in the journal Diabetes Care discovered that if you consume sucralose, the risk of developing diabetes is profound. According to the study, daily consumption of diet soda was associated with a 36 percent greater risk of metabolic syndrome and a 67 percent greater risk of type 2 diabetes.
That means sucralose is among the unexpected diabetes triggers. So if you’ve been wondering about the safety of sucralose for diabetes, the clear answer is to be careful — it actually increases your risk of this serious condition.
Researchers evaluated this phenomenon for the first time with human subjects. Seventeen obese individuals who were insulin-sensitive took oral glucose tolerance tests after consuming either sucralose or water.
In addition to revealing that there was an “increase in peak plasma glucose concentrations” after consuming sucralose, it was discovered that there was a 23 percent decrease in insulin sensitivity, which prevents glucose absorption in cells.
A more recent 2020 study published in Cell Metabolism found that the consumption of sucralose in the presence of a carbohydrate rapidly impaired glucose metabolism and resulted in the dysregulation of gut-brain control of glucose metabolism.
2. Increases Risk of Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Crohn’s Disease
Several years ago, researcher Xin Qin, M.D., Ph.D, from New Jersey Medical School found that consuming sucralose causes IBS symptoms, ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Dr. Qin made this discovery when examining the rapid increase of IBS among Alberta, Canada residents over a 20-period. In short, it went up 643 percent.
This led Qin to conduct his study. What did he find?
Sucralose has a more detrimental effect on gut bacteria than other artificial sweeteners, such as saccharin, because 65 percent to 95 percent of sucralose is excreted through feces unchanged. In 1991, Canada became the first country in the world to approve the use of sucralose as an artificial sweetener. In other words, there was a direct correlation between the amount of sucralose consumed and the increase in inflammatory bowel disease.
A recent study published in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases indicates that the use of artificial sweeteners like Splenda doubles the risk for Crohn’s disease and can exacerbate antimicrobial intestinal reactivity in individuals with Crohn’s and other pro-inflammatory conditions.
To answer some common questions concerning the safety of sucralose and digestion — does sucralose cause bloating? It certainly can, as it’s been linked to serious pro-inflammatory conditions that affect your digestive system.
Does sucralose make you poop? Again, it can increase inflammation and cause IBS symptoms in some cases.
