Monday, September 24, 2007

Sucralose...a NO NO...

this is the best and easiest to understand explanation of sucralose or splenda that i could find when researcing this topic. please read it and decide for yourself if its worth it. I personally don't think so. I have come to the conclusion once again that while I wish there were a magic no calorie drink or food out there, there just isn't. I'll just have to learn to like stevia and water.

Splenda is the brand name for sucralose. It is produced through a complicated process that begins with sugar and converts it to a calorie-free, no-carbohydrate sweetener. The process replaces three hydrogen-oxygen groups on the sugar molecule itself with three chlorine, which is bleach, atoms. In the case of sucralose, the addition of chlorine converts sucrose to sucralose, essentially inert.

So, this is really sugar plus bleach.

It makes a stable sweetener that tastes like sugar, but with no calories. After consumption, sucralose passes through the body without being broken down for energy, therefore it has no calories, and the body does not recognize it as a carbohydrate. However, up to 15% of sucralose in some people is stored in the body tissues and is not excreted, but builds up over time. It is not known what the effects of this will buildup will be over time. Many have stated that sucralose made from sugar is like removing the round wheels from a car and putting on square wheels. Is it still a car? Yes. But can it still perform like a car? Sucralose actually bears more of a chemical similarity to DDT, than it does to sugar.

The chemical process to make sucralose alters the chemical composition of the sugar so much that it is converted to a fructogalactose molecule. This type of sugar molecule does not occur in nature and therefore, the human body does not possess the ability to metabolize it. It is not that Splenda is naturally zero calories. If the human body could metabolize it, then it would no longer have zero calories.

While complex chemical processes may not matter much to your taste buds, scientists and physicians say it takes on a new and vitally important meaning, as Splenda will begin to be included in many different products besides diet soda and various baked goods. An agreement between McNeil Nutritionals, which makes Splenda and PTO Today, which provides marketing and fund raising to parent associations, American elementary schools will be using more and more Splenda.

The build up they spoke of is what happened to my friend with the nutrisweet in diet coke.

Bottom line...if God didn't make, you shouldn't eat or drink it. Natural is best.

8 comments:

Sandy McTier Designs said...

WOW! Awesome information. I stopped drinking Diet Cokes (I have a caffeine free one once a day) but was drinking up to 7-8 diet cokes a day and wasn't sleeping, my body ached, I had headaches, my memory was terrible and the list goes on and on. Once I stopped (cold turkey) all of that changed! I got my younger sister and friend to stop as well when they saw the results it had with me!
Hope you have a great week,
Blessings,
Sandy ;)

Traci Anne said...

But it's so goood...

I know, I KNOW. I actually only use it in my tea (two cups a day, max), and use sugar for baking. Just kinda sucks when you want a bit of sweetener, but you hate aspartame, don't want to rot your teeth with sugar, and well, don't want to consume bleach :) Ah well, guess it's time to cut that sugar habit completely!

Anonymous said...

I just saw a talk on childhood obesity and sugar and sweetners were part of the talk. Totally disturbing.

Caffeine Court said...

What happened to your friend with Nutrasweet? I have a Diet Coke addiction and I need any information I can get to kick it!

J said...

I do have a diet coke every once in awhile but stay far far away from other artificial sweeteners. I use honey in tea and real sugar when I have the occasional coffee, but that's it. I feel like I probably have enough "fake" stuff in my body as it is, why add any more?

Tickled Pink And Green said...

Groan. I use about 3 packets with each glass of iced tea, and I always have several refills.

Better start looking into the Stevia.

(I should add to my "You know you're getting older when.." list I have today, which would be you know you're getting older when....you actually listen to this kind of stuff a lot more willingly!
(sigh)

sugar said...

My friend got very ill. Lots of different symtoms. She went to this specialist in our area that measures different chemical levels in your body. He was even able to jill...tell that she sleeps with a heating pad quite often. Anyway, they told her that she had a very high level of formaldehyde in her body tissue and that was what was making her so sick. She quit drinking the diet coke and eventually got it out of her system. She's fine now, but she still worries about what if any the long term affects will be.

Jill said...

This was so informative. I drink Splenda in iced tea every day, and I also have one Diet Coke a day. I know it's not good, but I always justify it by saying I could have a worse habit like smoking or eating lots of fatty foods. Thanks for the info.