[MC_USA] Neotame and Splenda

[Guest guest]

Wayne Fugitt

Tue, 04 May 2004 08:26:46 -0500

[MC_USA] Neotame and Splenda

 

Article: Neotame and SplendaNeotame and Splenda

by: Dr. Janet Starr Hull, Ph.D., CN

http://www.sweetpoison.com/newsletter/

 

It appears Splenda is fighting for the lead in the alternative

sweetener race. It will be interesting to see if Neotame pushes

Splenda out of contention as aspartame's dangers are becoming more

renown, and saccharin is back in the competition.

Neotame has changed hands from its original patent holder, Monsanto

Chemical Company, to The NutraSweet Co. to J. W. Childs Partnership

to Pharmacia, and now to Pfizer if Pharmacia's buy out is successful.

 

Neotame

 

Neotame contains all the dangerous elements found in aspartame and

more: the amino acids L-aspartic acid and L-phenylalanine, plus two

organic functional groups, one known as a methyl ester group and the

other as a neohexyl group. These components are joined together to

form an incredibly sweet (13,000 times sweeter than sugar) and

potentially dangerous compound.

 

The FDA was petitioned in 1997 to approve neotame for use as a

tabletop sweetener. It's approval for public use was announced in

October, 2002 to be used in chewing gum, carbonated soft drinks,

refrigerated and non-refrigerated ready-to-drink beverages, frozen

desserts and novelties, puddings and fillings, yogurt-type products,

baked goods, and candies. Neotame does not have to carry the PKU

warning, as aspartame is required by law to do, so its addition to

all products can go without warning.

 

Sucralose (Splenda)

 

Sucralose (trichlorogalactosucrose) was approved by the FDA in

1988 as a tabletop sweetener and for use in a number of desserts,

confections, and nonalcoholic beverages. Sucralose is produced by

chlorinating sucrose (sugar); three chlorine atoms are substituted

for three hydroxyl groups. According to Consumers Research Magazine,

some concern was initially raised about sucralose being a chlorinated

molecule, as chlorinated molecules also serve as the basis for

pesticides such as D.D.T., accumulate in body fat, and are considered

to be carcinogens. However, the manufacturer Johnson & Johnson

has emphasized that " sucralose passes through the body unabsorbed. "

 

Research animals fed sucralose exhibited the following symptoms:

shrunken thymus glands (up to 40% shrinkage), enlarged liver and

kidneys, atrophy of lymph follicles in the spleen and thymus,

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, and chronic

diarrhea.

 

In the midst of the continued controversy over aspartame, many

pharmaceutical and health food manufacturers - Pro Lab, Twin Lab

and Ross Products, makers of Pedialyte - have switched to sucralose.

 

In this ever-continuing web of confusion over which chemical

sweeteners are safe to use, it might be best to return to natural

sweeteners and let the lab rats fight it out for you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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