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Sucralose, best known by the brand name Splenda, is a toxic alternative sweetener that damages DNA, according to peer-reviewed research.
When it comes to alternative sweeteners, one of the most widely used sweeteners in the food supply is sucralose, better known by the brand name Splenda.
Small yellow Splenda packets, as well as pink (Sweet and Low) and white (White Sugar) packets, are often found on restaurant tables as options for sweetening tea and coffee.
Sucralose is also a popular alternative sweetener in reduced-sugar beverages, energy drinks, bars, and snacks.
The stuff is everywhere if you’re an avid label reader like me, including many products aimed at kids.
Although there has been strong evidence against sucralose consumption for many years, recent research is perhaps the most damning of all.
Not only does sucralose shrink the thymus gland, it damages the gut flora, increases the risk of heart disease, is metabolized into toxic compounds, promotes the development of diabetes by inhibiting insulin levels, and increases the risk of obesity and metabolic syndrome.
It also damages human DNA exposed to it!
WebMD now labels sucralose as “genotoxic.” (1)
You know a substance must be REALLY bad when WebMD and other mainstream health sites are warning about it!
Sucralose does not pass through the intestines intact
This latest research on sucralose refutes the long-held belief that this alternative sweetener does not metabolize through the gut.
In fact, sucralose breaks down into its components in the intestinal tract.
One of these compounds is sucralose-6-acetate, the substance responsible for DNA destruction.
Susan Schiffman, corresponding author of the study and associate professor in the joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, describes the problem as follows:
Our new work demonstrates that sucralose-6-acetate is genotoxic. We also found that trace amounts of sucralose-6-acetate are present in commercial sucralose before it is consumed and metabolized.
To put this in context, the European Food Safety Authority has set a limit of toxicological concern for all genotoxic substances of 0.15 micrograms per person per day. Our work suggests that trace amounts of sucralose-6-acetate in a single daily sucralose-sweetened beverage exceed this threshold. That’s not even counting the amount of sucralose-6-acetate that is produced as a metabolite when humans consume sucralose. (2)
Researchers exposed human blood cells to sucralose-6-acetate in vitro.
They also exposed the chemical to human intestinal cells.
In both scenarios, sucralose-6-acetate was found to be genotoxic, meaning it effectively broke down DNA in cells exposed to the chemical. (3)
Leaky gut triggers
Previous research indicated that sucralose damages the intestinal flora.
However, Schiffman reports that this latest research confirms that the sweetener doesn’t just damage the gut flora. It also contributes directly to leaky gut, the basis of all autoimmune diseases.
Other studies have found that sucralose can affect gut health, so we wanted to see what might be happening there. When we exposed sucralose and sucralose-6-acetate to gut epithelial tissue — the tissue that lines your gut wall — we found that both chemicals cause leaky gut. Basically, they make the intestinal wall more permeable. The chemicals damage the “tight junctions,” or interfaces where cells in the gut wall connect to each other.
Leaky gut is problematic because it means that things that would normally be flushed out of the body with feces instead leak out of the gut and get absorbed into the bloodstream. (4)
carcinogenicity
Perhaps the worst evidence to emerge from this study is that sucralose increases activity in genes linked to carcinogenicity. This means that consumption could contribute to the development of cancer.
Schiffman did not mince words in her conclusion. She said her team’s research raises “a variety of concerns about the potential health effects of sucralose and its metabolite, sucralose-6-acetate.”
Lead Researcher: Don’t eat that!
Schiffman went a step further, saying it’s time for the FDA to reconsider whether the regulatory code should even allow sucralose for human consumption.
She concluded, “There is mounting evidence that it poses significant risks.” Last but not least, I encourage people to avoid products that contain sucralose. It’s something you shouldn’t eat.” (5)
This is one of the most powerful summary phrases I’ve seen in a food study.
Usually, researchers simply say that “more research is needed” to confirm this or that.
Schiffman didn’t go that route. She said bluntly, don’t eat this stuff.
Smart consumers will heed their words!
references
(1) Sucralose is genotoxic
(2 – 4) Chemical found in common sweeteners damages DNA
(5) Toxicological and pharmacokinetic properties of sucralose-6-acetate and its parent substance sucralose