Splenda Found to Reduce Friendly Gut Bacteria Significantly

Still using an artificial sweetener like Splenda? You may want to rethink that choice. As evidenced in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, the Splenda (sucralose) has been found to kill good gut bacteria – an absolute key factor in maintaining a healthy immune system.

Like sugar, but not really, Splenda is a chlorinated sweetener that may be toxic. It has been approved for use since 1998, but this seemingly harmless substance may be linked to several health ailments – especially digestive imbalance due to the demise of friendly gut flora.

A compromised gut is known to be pivotal in maintaining a strong immune system. Without a healthy makeup of gut flora, a host of diseases are more easily able to flourish.

Here’s what the study mentioned earlier found:

“Evidence indicates that a 12-wk administration of Splenda exerted numerous adverse effects, including (1) reduction in beneficial fecal microflora, (2) increased fecal pH, and (3) enhanced expression levels of P-gp, CYP3A4, and CYP2D1, which are known to limit the bioavailability of orally administered drugs.”

Further, the changes occurred at Splenda dosages that contained sucralose at 1.1–11 mg/kg. For reference, the U.S. FDA Acceptable Daily Intake for sucralose is 5 mg/kg)

Sucralose and the Gut

Its absorption by the digestive system may explain why the researchers at Duke University in 2008 (the study mentioned earlier) found that Splenda negatively alters gut microflora in rats and may limit the bioavailability of drugs and nutrients. 

A myriad other studies showing Splenda’s adverse effects—ranging from bowel disturbances, kidney mineralization, and tumor growth—can be reviewed here.

In one human (albeit small) study, nutritionist Tamara Duker Freuman found that “because [Splenda’s] sweet taste is not accompanied by the calories (energy) our brain expects it to be, the complex systems our bodies have to regulate energy balance may be thrown off kilter.  The result is that of a diet high in artificial sweeteners may possibly, over time, cause people to seek out more calories from other sources in order to satisfy cravings that sweet—but calorically empty—foods create.”

Read: Is Splenda Safe? Examining the Potential dangers of Splenda

Splenda contains 95% dextrose (D-glucose) and maltodextrin. 1.1% is sucralose.

“Maltodextrin is a food additive that is created by taking corn or potato starch, boiling it down and then using acids or enzymes to break the starch down even further, leaving only a white powder. This powder is then used in many packaged foods like granolas, chips, and cereals, often times as filler, but also to create texture.”

Maltodextrin is most often derived from GMO corn. Dextrose is not ‘natural’ sugar. It often comes from GMO corn as well.

“As early as the 1920′s, Dr. Harvey Wiley stated that flooding the stomach with dextrose creates an artificial situation that would require an additional half-dozen pancreases for our body to cope with it. The sugar refining interests influenced Congress so that dextrose (or glucose) was allowed to remain a legal food additive.” ~ Raw Food Explained

Splenda and DDT

Dr. Mercola compares sucralose to DDT. Refuting this, as The Examiner states, “most pesticides are chlorocarbons and…the bonds holding carbon and chlorine atoms together in sucralose are more characteristic of a chlorocarbon than a salt.”

The Calorie Control Council (CCC) claims, rightfully, that DDT is virtually insoluble in water and soluble in fats, such as those found in the body. “The small amount of sucralose that is absorbed is rapidly eliminated in urine.” Splenda’s makers have admitted that, on average, 15% of sucralose is absorbed. (Remember that that’s an average, meaning some people may absorb significantly more, others significantly less.)

Because sucralose is not a naturally occurring product, however, it might be safe to say that the body, unable to metabolize it, absorbs it via the digestive system and ultimately stores it in the body. (Perhaps a scientist can peaceably weigh in on this.)

Due to the potential ill effects of this chemical in a packet, the consumer watchdog group, Center for Science in the Public Interest, has downgraded it from ‘safe’ to ‘use with caution’ and then down to ‘avoid.’

Consider Choosing Natural Sweeteners Instead

The truth is, you may want to trade in the artificial sweeteners with other natural sweeteners. Some of them offer added health benefits – like honey.