Artificial sweeteners (also called suger substitutes) are used instead of sugar to sweeten foods and beverages. There are five artificial sweeteners that fall under the FDA's GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) List: Aspartame (Equal, Nutrasweet), Saccharin (Sweet 'N Low), Acesulfame-K (pottasium primarily used in gums and Jello but recently approved for soft drinks), Neotame and Sucralose, (the trade name for Splenda and primarily used in diet foods).
In 1979 the FDA considered banning Saccharin because animal studies showed it was a causal factor in cancer. Instead, it required that a strong warning be put on the label but even that was reversed in 1990. Most recently Aspartame and Acesulfame-K have come under attack as causing cancer over long periods of consumption. People at risk for phenylketonoria, PKU (an inhereted genetic condition in whihc the body can't process phenylalanine [PHE] an amino acid found in many foods) are told to eliminate Aspartame altogether from their diets. The Center for Science in the Public Interest recommends that all artificial sweeteners be avoided and that Aspartame, Saccharin and Acesulfame-K not be consumed at all. All artificial sweetners will cause headaches and diarrhea in high doses.
Observational evidence shows that there are side effects of Splenda, including skin rashes/flushing, panic-like agitation, dizziness and numbness, diarrhea, muscle aches, headaches, intestinal cramping, bladder issues, and stomach pain. These show up at one end of the spectrum — in the people who have an allergy or sensitivity to the sucralose molecule. But no one can say to what degree consuming Splenda affects the rest of us.
If this sounds familiar, it should: we went down the same path with aspartame, the main ingredient in Equal and NutraSweet. Almost all of the independent research into aspartame found dangerous side effects in rodents. The FDA chose not to take these findings into account when it approved aspartame for public use. Over the course of 15 years, those same side effects increasingly appeared in humans. Not in everyone, of course — but in those who were vulnerable to the chemical structure of aspartame.
As food additives, artificial sweeteners are not subject to the same gauntlet of FDA safety trials as pharmaceuticals. Most of the testing is funded by the food industry, which has a vested interest in the outcome. This can lead to misleading claims on both sides.
But one thing is certain: some of the chemicals that comprise artificial sweeteners are known hazards — the degree to which you experience side effects just depends on your individual biochemistry. Manufacturers are banking on the fact that our bodies won’t absorb very much of these compounds at any one time. And many of us don’t. But what happens when we are ingesting a combination of artificial sweeteners like Splenda dozens of times a week through many different “low–sugar” or “sugar–free” products?
People have been using artificial sweeteners for decades. Some react poorly, some don’t — the problem is, you never know until you’re already sick. Scientists are calling Splenda a mild mutagen, based on how much is absorbed.