Here’s the post I alluded to on Friday, the post that I’ve been meaning to write for awhile now on the topic that several of you smart readers of Fearless Fat Loss have asked me about. Yep, we’re talking about Splenda – you’ve heard of it, do you use it?
I first heard of Splenda in 2004, and maybe just like you I’ve been duped by the creative advertising that tells us that it’s perfectly healthy to use. Well, I’m sorry to learn that it’s not all that the happy shiny packaging makes it out to be. It’s not as innocent as I thought it was, and it just might be rather deadly, or at that very least toxic, but isn’t that the same thing?
Maybe I’m being dramatic, but who really knows since the FDA allowed it on the market without the human trials that the drug companies must go through in order to get a new drug on the market. And even then, how many drugs have been pulled off the market because of health dangers and even death after years of use (remember Fen-Phen)?
I cannot fit all of the gory details in this one post however you can find them in the book that is my source for this post – Sweet Deception: Why Splenda, NutraSweet, and the FDA May Be Hazardous to Your Health. I highly recommend you read this yourself and then you can come to your own conclusions.
13 + 1 Reasons to Avoid Splenda
With that being said, here are 14 reasons that stood out for me when I read the book, 14 reasons that I present to you for why to abstain from using Splenda, 14 reasons that have me sticking with Stevia:
- Splenda was “discovered” accidentally in a lab while trying to create a new insecticide.
- Whole Foods will not sell Splenda or any product that contains it because it does not fit within their code of ethics of selling “real food”.
- The limited “testing” that was done on Splenda was done by the same company (McNeil) that manufacturers it (can anyone say BIAS)?
- McNeil, the manufacturer of Splenda, was very smart when they specifically chose the name “sucralose” for their product because smart consumers know that ingredients that end in “-ose” are normally simple sugars. Therefore, it’s very easy for consumers to get confused and think that sucralose is like sucrose or glucose (simple sugars) as its name implies, instead of what it actually is – a complex chlorinated artificial chemical.
- The inadequate human testing that McNeil (the manufacturer of Splenda) did was only done on a control group of healthy males and for no more than 3 months. No testing was done on women, children, pregnant women, the elderly, no one else except for the healthy males. I learned in my college stats class that in order for a test to be valid it has to be done on a wide sampling and administered by an outside company from the product’s manufacturer.
- McNeil claims that Splenda is not stored in the body, that all of it passes through your system without any absorbption, however this is unlike any other organochlorine. DDT is an organochlorine and is now outlawed because of its horrific long term toxicity at only minute, trace levels in human, avian, and mammalian tissues.
- It is not conclusively known just how much of this chlorine sticks around in the body after ingesting it because of the inadequate testing done on humans, however even if it is only 10%, that is highly toxic crap that is hanging around in the body – how much of this stuff builds up in the body over time??
- There have been numerous documented unhealthy side-effects that people have reported after using Splenda, symptoms such as seizures, rashes, intestinal problems, fatigue, anxiety, depression, panic attacks, numbness, and headaches, to name a few. You can read the full accounts in Sweet Deception.
These are the main points that hit home for me – I really recommend that you read the book Sweet Deception to get the full picture. I could have listed more than 14 reasons to stay away from Splenda however the above 14 are the ones that grabbed me the most.
This Reminds Me Of…
Are you aware that anti-freeze tastes sweet and that’s why you have to make sure that your dogs or other pets don’t go near it? They will lap it up and it will kill them within 24 hours (it crystallizes in their liver).
No, I’m not saying that I think Splenda is the same as anti-freeze, but when I learned how Splenda was discovered by accident in a chemistry lab by a grad student who was trying to create a new insecticide (he thought his advisor told him to taste the solution he created instead of test it and he found it tasted sweet) it reminded me of how anti-freeze is said to taste sweet. Maybe the next artificial sweetener on the market will be another form of anti-freeze, who knows?
Obtained from the book Sweet Deception – Read It!
This info I’ve passed onto you here is from the book Sweet Deception by Dr. Joseph Mercola – I urge you to pick up a copy of it to read the full story on Splenda. I’m totally sick over this whole topic because I honestly didn’t think that Splenda was that bad (oh yeah, the FDA doesn’t even require warnings on the labels like you’ll find on most other artificial sweeteners) and I, maybe like you, thought that it couldn’t be on the market if it were dangerous – me, the one who has brought you all of those other important articles about “creative advertising” and unhealthy processed gunk:
- High Fructose Corn Syrup and Honey – A Sneaky Relationship
- Contains Zero Trans Fat – Truth or Creative Advertising?
- Little Known Secrets of “Sugar Free” Food Labeling
- What is Crystalline Fructose? (the corn sugar that tries to masquerade itself as a “natural sugar from fruit” – nope, it’s not natural and it’s from corn, but just another corn sugar infiltrating the food supply and helping create fatty livers in its consumers.)
We Must Rely On Our Own Smarts & Intuition
We have to remember that each of us is the only one who is ultimately responsible for what we put into our body. We cannot rely on the government or the FDA (a conglomerate that does not even require a manufacturer to do outside testing), to take care of us. We cannot take our health, our most valuable possession for granted and give our power away to people who only care about making money.
Am I saying that money is bad? Of course not, I’m interested in manifesting boatloads of it, but not at the expense of other human beings or our planet Earth. What we’re talking about here is big business and billions of dollars, just like the refined sugar industry. Do you really think that these corporations have your best interest at heart? Why should they?
What do you think about Splenda now? Have I helped you learn something you didn’t know? Will you be reading Sweet Deception? Tell me what you think in a comment below.
I’m sitting here with my coffee which has sf coffee-mate in it. You guessed it spenda! I buy stevia then put the creamer in my coffee with spenda! Coffee in the morning is one of my great pleasures. I drink, pray, stretch, and read while drinking my morning jo. I know it’s bad and reading your article this morning put it back to the front of my brain. I will find an alternative for my French Vanilla Coffee-Mate with spenda. Have any ideas? Thanks for the wake-up call.
I hope I dont use it any longer 🙂
how is THAT for wimpy??
I actually only uses it on rare occasions when for some reason I inexplicably grab a packet at a diner and dump it in my (yucky diner) coffee…
M.
MizFit’s last blog post..Viewer Mail.
As usual you are bringing to light such important issues that many people are oblivious to. It is absolutely amazing how many “junk” ingredients are in the food we consume. When shopping for groceries it literally take an hour longer due to the fact that I have to read every label so carefully. Great post!
Mark Salinas, MN
Hi Renee,
I’m sad after learning about Splenda because I did use it a lot – it didn’t give me sugar cravings unless I overdid it in a recipe. Now that I am conscious of what’s going on, I cannot use it.
I don’t know about a substitute for your creamer, but I’m glad you told me that Splenda is in it in case anyone else asks me about that (I don’t use creamer).
One thing I have done before is use rice milk in tea or coffee since I stay away from dairy. You could try that with a pinch of pure vanilla, see how that works. Otherwise if dairy doesn’t bother you, you could try skim milk and a pinch of vanilla.
I actually love soy milk, but it’s not a part of my weight loss plan. I do want to include a little bit of it here and there when I get to my goal weight. Let me know if you try any of these suggestions and what you come up with. 🙂
Hi Miz,
Yeah, you’ll notice now. 🙂
Hi Mark,
Thank you very much, I really appreciate your feedback. 🙂
I know what you mean about shopping time because of label reading – after you learn whats what though, it gets a lot easier and quicker. I know exactly what section to go to now and which ones to avoid in the store.
With the Splenda though, I’ll have to be on the lookout now since I was buying products that contained it (like canned, no sugar added peaches, sweetened w/Splenda).
wow, this was a really great post. Thank you JoLynn. I have been waiting for it.
Alexa Cooper’s last blog post..Wii Fit
Wow…what a great post! I had to do a trackback of it! ;0)
I use stevia and even at that, hardly use any at all…
This worries me…I changed my diet soda to one with Splenda and drank tea with Splenda when I was pregnant with my son. All the pregnancy books/articles said to get off of Equal or Sweet n Low and go with Splenda because it wasn’t absorbed so it wouldn’t affect your baby. I also work in an industry that is regulated by the FDA, so to think the FDA would disregard the health of our children makes my stomach turn.
This is very interesting information. Thanks so much for sharing it!
A good reason to not use Splenda was right there in the first point! I would be leery of any “food” that was initially intended to be an insecticide!
I have my battles with the regular, “old fashioned” sugar; I don’t want to put more harmful substances in my body! I’ll be reading ingredient lists a lot more closely now.
Susan’s last blog post..Breakfast – The First Step to Breaking a Sugar Addiction
splenda has been linked to poor memory too. when you’re on a weight loss program, it’s better to use natural sweeteners instead, like date sugar, stevia and agave nectar.
thanks for dropping by and your comment 🙂
liza’s last blog post..No More Sneezing
I posted about this on my blog a while back too. Isn’t it awful the horrible product they are hiding behind the sweet little commercials. I’m one of those people who can’t ingest too much Splenda before it causes my skin to break out…that was my first clue, then my husband started reading about all the other problems it has caused people. We won’t use any product with Splenda in it, and I have also recently given up my diet coke (with aspartame). It’s just not worth all the problems it can cause down the road. Thanks for the great post.
Chris
chris’s last blog post..Benefits of Colloidal Silver
wow, I really had no idea! I don’t think I consume much, but will definitely be on the lookout for it now!
I knew about the chlorine fairly soon after the “launch” of Splenda, and after trying it once to see how I liked it, I was glad I didn’t (doesn’t sweeten enough for me without using several packets).
You’ve brought to point several other things I wasn’t aware of, all of which make me REALLY glad I didn’t like it.
Now, on the reverse note, I won’t use Sweet-N-Low either – the whole cancer in rats thing and the chemical-y taste of it turned me off before I ever started.
But…
I’m a fan of Equal. I grew up on Diet Coke, and the taste of Equal pleases me. I know it’s been known to give people headaches and supposedly makes your body actually crave sugar, but fortunately I’ve never experienced either of those things.
That said, there’s something to be said for real sugar. Even white sugar. The calorie count really isn’t THAT high, when you’re talking in terms of coffee or tea, and it only becomes an issue when combined with fats like oil and eggs, and carbs like white flour (ie. CAKE!) in terms of weight issues.
I’ve wanted to get into Stevia, but around here it’s really expensive, and I’d really rather go for the real thing than any kind of processed anything. Sugar in the Raw would be my first choice before Stevia because it sweetens better and doesn’t cost as much.
Lara’s last blog post..Wine is good for you – and it can make for pretty room decor!
@Alexa, hi! I’m glad you liked it, I remember you asking me about it – glad I got it done. 🙂
@Angie, thanks! I use Stevia, too.
@Chris D, hi, you know what, you can’t do anything about the past and you didn’t know before, just like I didn’t know. 🙂 And Aspartame (Equal/Sweet n Low) aren’t healthy, either.
Also re: the FDA, check out my post on Stevia and the link to a statement from a former FDA investigator re: why Stevia has been outlawed in the U.S. – because it would affect the artificial sweetener market.
I hope that helps. 🙂
@Susan, you’re spot on to be checking your ingred. labels…and you gave me a chuckle – I could have stopped with the 1st point. 🙂
@Liza, I think I read something about the memory issue (no pun intended – I don’t remember right now, LOL).
Yes, Stevia is good, I personally wouldn’t use date sugar because it’s still sugar and I’ve read that agave nectar often contains HFCS, ack! 😉
@Chris, exactly, those commercials and the packaging really gloss over what’s behind it.
In Sweet Deception there were several accounts of people having skin rashes and such, I’m not surprised to hear that you had the same thing happen. I’m glad you realized that Splenda was the culprit. 😉
@wm, good, that’s all it takes is the awareness. 🙂
@Lara, yeah, I used to be on Aspartame (Equal and Sweet n Low), too, but it gave me a fuzzy head….I wrote about that again in today’s post, it keeps coming up (my fuzzy head experience, lol).
Unfortunately I don’t do refined sugar, either – too addictive and causes sugar cravings, not to mention helping me gain weight and feel draggy.
I’ve found Stevia at Meijer and it wasn’t very expensive – it’s more expensive at health food stores. You can find it online, too. You have to be careful with what you buy though, get the kind that says it’s not bitter, because some of the brands will have a bitter after taste.
Hope that helps… and thanks to all of you for each of your comments, you’ve added a lot to the conversation on my post! 🙂
I heard a researcher from Washington University in St. Louis speak about aspertame & how it destroys nervous tissue in young mice (whose nervous systems work a lot like ours). I’m not going to fry my brain & nervous system with it, are you?
Hi Jean,
Yes, I’ve also learned that Aspartame (Equal, Nutra Sweet) is not a safe artificial sweetener either, so I would not recommend using either Aspartame or Splenda.
I would recommend Stevia, though. 😉
Hello, while I respect your opinion, as a chemist and biologist, I would really have to disagree with some of your assumptions about Splenda. This is the first I have heard of Splenda being discovered while looking for a new insecticide as I have heard it being the result of a Tate & Lyle project looking for chlorinated sugars as chemical intermediates.
Secondly, the ending -ose does not only indicate simple sugars, but it also refers to complex sugars, as well. While we are more familiar with the monosaccharide glucose, and disaccharides such as lactose, polysaccharides also have the honor of names with -ose at the end, ie. cellulose and amylose. So, while I believe the company may have named sucralose just that as a marketing ploy, I don’t believe it was to misinform the public. I believe they did it so that people could relate to what is in their product.
I hate to tell you this, but the chlorine found in sucralose is the same chlorine found in table salt (NaCl). Chlorine is chlorine, no matter how you say it. The three chlorines found in sucralose are just bonded to carbon atoms, while the chlorine in salt is bonded to a sodium atom. Plus, we have a lot of chlorine in our own stomachs (stomach acid = HCl)!
Splenda may be the only organochloride USED for human consumption, but that doesn’t mean we don’t get them from somewhere else naturally. Peas and some beans are known to produce a chlorinated plant hormone, and we still eat them! Just because it has 1 or 2 chlorine atoms in the compound doesn’t necessarily make it toxic. Also, many common pharmaceuticals use organochlorines (Claritin, anyone??).
I think when the EPA talks about chlorine in the environment, they are talking about dangerous compounds, such as DDT. Just because things are grouped together in the same category doesn’t always mean they have the same properties. DDT and sucralose are known as organochlorides because they share one common characteristic: they are both organic compounds and they contain chlorine atoms. Period.
I wish I knew more about the actual metabolism and biology of sucralose when it enters the body, but I don’t. So, I won’t pretend I do.
So, before you make arguments about the chemistry, I would respectfully suggest you do your research.
However, if there is one argument against Splenda, I would say it would have to be this: Splenda is actually a mixture of sucralose, maltodextrose,and dextrose. This means that Splenda is not “calorie-free” as it suggests. I think I remember reading that a packet of Splenda actually has 3 calories. They mix the sugars together because sucralose would be too sweet on its own. They are allowed to call it calorie-free though because the FDA allows foods under 5 calories to be labeled as such.
Oh, PS – I’m not an expert on sucralose, so if there are any other biochemists on this blog, please correct me where I may be mistaken. I have read about sucralose in passing, though and have tried to make myself aware of its chemistry, health effects, etc.
Hi Liz,
Thanks for your comments! 🙂 I’m not sure if you’re saying that you are a chemist or if you misunderstood and thought that I am (?), but I am glad you commented because you have presented the same misunderstandings that are rampant about Splenda.
Like I said in my post, I strongly encourage all of my readers to read Sweet Deception – in the book Dr. Mercola gives you an abundance of references to the sources of his information. And, I did fully research this topic, also like I stated in my post, my source being the book Sweet Deception.
Just to touch on one (since I’ve already written a lengthy post about these points above 😉 ) one such misconception that you have pointed out is documented and clearly explained in Sweet Deception, that being the HUGE difference between chlorine and chloride.
There is No chlorine that is safe for human consumption, however chloride is what is present in table salt and even some foods. Splenda contains chlorine, not chloride.
Re: the name sucralose – I’ve covered that in my post above – it’s misleading, Splenda is not sugar.
Re: organochlorines – please refer to an the list of organochlorines in the book or google organochlorines (they are all Chemicals and Extremely Unhealthy for the body) – there are No naturally occurring or healthy organochlorines on this planet Earth, and certainly not in any foods (except Splenda).
These are exactly the kinds of misconceptions and misunderstandings that confuse the public, a public who I believe wants to live in the highest health possible.
Again though, I urge you to pick up a copy of Sweet Deception and as always, you are the one who has to make up your own mind about your use of Splenda based on the molecular facts and the fact that misrepresentations in advertising are being presented on it. 😉 For myself, I’m not interested in clogging up my system with an organochlorine, but each individual has to make their own decision on what they decide is healthy for their own body.
Please note: I personally, do not recommend that any human ingest an organochlorine.
Hi!
Yes, I did misspeak about the chlorine vs. chloride. I was in the middle of a busy day in lab (I am the biochemist!) and everything was mush in my brain (probably not the best time of day to post anything!). There is a difference between chlorine and chloride; chloride being the ionic form with a negative charge.
I was not implying the sucralose is a sugar; I was correcting you in saying that the suffix is designates simple sugars, when in fact, it is used to identify a whole range of different sugars. Sucralose is in fact, not a sugar, but I was thinking that maybe the manufacturers thought it would be better to make it sound like an actual sugar to relate more to the people (or to heinously deceive them, either one, take your pick).
I can say this with most certainty that there are naturally occuring organochlorides, however. The plant hormone I was referring to is 4-chloroindole-3-acetic acid (4-Cl-IAA). While it does have somewhat of a morbid function (it tells the parent plant of the seed to die in order to bring nutrients to, and store, them in the maturing seed), they are nevertheless present. There are also naturally occurring chlorinated fatty acids, amino acids, etc. However, I would not recommend anyone searching these out and eating a ton of it. I’m just stating facts; nothing about nutrition. I am not a nutrition expert, although I do like to live healthy. 🙂
Hope that clears up some things.
Cheers! 🙂
Hi Liz,
Gotcha, thanks for your follow up. 🙂
Yes, you’re spot on that the Splenda manufacturer actually chose the name Sucralose to confuse, make consumers think that it’s a sugar when it’s not. There’s more info about that in Sweet Deception, about how the manufacturer of Splenda chose that name purposely.
On the topic of the organochlorines, the ones listed in the book are those that I listed in my article and the others were solvents, plastics, nothing natural. I was googling for more information and now I’ve been finding info that organochlorines are linked to breast cancer – wow, that’s very interesting, something I want to look into now.
Thanks again for your follow up – I know what you mean about brain mush and getting busy. 🙂
I have to disagree with many of your reasons although not with your premise. I think artificial sweeteners are a poor substitute for self control and personal responsibility. After all, the reason for their existence is so a person can eat something sweet with less caloric effect.
My objections are that sucralose lasts so long. It is not easily degraded in nature so passes through wastewater treatment intact and lasts a long time in the water system.
The chlorine atom is in a tightly bound chloride molecule (like in salt) in three places on the sucralose molecule. It is in a class with other molecules that have proved dangerous to animal life and which also are not easily degraded.
I think the worst thing is that it encourages confusion about calories – it is not calorie free but since it is 600 times sweeter than sugar we use much less with much fewer calories. It was developed after its discovery because it lasts so long! I think that is its biggest documented danger thus far.
Hi Bruce,
Right, the reasons I listed are the ones that struck me as the most important in the book. Nope, didn’t make them up myself and I couldn’t list everything from the book but I do suggest reading it – very very enlightening on the topic of Splenda and Sucralose. 😉
You may be right about the Sucralose sticking around in the environment since it’s an organochlorine – makes sense that that’s why Dr. Mercola pointed out the fact that organochlorines are dangerous for the environment.
Re: calories, I don’t count calories, IMHO it’s too obsessive, however I do use portion control.
Re: self control, I’m very empathetic towards people who struggle with overeating and overweight, maybe because I have personal experience in it myself, which includes the experience of sugar addiction.
And no, I don’t think that artificial sweeteners are the solution to overweight or even sugar addiction however I also do not advocate anyone denying themselves a healthy sweetener alternative such as Stevia, but I don’t look at as a calorie type of issue.
Additionally there are millions of very intelligent people who exercise self control in other areas of their lives reaching levels of “success” that society applauds, however they still have issues with overweight.
I believe that if the obesity epidemic could be solved with the prescription of a diet and exercise routine then no one would be overweight, but since that clearly hasn’t worked, there’s just a bit more to it than that, such as psychology, the subconscious, emotions, a lack of self-love and more, depending on the particular person.
A bit off the topic of Splenda here and I sincerely appreciate you commenting because it’s a good reminder to everyone of how important it is to remain empathetic to those who struggle with overweight. 😉
I personally do not eat the stuff. I would like to know when we got away from eating natural food like butter and sugar in moderation. However I would like to point out to the author of this post that just like the FDA may not research something fully don’t believe everything in a book just because it was published. Book publishers may not research a book either. Anyone can pretend they know what they are talking about.
Hi Robin,
I think the last time in American history that ingredients like butter and sugar were eaten in moderation were during the pioneering times. Butter was churned by hand on the farm and sugar was eaten mainly on holidays.
Problem is that now most processed foods contain refined sugar of some sort and the human body is not built to stand up to it, it’s just too much. Then the artificial sweeteners came into play, which present another whole host of issues.
And I agree with you that some people can come across as if they have knowledge but they always don’t. That’s why I like to use books for my reference posts that provide numerous references of their own, which is what you will find in Sweet Deception.
Also, I wasn’t surprised to learn more about how the FDA doesn’t look out for our best health interests in Sweet Deception after researching my post on Stevia and finding the statement by the former FDA investigator who revealed why Stevia is not allowed to be sold as a sweetener in the U.S., which you can read here if you like.
I have to write in order to point out that while well intentioned, you are effectively promoting partial truths and misconceptions – exactly that which you are criticising the manufacturers of Splenda. Before I get into it I want to point out that I don’t consume Splenda as I don’t believe in the premise of artificial sweetners for otherwise healthy people. I believe they could be bad for you and we just don’t know enough about them to say the won’t cause any problems. Nutrasweet is a perfect example – I’m not convinced that it (or Splenda) are actually healthful.
6 of your 14 points refer to Chlorine – so really you only have 9 reasons to avoid Splenda. While chlorine by itself is not a good thing, the simple presence of a chlorine atom in a chemical compound does not make it inherently toxic. Yes there are plenty of insecticides, pesticides, etc. that have chlorine in them, but there are plenty of chemical compounds that contain chlorine that are innocuous. Simply grouping a chemical into “chlorine-containing compounds” does not impose toxicity upon it. I haven’t had time to research it just yet, but I will and I will post my results back here, even if I am proven wrong.
You also refer to “chemicals” in a bad light, but realistically sucrose, glucose, fructose, lactose, galactose, maltose, and a long list of other sugars are chemicals. Amino acids, nucleotides, hormones – they’re all chemicals so you can’t make broad sweeping denouncements of chemicals as bad. We are made up of chemicals.
One individual pointed out using agave nectar (more or less honey) or date sugar – these are effectively sugar derived from other sources. They may have redeeming qualities over refined sugar, but they are really just sugar in disguise. Stevia is indeed an herb and I am not aware of any sugar content. I personally don’t like the herb-like taste it also has.
Moderation is the key, in my opinion. Everyone is looking for the great solution to allow them to drink a diet soda with no guilt. Why drink diet soda anyway? There is much more to diet soda that is inherently bad than just the sweetening agent. I don’t drink diet soda at all, and only drink a sweetened soda once in a rare while. I personally like Jones Soda (sweetened with cane sugar only – no high fructose corn syrup) or Izze (sweetened with fruit juice). 99.9% of the time I drink water, which, by the way, contains chlorine to sanitize it – chlorinated water has yet to kill anyone.
Regarding the pesticide comments, do you eat cabbage, broccoli, or cauliflower? If so you are consuming numerous pesticides that occur naturall in these foods. In fact, many commercial pesticides were originally derived from compounds in cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and other cruciferous vegetables.
I am not intending to be combative here, but I would strongly encourage you and all those who read this blog not to jump to conclusions based upon limited knowledge of the subject matter. Misconceptions come in many shapes and sizes, and I encourage everyone to be skeptical and thoughtful in making their decisions and their conclusions.
And, just eat a little sugar. It really won’t hurt you in moderation.
Quick follow up: I just found this link:
eurochlor.org/upload/documents/document56.pdf
This document discusses some naturally occuring organochlorines. One very interesting fact – white blood cells produce hypochlorite (bleach!!) to kill invading bacteria. So, chlorine is REALLY important.
This and other sources point out that over 2000 naturally occurring chemical compounds have been identified.
What I meant to say was:
This and other sources point out that over 2000 naturally occurring organochlorine chemical compounds have been identified.
Have I been censored? I posted a rather lengthy comment discussing my viewpoint of the Splenda issue along with a follow up post on where to find supporting information. All were there as of Saturday, 6 June 2008 – now they’re gone?
Kirk,
All comments at Fearless Fat Loss are moderated due to spam. I apologize that I did not immediately check in to approve the recent comments, sometimes I get behind.
Re: all of your other comments –
The 14 points that I have listed for reasons to avoid Splenda are only 14 out of the book Sweet Deception that caught my eye – as I wrote in my post above I highly recommend that my smart readers of Fearless Fat Loss (who are also public consumers who deserve to know when their health may be in danger) read the full book Sweet Deception.
Dr. Mercola, the author of Sweet Deception, spent 2 years researching the dangers of Splenda and other artificial sweeteners for his book and included an abundance of references to back up his claims that I have passed onto my readers in my above article.
In fact here’s even more information on the fraud and deception being perpetrated on the public re: Splenda the only organochlorine approved for consumption by humans:
Do the Makers of Splenda Know Something They Aren’t Telling You?
Splenda is Not a “Healthy” Sweetener
(Note for my readers: when you click those links you may need to enter an email address to enter Dr. Mercola’s site (I had to do the same) but it’s well worth it.)
In regards to the issue of chlorine, chlorine and chloride are 2 entirely separate materials and the pdf document you recommend contains many inconsistencies, jumping back and forth between chloride and chlorine, the former (Chloride) being the substance that does occur naturally and is not a danger to humans and the latter (Chlorine) being hugely detrimental to human health.
It is interesting however, that the pdf doc is served by a company that manufacturers chlorine, so of course they are trying to create a doc that will put chlorine in a favorable light.
In fact, I would not be surprised if the manufacturers of Splenda or any of the companies involved downline in the manufacture of it would send people to comment on posts such as mine, posts that are passing along the recommendation to read Sweet Deception. I have already seen this occur on other posts both here and on my friends’ blogs re: corn sugar products, so why would it be any different with the topic of Splenda?
I garner that Dr. Mercola is not going to be popular for putting 2 years of research into his book because he could potentially help to bring down the manufacture of Splenda.
I will not recommend either Splenda or any other chlorine or organochlorine to my readers. I do not recommend that they use chlorine as it is a danger to human health and the environment.
I also do not recommend refined sugar to my readers who are food addicts since the refined sugar will only keep them in the cycle of addiction.
I will continue to recommend Stevia to my readers and I also highly recommend that my readers read the book Sweet Deception and learn all about Splenda and the other artificial sweeteners that Dr. Mercola has written about. After becoming fully educated it is still up to each individual as to what they wish to eat and drink and if one doesn’t even want to read the material and references in Sweet Deception that I recommend, all one has to do is totally eliminate Splenda for 2 weeks and listen to their own body. Your body will tell you what is unhealthy if you listen.
Thanks for the response and the moderation explanation. I appreciate that my post reappeared.
Regarding chlorine, chloride, etc. I still contend that organochlorine substances are not inherently dangerous. I assure you, and would gladly prove it if I could in this context, that I do NOT work for any company even remotely related to Splenda or its manufacturer. As a step toward this proof, I DO NOT recommend any artificial sweetener whatsoever – Splenda, NutraSweet, SweetNLow, any of them. Ever. Stick with the natural stuff, 100%. (That’s as close as I can come to proof, I suppose.) I am a trained scientist with degrees in Human Nutrition, Human Physiology and Pharmacology, if that garners any additional benefit.
Returning to the topic of organocholine compounds – yes, there are a number of organochlorine’s that are detrimental. Pesticides, herbicides, fire-retardants, and insulating materials represent a vast collection of those, and I’m sure that compounds such as PCBs (poly-chlorinated biphenyls) are tops on the list. DDT falls in this category as well. Most PCBs were manufactured in the 1960s and 1970s by Monsanto and they have been subsequently banned. This ban only came after it was found that these substances accumulated in the environment and have had significant impact on the endocrine systems of many animals and potentially humans.
Regardless, I would urge you and your readers to accept that the toxicity of these compounds arises from their overall 3-dimensional chemical structure as well as their chemical electronic qualities. The mere presence of chlorine in the chemically bonded structure does not impart toxicity. This is an extreme oversimplification of the biochemical nature of our physiologies.
I found this very interesting article, which I hope you find interesting as well: http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pwb/02/0218/
I agree 100% that the vast majority of man-made organochlorines (as per my list above) have shown to be toxic, but that is strongly related to their overall structures. In fact, many of the organochlorines have very similar structures and thus similar activities.
Regarding Splenda, is is safe? I have no idea. It certainly is NOT natural, but I don’t know about its safety. I personally would rather err on the side of safety and avoid it (and all artificial sweeteners), but not because they do or do not contain chlorine.
Kirk,
Yep, you left your comments on 6/08 and you were the only one who could see them until 6/09 when I had a chance after the weekend to approve comments so they never disappeared, they weren’t live until 6/09.
Re: your concern with organochlorines – I appreciate that you have a background in science of which I do not nor have I ever claimed to have.
I am merely a person who has passed along the information that Dr. Mercola and his team spent 2 years researching to present in his book Sweet Deception and on his website http://www.mercola.com.
I do not claim in any of my articles to have created the research material that I pass along to my readers and I always suggest that they read the books and other sources I suggest to make up their own mind.
I do not change my stance that Splenda is an organochlorine after reading the material that Dr. Mercola has presented especially since it is the only organochlorine approved for human consumption while other organochlorines are mustard gas and DDT to name a few.
I will not recommend that my readers ingest Splenda as it is an organochlorine and I do not believe that chlorine is good for the Earth. Chloride is a different matter, which I have already covered in my article and several other comments.
I understand you wish to get your point across however I think you would do better by going to the source, Dr. Mercola at his website http://www.mercola.com since again, I am passing on the information to my readers that I strongly believe is relevant from Dr. Mercola’s book, Sweet Deception.
It would be another matter if I were presenting my own research and standings on organochlorines but I am not – again though I am not recommending organochlorines to my readers. I am interested in helping my readers to achieve the highest level of health possible and Splenda is not included in that equation, nor is any other organochlorine.
Whole, real foods are what I always recommend but that topic is covered 100’s of my other posts and Splenda is not a whole food, it’s not even a food.