By Dr. Roopa Chari, M.D.
Oct 6th, 2013
We will focus on one of the artificial sweeteners today called “Splenda”. Artificial sweeteners are not natural, despite the advertisements. Splenda®, also known as sucralose, is an artificial, chemical sweetener that contains chlorine. In the patented process of making sucralose, three chlorine molecules are added to a sucrose or sugar molecule.
There have been no long-term human studies on the safety of Splenda. Concerns have come up about Splenda since the study from Duke University showed that Splenda® and sucralose can damage the health of your gut since they get rid of good healthy bacteria (known as probiotic bacteria) that live in your gut. If you want to have optimal health, your gut health needs to be at its optimal level!
This is important to know because these healthy bacteria are very important for almost every aspect of your health.
Why are these good gut bacteria so important for our health?
An amazing fact is that over 80% of your immune system is in your gut (digestive system). There are over 100 TRILLION living bacteria in your gut that control and manage almost every aspect of your health.
It is been shown that the imbalance of the gut bacteria leads to many health problems including inflammatory bowel disease, allergies, recurrent ear and bladder infections and much more!
By eating artificial sweeteners like Splenda® along with highly processed foods, many people may have created a large bacterial imbalance in their body that can negatively affect their health.
In response to this study at Duke, James Turner, chairman of the national consumer education group Citizens for Health issued the following statement:
“The report makes it clear that the artificial sweetener Splenda and its key component sucralose pose a threat to the people who consume the product. Hundreds of consumers have complained to us about side effects from using Splenda and this study … confirms that the chemicals in the little yellow package should carry a big red warning label.”
So please avoid artificial sweeteners!
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References:
Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A: Current Issues
Volume 71, Issue 21, 2008
About Dr. Roopa Chari, M.D.: "Dr. Roopa Chari is a medical doctor in Internal Medicine and her brother Deepak Chari is an Engineer and Certified Biofeedback Specialist at The Chari Center of Health, an advanced integrative medical center in Encinitas, CA. * Sign up for a FREE 15 minute holistic medical consult with Dr. Chari and/or a FREE 30 minute Stress & Anxiety Relief session with Advanced Voice Biofeedback with Deepak Chari here or call (760) 230-2711."