Many people use artificial sweeteners assuming they will help them lose weight. However, the opposite is true for many. It increases appetite in animal research labs. What do you think that will do for you

The fact is that it messes with your body chemistry making you want to eat more food. That becomes a real problem for diabetics and others with blood sugar problems.

Here is one challenge: When Splenda is used in baking, it begins to break down and interact with an element in fat molecules called glycerol. This creates substances called chloropropanols. These may raise the risk of triggering cancer. Healthline.com “Sucralose (Splenda): Good or Bad?"

One prestigious site indicated that children under 2 years old should not have “sugar substitutes. mayoclinic.org  (Artificial sweeteners and other sugar substitutes.)

They also indicate that daily use may raise a risk of “stroke, heart disease and death.”

Christine Ruggeri, CHHC, wrote for Dr. Axe’s site, an article “Sucralose: 5 Reasons to Avoid This Artificial Sweetener.”

She writes, “sucralose was found through the development of a new insecticide compound. It was never meant to be consumed. However, it was later introduced as a “natural sugar substitute” to the masses, and people had no idea that the stuff was actually toxic.”

Diabetes Care had a study published indicating that daily consumption of diet soda was associated with “greater risk of metabolic syndrome and.a 78% greater risk of type 2 diabetes.” Diet drinks may use this substance instead of aspartame. Sucralose is considered to be a “diabetes trigger.” The reason given was that it lessened cellular sensitivity to insulin.

Dr. Xin Qin, MD, PhD, from New Jersey Medical School noted that Sucralose was more harmful to gut bacteria than other artificial sweeteners. It increased ulcerative colitis, and irritable bowel symptoms and caused other problems with the normal gut bacteria.

Studies also indicate that it increases inflammation in the digestive system. It causes bloating in sensitive people. The reason for irritation is that it’s not digested, so it moves through the GI tract (gastrointestinal) and damages the tiny pores in the lining that permit nutrients to go through. As the pores enlarge, food particles can also sneak through causing allergic responses that trigger immune system reactions. Also, you absorb less nutrients because of other side effects.

The U.S. Right to Know organization published an online article “Sucralose: Emerging science reveals health risks.” By Stacy Malkan. It noted that the World Health Organization “advised people not to consume non-sugar sweeteners, including Sucralose, for weight loss. They based this on studies that linked them to type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and all-cause mortality, as well as increased body weight.”

Our FDA ignores warnings of this sort and approves it in a huge list of foods. (Some say 6,000)

A big warning comes from research linking this substance with an increase in leukemia, especially in males. One reason for this is the indication that Sucralose damages the DNA. Researchers at North Carolina State University found that it increased “activity that leads to inflammation and cancer.” healthline.com “Sucralose, A Common Artificial Sweetener, May Increase Cancer Risk.”

globalnew.ca published an article, “Is Splenda linked to cancer risk? Study ties Sucralose to leukemia.' They based their information on research done in Bologna, Italy at the Ramazzini Institute. Animal studies, “using a sensitive experimental design,”indicated that as the “Splenda intake increased, their risk of malignant cancer crept up.”

“The Center for Science in the Public Interest “downgraded its safety rating of Sucralose for the second time in wake of the Italian research.” They now tell “consumers to 'avoid' the artificial sweetener."

Back to the weight problem. In animal studies, chronic consumption of Sucralose triggers a reaction in the brain.“ It recalibrates and increases total calories consumed.”This is from a study published in Cell Metabolism.

I invite you to check out the U. S. Right to Know organization. They have a wealth of information.

My take on artificial sweeteners is this. Avoid them like the plague. Your body doesn’t like them. They are not natural so they do not stimulate proper body responses. 

I know this may disturb your sweet-loving desires. Some of these substances were discovered accidentally and were intended for more toxic applications. The fact that they were so very sweet, triggered dollar signs in industrial minds.

health.harvard.edu had an alarming bit of information in their health blog. “Could artificial sweeteners be bad for your brain? “ “Researchers analyzed health data from nearly 3,000 adults.” Those who had one diet drink a day had three times more strokes and were three times more likely to develop dementia.”

They immediately qualified this with rationalizations, but the truth is that these sweeteners have never been properly studied in children or adults.

I don’t want you to continue being experimental guinea pigs. That’s what they’ve made of us, at least until we wise up.

Make the effort to be or stay healthy.

Nancy Pidutti, PhD, (NHH), RN, Author, hospital Chaplain.