Guest guest Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 Sucralose: Not So Splenda? http://www.karaparlin.com/archives/000019.html Ok, so I promised to pass on some info about the sweetener sucralose (marketed as Splenda). This is the new, low calorie sweetener on the market that's supposed to be 600 times sweeter than sugar with no calories. Sounds good, right? Too good to be true? Maybe. I didn't know anything about the stuff until I had a horrific experience myself. I had been drinking 2 bottles of flavored water each day for a couple weeks. One morning, I was enjoying my first bottle when I started having sharp pains in my chest and lost feeling in my left arm. I thought I was having a heart attack. Frantic to figure out what was wrong, I searched my mind for what I had been doing differently lately and the only thing I came up with was the water. I checked the label and found a small " Sweetened with Splenda " tag. Never having heard of it, I immediately began researching. I found the Potential Dangers of Sucralose site, which filled in the blanks for me. You see, sucralose is produced by chlorinating sugar. This is what causes the problems. On this site and many others, you can personal accounts from people who have had reactions to Splenda. These reactions range from severe nausea (think extreme food poisoning), migranes with impaired vision, depression, panic attacks, excruciating joint or chest pain, itchy blothes on skin, the list goes on. Is getting rid of some calories or carbs worth this? I certainly don't think so. And here's the factoid that scares me most. You's think that before the FDA would approve such a widely used product there would be scores of tests, both short- and long-term. NOPE! To date, there have been roughly 2374 studies on saccharine, and sucralose........a whopping 19! Oh boy, that sure puts my mind at ease. Especially since tests on rats, mice, and rabbits showed the following side effects: * Shrunken thymus glands (up to 40% shrinkage) * Enlarged liver and kidneys * Atrophy of lymph follicles in the spleen and thymus * Increased cecal weight * Reduced growth rate * Decreased red blood cell count * Hyperplasia of the pelvis * Extension of the pregnancy period * Aborted pregnancy * Decreased fetal body weights and placental weights * Diarrhea Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, huh? Now I know what you're asking, " What the hell products have Splenda in them? " Here's a short list. But if you really want to be sure, just check that there's no " sucralose " in the ingredients list. Got a Splenda horror story? Leave a comment! TRACKBACK TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.karaparlin.com/mt-tb.cgi/19 Listed below are links to weblogs that reference 'Sucralose: Not So Splenda?' from Wasteful Ramblings. See The Stuff Really is Bad... Excerpt: Check out this article from Kara about Splenda. I have taken myself off of Diet Cokes, fat-free yogurts sweetened with aspertime..etc. I got the worst headaches and when I stopped all that stuff, they went away. I am hooked on Cokes, so I limit myself ... Weblog: downsizing2schwabbies.com Tracked: February 3, 2004 11:56 PM COMMENTS Please! Before you go posting this garbage, do some homework! " Cecal weight " sounds sooooo scary, but do you even know what it means!?!? Look it up. Sucralose is based on sucrose (that would be refined or " white " sugar), with the addition of three chlorine atoms in place of three hydrogen-oxygen groups on the sucrose molecule. So essentially, if you've ever made kool-aid with chlorinated water, you've already exposed yourself AND YOUR CHILDREN (horrors!) to the evils of Splenda! Give me a break! Instead of copying and pasting information from someone else's reactionary post, try doing a little research into the science of the stuff yourself. You might learn something, and THAT would be a service to us all. Regards, Pati --Posted by: Pats at February 18, 2004 11:20 AM First of all, this is MY site and as such I expect a certain level of civility from my visitors. If you can't play nice, then don't come back. Secondly, this is a blog filled with whatever topics I choose. I don't operate it under the pretense that I'm an expert, it's just my thoughts and opinions. Again, if you don't like what I say, don't read it. It's really that simple. Now, if you had actually READ my post, you'd know that I had a personal experience with sucralose that led me to my opinion. While I agree that not EVERYONE will be affected adversely by sucralose, MANY will, and therein lies the problem. If I had a rection to kool-aid, I wouldn't drink that either. But you don't hear story after story about kool-aid, you hear them about aspartame and sucralose. Some FACTS from independant scientists: Recent European research showing 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.) An extremely large number of toxicity reactions reported to the FDA and other organizations A recent report showing that nearly 100% of independent research has found problems with aspartame. Why is this relevent to the sucralose question? Similar to the aspartame situation 15 years ago: * Pre-approval test indicated potential toxicity of sucralose. * There are no *independent* controlled human studies on sucralose (similar to 15 years ago for aspartame). * There are no long-term (12-24 months) human studies of sucralose's effects. * There is no monitoring of health effects. It took government agencies decades to agree that there were countless thousands of deaths from tobacco. Why? Simply because there had been no monitoring or epidemiological studies. * Without such monitoring and studies, huge effects can easily go unnoticed. So, without even addressing the pre-approval research showing potential toxicity, it is clear that sucralose has a) no long history (e.g., decades) of safe use, b) no independent monitoring of health effects, c) no long-term human studies, and d) no independent human studies. I would hope that the Precautionary Principal, now commonly used in Europe, would be a guiding force for people who are interested in health. Otherwise, we might as well just use any poorly-tested, artificial (lab-created) chemical that has shown potential for long-term toxicity. As far as the pre-approval research related to sucralose.... As you probably know, pre-approval research is rarely published. It is only available from the FDA by filing a Freedom of Information Act request. However, you can see a very short summary regarding sucralose and shrunken thymus glands in the " New Scientist " (23 November 1991, page 13). I don't tend to believe things just because the government tells me so. Splenda gave me a horrifying reaction and I'd hate to know what long-term exposure would do to me. Personally, I don't care if you use Splenda or not. It's your life, do what you want. I put the info out there for people who may be curious or have noticed symptoms but are unsure of what could be causing them. I think it's foolish to take the manufacturer's and FDA's propaganda as gospel. When I can't find complete, impartial information, I tend to get suspicious. And you should too. --Posted by: Kara at February 18, 2004 06:38 PM I'm not entirely sure about this however....I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis about 5 years ago. I had been doing fine on medication until I started using Splenda. The symtoms started coming back. I stopped using Splenda and they went away. I've gone back and forth 4 times and it seems pretty conclusive to me. There must be some association with it. I don't know if it's just me but hopefully this will give someone the idea to try if they are having similar problems. --Posted by: Beth at March 2, 2004 10:27 PM I started the South Beach diet about two weeks ago. One of my favorite " treats " was the dessert made with ricotta cheese and artificial sweetener. I had heard that Splenda was all the range among Atkins-ites and bought a box. Every evening, I've been making a double-size dessert using two packets of the Splenda. I started feeling tired two days into my diet. By the time a week had passed, I felt feverish and achy as well. By the time ten days had passed, I was tired, feverish, depressed, and had throbbing pains in my joints. It never occured to me that it could be the sucralose until the end of day 11, when I was in so much pain and my heart rate was so irregular that I could hardly sleep. I can hardly wait until this stuff leaves my system. If I still don't feel well after five days, I promise I'll type in a retraction to this post, but it was the only big change I'd made in my life during the last two weeks! --Posted by: Catherine at March 8, 2004 05:15 PM You are an idiot for stating the dangers of splenda. Did you bother to notice that the FDA doesn't require any warning labels on Splenda products? If you look at the back of a nutrasweet product it specifically says, " This product contains phenylenalines " You are an idiot for posting misinformation. --Posted by: John at April 5, 2004 10:51 PM First of all, if you want people to take you seriously and listen to what you have to say, do away with the name calling. I'm not an idiot. In fact, I'm a very intelligent and inquisitive person. As such, I tend to take what people shovel at me as " facts " at face value. Like many thing before that were found harmful, Splenda has been given FDA's blessing. If I hadn't had a reaction, I wouldn't have looked into it. You may want to expand on your point a bit more, because it doesn't make sense. Are you saying that because there's no warning it's not harmful? If you believe that, you don't understand the world we live in. Cigarrettes never used to carry warnings either, so they MUST be safe! It couldn't be that big tobacco has enough money and power to sway our government. Nah! Not to mention, the information I posted is not misinformation, it's taken right from the findings of the sucralose studies. Oh, and by the way, this is MY SITE, and as such I can in fact post anything I'd like. --Posted by: Kara at April 6, 2004 09:08 AM That is ... FDA states that they reviewed over 110 studies fro approval: " Sucralose: Also known by its trade name, Splenda, sucralose is 600 times sweeter than sugar. After reviewing more than 110 animal and human safety studies conducted over 20 years, FDA approved it in 1998 as a tabletop sweetener and for use in products such as baked goods, nonalcoholic beverages, chewing gum, frozen dairy desserts, fruit juices, and gelatins. Earlier this year, FDA amended its regulation to allow sucralose as a general-purpose sweetener for all foods. " (from http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/fdsugar.html) Just because the studies didn't show up from a Medline search doesn't mean that they weren't conducted. --Posted by: John at April 6, 2004 04:32 PM Also my dear...The footnote for the studies is that is the number of studies from a Medline search. What if the company that petitioned FDA for approval has not placed the studies in the public domain? Research facts before posting misinformation. One more thing I was looking at that web site in which you got your SCIENTIFIC FINDINGS from. It looks like he bashes products. But, you can then buy his products because they're better for you. Like cheese at $20 a pound. Wake up and smell the coffee. --Posted by: John at April 6, 2004 04:35 PM One thing YOU need to remember: I DID HAVE A REACTION! This is my NUMBER ONE concern! Even if I read NO information supporting my experience, I STILL would post on my site warning against Splenda BASED SOLELY ON MY EXPERIENCE. (By the way did I mention this is my blog and I can write whatever I feel like??) I'm happy for you if you don't have a reaction to it. Good. Eat it up all you want. Bathe in it, in fact. But unfortunately there are some people in this world who are adversely affected by some things. I happen to be one of them. Thank your lucky stars that you're not. But I shouldn't have to physically suffer if my friend just happens to bake cookies with Splenda in them and doesn't happen to mention it. --Posted by: Kara at April 6, 2004 06:01 PM Kara you are one funny gal. Keep up the good work! ;D --Posted by: John at April 6, 2004 07:22 PM Holy overreaction, batman! " Just because the studies didn't show up from a Medline search doesn't mean that they weren't conducted. " Why would you trust any unpublished data? If some manufacturer gives a packet of Splenda to three employess and uses death as an endpoint, I would be skeptical. For all we know, those were the conditions for the unpublished studies. --Posted by: Tom at April 10, 2004 11:48 AM I started the atikins diet last year. Like many, I started drinking a lot of Splenda sweetend sodas. I started having attacks where my heart would basically freak out, and my right arm went numb. This happened a few times and was very worrisom. These eventually led to me having extremly severe panic attacks and me in the emergency room in tears. Massive surges of adrenaline racing through my body in waves every 5-10 minutes. I quit the atkins diet and Splenda products, got put on Lexapro (Anxiety dampener) and 9 months later I'm almost back to normal. Since I'm once again back up to 20 lbs overweight, I started the atkins diet again and had no ill effects. Then I reintroduced Splenda into the mix and have been much more jumpy and panicy. Lots of trouble sleeping and feel like I did before everything went to hell. This is from just a very small amount of Splenda. My body (brain actually) has become extremly sensative to it. Staying on the atkins diet, but never touching Splenda again. Jamie C. Wakefield --Posted by: Jamie Wakefield at April 12, 2004 10:39 AM I think this site needs a guinea pig to do an official " before and after " experiement on the health effects of splenda. I am willing to volunteer for this task for the following reason. -In May of 2002 I began to have very severe anxiety issues and the intense panic attacks that go with them. I have been in the hospital several times thinking that I was having a heart attack and have needed medication at extreme moments. I have taken very little medication though and have sought help through counseling, and have greatly reduced stress-inducing activities in my life. Still now two years later I am frustrated that I have bad chest pains that appear from nowhere. I am beginning to wonder if splenda may play a role because I think I didn't ever have it until I returned from travels abroad in may of 2002. I would love to experience a peaceful state of body and mind again so I am definitely going to stop using splenda and splenda products to the best of my knowledge. Then I will report back in a month about my condition and the observations I will document along the way. Sound Good? I hope something comes of this. And for you skeptics of this website, just know that nothing short of medication has brought long term healing from my anxiety and chest pains. So what I report will be telling either way. -Jennifer --Posted by: Jennifer Parsons at May 12, 2004 04:52 AM On average I use about 6 packets of splenda a day when I am at work. I feel no ill effects and the stuff really sweetens my coffee. I think some people are just using this product as a scapegoat for other serious issues these people have. --Posted by: Mark at May 21, 2004 09:30 PM Well I am a healthy 38 year old using Splenda for about six months. Out of the blue, one month ago I started feeling very fatigued. Two weeks ago I started having stomache pain. One week ago I started having terriable pressure in my chest. I finally decided to look up Splenda and low and behold, many people are feeling the same as me. I am taking myself off Splenda, but am concerned; because my 13 year old daughter and my husband also use Splenda. They are not having any side effects (yet) and I hope they don't, but is it harming them still? Is it safe to use? My gut tells me no, but I don't want to Panic. I have been all over the web this week-end and still feel very confussed by all the info. To all the sceptics, there is no doubt in my mind that the problem I'm having are Splenda related. I'm going to switch to maltitol and see how that goes. --Posted by: Tracey at June 6, 2004 08:32 PM Sometimes I stop by Cracker Barrel on the way home and have dinner. A handful of times I asked for the sugar-free syrup which they provide in little bottles. It is sweetened with Splenda and pepped with extra B Vitamens. I would add the syrup to my corn muffins and enjoy. I experienced no immediate symptoms, but I did experience midnight stomach nausea which would wake me up. Felt just like I had a case of food poisoning, or an unexpected stomach virus. By laying very still on my back for a long time the nausea finnaly ebbed away. I noticed this seemed to happen every time I ate at Cracker Barrel's and got the cornbread muffins and syrup. I did not associate this with Splenda till I read other people's testimonies who had the same symptom. A few nights ago, I stopped by the same Cracker Barrel, got the same type dinner, and this time abstained from the sugar-free syrup. That night I had a good night's sleep with no nausea whatsoever - everything was normal. This leads me to believe that the sucralose in the sugar-free syrup at Cracker Barrel was the cause of my cases of midnight nausea. AP , Atlanta, 6-24-04 --Posted by: Alan Peed, Atlanta at June 24, 2004 02:45 PM Hi All, I'd like to let you all know about my experience with Splenda. I'm a very healthy creature of habit. Never sick, I take no prescription medication of any kind and never have, ( I'm 40) I pretty much eat the same stuff healthy and so on and so forth. I'm and iced tea drinker and always use a little bit of sugar. Over 3 weeks ago I bought some Splenda and used it every afternoon ( approx. 3 packs per afternoon) for about a week. I began feeling really crappy at the end of that week. Grouchy, confused, bloated, tired and so on - just no right at all. The only thing I had done different was the Splenda so I Stopped using it. All the other symptoms subsided a few days later except my GI track still doesn't feel right. I am convinced that the Splenda had something to do with the way I was feeling. For me this SPLENDA is bad stuff! --Posted by: Cathy Fincher at June 29, 2004 07:24 PM Best Cialis and Online Cialis has been an eventual success in Europe since its introduction in Early 2003. Cialis will now be available in US soon. You may buy cialis through various registered pharmacies. cheap cialis http://www.hot-cialis.com/ --Posted by: cialis at June 30, 2004 09:30 AM Best Cialis and Online Cialis has been an eventual success in Europe since its introduction in Early 2003. Cialis will now be available in US soon. You may buy cialis through various registered pharmacies. cheap cialis http://www.new-cialis.com/ --Posted by: cialis at June 30, 2004 09:30 AM Best Cialis and Online Cialis has been an eventual success in Europe since its introduction in Early 2003. Cialis will now be available in US soon. You may buy cialis through various registered pharmacies. cheap cialis http://www.top-cialis.com/ --Posted by: cialis at June 30, 2004 09:30 AM I'm 21 years old, healthy, barely 10lbs heavier than I wish to be. I did Atkins last summer to lose a few pounds that I'd accumulated over the last two years of university. I decided to try Splenda, and bought a box. I used it in my tea in the morning a couple times, and I made a batch of almond-flour cookies with it. I noticed nausea and stomach upset within a few hours of injesting Splenda-sweetened items. I also felt bloated and tired. I stopped using Splenda in my tea, and threw away the cookies. Everything got better. I've continued to look into the ill effects of Splenda out of curiousity, but will never touch the stuff again. For that matter, even though I'm on a low-carb diet, I won't use any artificial sweeteners, period. When I cook a recipe that calls for sugar, I'll cut the amount in half (or less) and then exercise more. This seems to be more sensible than filling my body with possibly harmful chemicals to which I seem to have negative reactions. --Posted by: Angela at July 5, 2004 02:17 AM I'm into 5 days free of Splendra, after using for a year to avoid sugar highs and lows. About 6 months into using I began to have leg aches. My ankles hurt, then my calves and then my upper legs, on the top surface, separately and together. It culminated in a strange wave of numbness that started at my feet and climbed to my knees while I lay in bed one night. I though I was going to be paralyzed. I have a history of Ortho pesticide exposure and am sensative to pesticide. This did not dawn on me until a week ago I looked at the internet to see the history of sucralose and saw it was made with a chlorinated hydrocarbon substitution. I have been going to the doctor with my leg pains, convinced I had MS or something but they could find nothing. Nobody mentioned Sucralose and they didn't know my pesticide exposure history. People: tell your dr if you are pesticide sensative and be aware that you are exposing yourself to the same effects using sucralose. katesisco --Posted by: kate sisco at July 13, 2004 09:30 AM I'm a 44 year old man who never had a bad thought in my life. However, I've had " issues " for about 6 months. I really thought I was losing my mind. Between the depression and anxiety attacks, I was miserable. I even stopped drinking alcohol, thinking that was the culprit. I mistook my first bout of this for a heart attack and had all the tests. Then I was scoped (down my throat) for anything that could be causing the awful chest pains. To make a really long and torturous story shorter, I think I figured it out. For 3 weeks, all I drank was plain tea or water. No sodas, no alcohol, no sweeteners. And I started to feel better. Then, one morning, I had a Diet Rite. Within 20 minutes, I was sweating, my chest hurt so bad I thought I was dying, I couldn't breath rationally, and I could FEEL my heart beating, and I knew it was racing. I've been sucralose free for 2 months now, and I feel way better, but definitely not 100%, I'm not sure if I will ever feel like I did. Waking up every morning is stressful, thinking I " may " have another attack. Work is hard to get thru, even though my job is great. Right now, my chest aches, and I'm a bit pannicky, but not nearly as bad as in the past ( I take a .25mg Xanax when it gets too bad). I'm not sure sucralose is 100% responsible, but it's very likely. I also cut out aspartame since it seems to have some of the same effects on others. I don't know how long these sypmtoms will last, but I really hope not much longer. --Posted by: Jimmy at July 19, 2004 02:10 PM _______________ Don’t just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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