Splenda: The Real Scoop
Q: Is Splenda all-natural?
A: No. The final product contains absolutely no elements of natural sugar. Splenda is manufactured in a chemical plant, not in a sugar cane or sugar beet field. It is an artificial chemical sweetener devised by adding three chlorine atoms to a sugar molecule; it is a highly processed chemical. Splenda advertisements state that it is “made from sugar so it tastes like sugar,” but those are slick campaigns designed to confuse consumers.
Q: What is Splenda Made From?
A: Splenda is the brand name for sucralose. Sucralose is formed when the hydroxyl groups in a sugar molecule are replaced with chlorine molecules through a complex chemical reaction involving several highly toxic chemicals. This artificial chlorinated sweetener is manufactured in a chemical plant in Alabama; a bulking agent is introduced to create Splenda, the final product. The FDA has ruled that sucralose is not toxic in and of itself. However, sucralose is not a naturally occurring substance and is a highly processed artificial chemical sweetener that depends on chlorine to produce a sweet flavor.
Q: How does sucralose differ from sucrose?
A: Sucrose is the technical term for natural sugar, which is naturally extracted from sugar cane or sugar beets. Sucralose, on the other hand, is not derived from a completely natural, organic plant. The manufacturers of sucralose purposefully devised the name sucralose to sound similar to sucrose, which confuses consumers and therefore aids in marketing Splenda.
Q: Is the chlorine that occurs in Splenda different than the chlorine used in swimming pools?
A: It’s exactly the same. That chlorine chemical that’s used to disinfect swimming pools is the exact same type of chlorine that’s found in Splenda. We tell our children not to drink swimming pool water, but we unknowingly feed them products containing Splenda! Packaged foods containing Splenda should be clearly marked that they contain a chlorinated artificial sweetener.
Q: Is it safe to ingest a chlorinated food or beverage product?
A: No one knows 100 percent for sure whether it’s safe to consume Splenda, a chlorinated artificial sweetener. The FDA did review possible side effects from ingesting Splenda, including enlarged liver, enlarged kidneys, decreased white blood cell count, reduced growth rate for children, and lower fetal body weight. Although no long-term human studies have been conducted concerning Splenda’s safety, the FDA approved sucralose in 1998. Several health professionals have publicly expressed concern about possible health risks associated with ingesting sucralose. There are no studies that have detailed the risks of ingesting Splenda over the course of a lifetime.
Q: Who manufactures Splenda?
A: Tate & Lyle of Britain manufacture Splenda. And Johnson & Johnson distributes Splenda through its subsidiary business McNeil Nutritionals. Johnson & Johnson is a pharmaceutical giant. It makes one wonder if Johnson & Johnson will turn around and patent a drug that cures symptoms caused by ingesting Splenda over time!
Q: Has Splenda ever been tested on people?
A: Tate & Lyle, the manufacturers of Splenda, performed a few tests on laboratory animals, namely rats and rabbits, whose physiology varies greatly from that of humans. No long-term tests have been conducted on humans. Almost all Splenda tests were conducted by Tate & Lyle, which seriously calls scientific objectivity into question.
Q: Have any long-term studies been conducted to identify any potential side effects from ingesting Splenda over time?
A. No. Absolutely no long-term tests involving humans have been conducted to identify health risks. There’s no way to know if there are any long-term consequences from eating a chlorinated artificial sweetener; therefore, it’s impossible to ascertain whether it’s safe to eat Splenda over a prolonged period of time.
Q: How can the FDA approve Splenda if there are no studies of its effects on humans?
A: Simply because it can. The FDA acknowledges that Splenda is a chemical compound that contains chlorine. And that no long-term tests have been undertaken to study its effects on humans. And that numerous consumer groups have raised numerous concerns. So one has to wonder what ties the FDA has to the pharmaceutical industry in general, and to Johnson & Johnson in particular.
Q: Is Splenda as safe to eat as natural sugar?
A: Sugar has been safely enjoyed by humans for more than 2,000 years. But there have been zero long-term studies of Splenda involving humans, so it’s impossible to know whether Splenda is as safe as all-natural sugar.
Q: How long has Splenda been on the market?
A: Splenda has been available since 1998, when the FDA approved it. Johnson & Johnson has since invested about $40 million annually to convince consumers that Splenda is similar to sugar. There is nothing on Splenda’s packaging that states it contains chlorine or that it is an artificial sweetener. One marketing ethics reporter has called this “sleight of hand marketing.”
Q: Why isn’t chlorine named in a list of ingredients on Splenda labels?
A: For all packaged foods that contain Splenda, sucralose is listed as an ingredient. Splenda is just the brand name for sucralose. Sucralose is an artificial sweetener laced with chlorine that’s formed when hydroxyl groups are replaced by chlorine molecules. Although chlorine is not listed, sucralose is, which contains chlorine and is not all-natural sugar.
Q: Which packaged foods contain Splenda?
A: According to Johnson & Johnson, more than 3,500 processed foods contain Splenda.
Q: Does Splenda cost more than natural sugar?
A: Yes.
Comments
21 Responses to “Splenda: The Real Scoop”
Leave a Reply
I would like to know if Splenda has any effect on the result of the blood tests taken for sugar levels for type II diabetes.
Thanks
I believe is poisoning my body. I have stopped using Splenda.
DO YOU KNOW OF ANYONE THAT SAYS THAT SPLENDA MAKES THEM SICK AFTER INGESTING DURING THE DAY?I’M HAVING UNUSUAL PAIN AT NIGHT AFTER DRINKING TEA DURING THE DAY MADE WITH SPLENDA
I have been a Splenda “junkie” ever since it came on the market. I go through at least two 9.7 oz. bags a week to sweeten my iced tea that I love. In August of 2007, I suffered a brain bleed that no one has been able to find the source of. It makes me wonder if it could possibly be the Splenda?
I noticed that my stomach hurts and I just feel bad after drinking diet 7up with Splenda. I can only have 1 glass before that happens. So I’m not surprised that Splenda is not as natural and healthy as it claims to be. It’s nice to know I’m not crazy when it comes to the effects of Splenda!
I have been using Splenda everyday for the last 2 years and come to think of it I have had headeaches daily> I wonder if it is is the Splenda?
Sucralose actually triggers migraines for me. I am sensitive, to a degree, to other artificial sweeteners, but sucralose can knock me flat in less than an hour. Scary, when you consider the number of beverages and other foods that have this sweetener in them. Watch your labels carefully! Even drinks NOT labeled light may have it in their list.
I BROKE OUT WITH A SMALL RASH THE SIZE OF A NICKEL ON MY KNEE AND MY STOMACH, I NEVER PUT THE TWO TOGETHER UNTIL I STOPPED USING SPLENDA NOW THE RASH IS GONE. AND HAS NOT COME BACK.
I’m appalled that Splenda is still even being marketed. PLEASE anyone who cares about your health at all read the book SWEET DECEPTION by Dr. Joseph Mercola! You will never touch anything with an artificial sweetener in it again.
I have continuing painful and itchy sores on my legs that scar, and I am wondering if it is the Splenda which I use in my postum drink approx. 4-5 times a day. I am stopping it now as of March 19, 08, and will see what happens.
I used Splenda and Equal for a breif time, because, it was convenient. During my use of these products, I suffered from these nasty,”middle-of-the-night”, headaches, but, I knew nothing to attribute them to. I started reading up on the dangers and origin of such products and completely omitted, not only artificial sweeteners, but, every other processed food from my diet. All I can say is that, I no longer have night headache. I feel much healthier and advise others to do likewise. Yes, we are all going to get sick and die of something in our senescent age; however, would it not be better to live the next 20, 30 or 40+ years feeling the best we possibly could? We can and whilst the big corporations care nothing about us, but their ,”bottom-line”, we have a choice. Live healthily! Try it, you’ll see!
Splenda can cause high A1C in Type2 diabetes. After we starting using Splenda I noticed that I actually gained weight, got a paunchy looking tummy. We have a Type2 diabetes person in our home so I started using it because it did not loose its sweetness when used in cooking and baking. Shortly after using it the blood tests got crazy, the liver tests showed fatty liver, too many things to mention. Let me just say that anyone using this needs to think about how your body will react to eating chlorine. How does the body identify it? Google DDT and read what it is and why it is off the market.
I’m a diabetic, so of course, since Splenda is recommended for diabetics, I was taking in a lot of it over the last 5 years. After I saw the symptom list on splendasickness.blogspot.com, I went off of Splenda and threw out all of my Splenda foods. It has been over three weeks now since I went off Splenda. I feel great! My short-term memory loss had become so severe over the last 1 to 2 years, that I lost my job and was about to apply for disability. Well, I can’t do that now! My short-term memory has returned with full force! I’m hopeful again, and making plans for my life. Out of all the symptoms listed, I had 43 of them. Most of them are now completely gone, and what’s left has reduced a little more each week. There are too many symptoms to list here, but the first symptom to go away my very first day off Splenda was hopelessness! All of my closest friends can tell there’s a difference in my attitude, and I’m happier, despite being unemployed and having a gas-guzzler of a car. I was hesitant to go back to school due to my memory loss, but now, that’s not a factor. I’m excited about the possibilities for my life. God answered my prayers when He directed me to that website!
I tried splenda and used it in my tea for over a year. I developed severe, severe anxiety and depression. I was crying all day for no apparent reason. I finally stopped it and sure enough, no more anxiety. I was real bad, ready to admit myself to the hospital. I am allergic to chlorine, so maybe that is why I had such a bad reaction.
I would not recommend it at all for anyone. Annette
your information blew me away. I’ve heard that people are getting sick with that stuff. overweight people are really trying to lose weight with eating right and staying away from bad things. this is so wrong, making a sugar substitute that is poisonous. its not honest. Its all about making a buck. in reality, its sinister, sneaky and just flat out wrong. The public is so deceived. Your right,the word sucralose + sucrose are so close in spelling that people look at the word and think, this is not aspartame so its ok, its the good stuff and it will be good for the family. So they buy it and by doing so end up slowly poisoning their loved ones.
I just has a stomach ultrasound done last week due to unexplainable stomach pains. As I anxiously wait for the results, I noticed that I haven’t been downing my usual diet Pepsi and coffee/tea with Splenda and haven’t felt the pain in days, Hmmm. My husband has been trying to get me to stop using it altogether saying anything not natural can’t be good for you, but I just kept brushing him off. It has to be the SPLENDA! I hope my body goes back to normal since I plan on trashing it. It’s sickenthing to know the FDA can turn a blind eye to a substance that can be killing people or seriously harming them!
Splenda is the most disgusting substance on the face of this planet, or at least one of them, anyways. I have gained about 40 pounds after having begun to use it and my health has faded rapidly. I guess the marketing really got me, because I believed that it was sucrose, and never realized that it was sucralose until I recently stopped using it a week ago. Good marketing scheme…
Congratulations. You’ve managed to say absolutely nothing.
This horribly biased page of “information” does nothing but further muddy the waters.
Hey guys, watch out for that dihydrogen monoxide. That’s the real threat. We consume it every day, and theres hard evidence linking it to dangerous side-effects, even death!
i cant believe you are making a big fuss about the chlorine its not as if we eat chlorine every day in the form of sodium Chloride (salt to tyhe unknowing) and that contains sodium a very reactive metal that would burt in to flames if you ate it, but when put with chlorine a gas used in chemicle warfare to form water in the lungs on people then it makes every thing taste nicer
[...] scientific objectivity into question. Q: Does Splenda cost more than natural sugar? A: Yes. Splenda: The Real Scoop | Stevia Cafe Sometimes doubting a conspiracy is more irrational than accepting that, when money is involved, [...]
LOL @Unicorn
I have a theory that regularly consuming Splenda and other artificial sweeteners leads to fatty liver disease.
Thoughts?