What is sucralose?
To understand where the sweet flavor comes from in a sugar-free sweetener requires a crash course in chemistry. Sucralose (also sold under the trade name Splenda) is made in a laboratory from a number of different chemicals that create a sweet flavor when they are combined. According SRI, a research company for the global chemical industry, Sucralose may be synthesized from sucrose in five steps:

1. sucrose is tritylated with trityl chloride in the presence of dimethylformamide and 4-methylmorpholine and the tritylated sucrose is then acetylated with acetic anhydride,

2. the resulting TRISPA (6,1',6'-tri-O-trityl-penta-O-acetylsucrose) is chlorinated with hydrogen chloride in the presence of toluene,

3. the resulting 4-PAS (sucrose 2,3,4,3',4'-pentaacetate) is heated in the presence of methyl isobutyl ketone and acetic acid,

4. the resulting 6-PAS (sucrose 2,3,6,3',4'-pentaacetate) is chlorinated with thionyl chloride in the presence of toluene and benzyltriethylammonium chloride, and
 
5. the resulting TOSPA (sucralose pentaacetate) is treated with methanol in the presence of sodium methoxide to produce sucralose. ^{ii  iii}

In simple terms, sucralose is a manmade sweetener created from chemicals in a laboratory. Why would you put something in your body if you can't even understand where it came from? Compare the complex laboratory process used to create sucralose to the natural simplicity of taking the honey from a honeycomb and purifying it, or drying pure sugar cane juice. The difference should be very clear.

Sucralose is marketed under the trade name Splenda, popularly recognized by the slogan, "Made from sugar so it tastes like sugar." In reality, while sucralose does begin with sugar, the sugar is so chemically modified that it becomes something other than sugar. Chemicals are never a natural, healthy way to feed your body the nutrition that it needs, but it gets worse! Sucralose is actually very high in chlorine content! Reading the chemical directions, it is easy to see that three of the five steps involve chlorides and chlorination! The chemical process used to create sucralose essentially binds three chlorine atoms to the atoms of sugar, creating chlorinated sugar that is much sweeter than sugar alone. You are virtually putting chlorine into your body every time you consume sucralose!

Chlorine can kill you!
According to the science magazine Popular Mechanics, "A growing number of scientists believe the side effects of chlorine outweigh its benefits" ^iv to such a degree that they are trying to have the substance banned. Far from being harmless, chlorine is an extremely toxic bioharzard-not something you want inside your body. Chlorine is a known carcinogen that kills animals and wildlife. It is a common ingredient in pesticides, and is in many of the world's most harmful environmental toxins, including DDT, Agent Orange, and dioxin. If you accidentally ingest chlorine, you must contact a poison control center or go to the hospital! Chlorine is a deadly poison!

Proof positive that ingested chlorine does terrible things for humans: As long ago as 1993, an EPA biologist testified before Congress that "Our studies show that a single dose of dioxin [a type of chlorine] administered during pregnancy permanently reduces sperm count in males by about 60 percent." ^v Studies conducted in parts of Denmark where water has a high content of chlorine show male sperm counts down 50 percent. In Norway, babies born to women who drank chlorinated (tap) water while pregnant had 14 percent more birth defects than those of women who drank pure mountain water. ^vi

In December 2000, diplomats from 122 countries got together in South Africa to declare that chlorine should be banned because of its numerous harmful effects on human, animal, and plant life. Why would you want to eat something so dangerous? Chlorine does appear in nature, but the chlorine in sucralose is manmade and is essentially BLEACH. You should be wary of anyone who tries to argue that bleach is safe to eat, especially if it is a company that stands to make money.

Chemicals in your body!
In light of these facts, it is common sense to assume that chlorine is NOT SAFE, but it has been approved for human consumption anyway. The manufacturer claims that zero percent of sucralose is digested; however, independent studies have found between 15 and 40 percent of the substance stays behind in the body. FDA tests showed up to 27 percent of sucralose being absorbed by the body, while the Japanese Food Sanitation Council reports that number as closer to 40 percent absorbed. And not only is sucralose absorbed by the body, it stays in the body! When a tiny bit of chlorine is left in your body each time you drink a diet cola or eat sugar-free gum, untold amounts of it accumulate in your body over the course of your life. According the Sucralose Toxicity Information Center, as much as 30 percent may be metabolized after absorption and collect in the intestine, liver, and kidneys. ^vii

And although the manufacturers of sucralose claim that it passes through the body undigested, your body does not know that sucralose is not meant to be digested. Because your body does not know that sucralose is not supposed to be digested, it may expend enormous amounts of energy attempting to digest a chlorinated food that should never have been placed in the body to begin with!

What are we doing to our bodies? Either the manufacturer is wrong, and sucralose really is digested by our bodies, leaving behind unknown amounts of chlorine and other harmful chemicals, or the manufacturer is right and it is not digested, but our digestive systems get exhausted attempting to break down a substance that they were never meant to digest! You lose either way!

Sucralose can make you fat!
One reason that consumers gravitate toward sucralose is that they believe it will help them lose weight. Even though sucralose is marketed as a zero-calorie sweetener, this is false advertising. The zero-calorie label comes from the manufacturer's claim that sucralose passes through the body undigested-if it is not digested by the body, it has no caloric value. This is also the way the manufacturer claims that making sweeteners with chlorine is okay-as long as it's not digested, what is the harm? The chlorine particles are bound so tightly to the sugar molecules that they can't be broken down and digested, says the manufacturer. But, as shown above, sucralose is, in fact, digested and absorbed by the body.

Since part of the substance actually DOES stay in the body, it leaves behind some calories. This means sucralose is not entirely calorie-free! But forget the four calories per serving in sucralose, since it has an even bigger effect on your waistline by making you hungrier! New research conducted by scientists at Purdue University indicates that an artificial "zero-calorie" sweetener is linked to weight gain. In the study, ingesting sucralose was liked to a higher caloric intake in general, while real sugar tended to cause consumers to take in fewer total calories, overall. ^viii

In the Purdue study, feeding artificial sweeteners to rats made them crave more calories than the rats fed actual sugar. Apparently, the body believes that when you offer it something sweet, more calories will follow. If you offer it something with almost zero calories, your body thinks it is about to receive more food and begins searching for the calories it needs to digest. Since there are very few calories in sucralose, you feel hungry when your body fails to receive the calories it is expecting. ^ix In addition, diabetes can result if your insulin behaves as though it is constantly on a yo-yo.

In sucralose-sensitive individuals, eating the sweetener can cause a slew of unrelated symptoms, including hair loss, menstrual irregularity, headaches or migraines, sudden weight gain, fatigue, depression, and many others. However, because the symptoms are due to an environmental cause rather than a physical cause, doctors sometime have trouble diagnosing the problem, often diagnosing lupus or Graves' disease instead. If you regularly eat diet colas, sugar-free foods, or other items containing sucralose (or the similar "zero-calorie" sweetener aspartame) and have suffered strange, seemingly unrelated symptoms, your eating habits might very well be the cause.

Are you sucralose-sensitive?
To test yourself and find out whether you are being poisoned by sucralose and/or aspartame, simply read the label on every item of food you place in your mouth. For one week, do not consume any products with sucralose or aspartame. If your symptoms lessen or disappear, you are probably one of the many individuals who are sensitive to chemical sweeteners. Simply refrain from eating foods that have sucralose and/or aspartame in them, and you will be far better off than before. Your symptoms will lessen, and your life will be more happy and healthy!

Sucralose substitutes
As a substitute for sucralose, consider saccharine. Compared to the thousands of complaints lodged against sucralose with the FDA, saccharine has only had six complaints registered with the FDA. Even better than saccharine, try sweetening things up with stevia! Stevia is an herb, so the FDA has not classified stevia as a sweetener, but the human tongue perceives the taste of stevia as being sweet.

Stevia is bought as a powder, which is mixed into food for added sweetness. A common complaint is that stevia is slightly bitter, but stevia is 200-300 times sweeter than sugar, so it cannot be substituted in equal amounts. Simply use a small amount of stevia for all-natural sweetness that (good news for diabetics) may actually be able to help regulate blood sugar, according to some studies.

Conclusion and what you can do

Your health is precious! Take the best care of it that you can by avoiding foods that will harm you, such as chemical- and chlorine-filled sucralose! The most healthy and wholesome foods are all-natural, but there is nothing natural about taking sugar, turning it into a chemical cocktail, and adding to your food. Chlorine is one of the most toxic substances to plant, animal, and human life, so why would you risk poisoning yourself with it? Even though the manufacturer says that eating the chlorine in sucralose is perfectly safe because none of it is digested or absorbed by your body, tests have found that up to 40 percent of sucralose is digested and up to thirty percent stays in your body. Not only does sucralose cause chlorine to accumulate in your body, it doesn't even help you lose weight. In fact, it causes you to want to eat more, so you GAIN weight! Harmful symptoms can result from using sucralose on a regular basis (or eating "sugar-free" foods that are sweetened with sucralose), so evaluate yourself for sucralose-sensitivity if you find yourself experiencing sudden unrelated medical symptoms such as hair loss, headaches, and fatigue. Be proactive! Read labels with an eye to cut down on or eliminate sucralose from your diet. Safeguard your health by purchasing safe, delicious alternatives to sucralose, such as saccharine or stevia, or real sugar! In my opinion, real sugar is far better for you than sucralose! Keep up to date on health news and studies by signing up for my free monthly eNewsletters.  Each new subscriber will receive my eBook, 10 Weight Loss Secrets, as a free gift! Finally, pray for wisdom to know how to care for your body and feed it nutritious foods. Following these steps can help keep you healthy, happy, and lean for life!

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Footnotes

ⁱ CBS News, Can Diet Soda Make You Gain Weight? http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/04/earlyshow/contributors/emilysenay/main2330142.shtml
ⁱⁱ SRI Consulting, Sucralose: a high-intensity, noncaloric sweetener, PEP preview 90-1-4. http://www.sriconsulting.com/PEP/Reports/Phase_90/RW90-1-4/RW90-1-4.html
ⁱⁱⁱ Ibid.
^iv Jim Wilson, Popular Mechanics, "Chlorine Quandary," January 2001.
^v Lawrence Wright, "Silent Sperm," NEW YORKER (January 15, 1996), pg. 53.
^vi Dr. Janet Starr Hull, Splenda: is it safe or not?, Pickle Press, Dallas, TX, pages 11and 43.
^vii Sucralose (Splenda), Health Answers, http://www.health-answers.co.uk/sucralose-splenda.htm
^viii Karen Collins, RD, "Do sweeteners help or hurt weight control?"
http://health.msn.com/nutrition/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100200599
^ix Ibid.