Friends of mine are beginning to shun Splenda and other sweetners believing them to be harmful in some ways. What does the research say about Splenda etc. ?
Thanks
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Health Issues Surrounding Artificial Sweetners
Kenn Kihiu
Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 12:32 PMre: Health Issues Surrounding Artificial Sweetners
Bikerjohn
Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 01:31 PMHi Kenn,
Thanks for your time and input on this, but I'm really interested in the real scientific findings (double blind, large number, long term studies) on these artificial sweeteners.
Science is human-kinds only way to actually determine cause and effect apart from feelings, opinions, intuitions, and (in the event of people who may work for the Splenda company, for example, the funding sources). There must be studies out there that give a hint of a link between artificial sweeteners and actual, correlated, health issues.
I say this because (using a similar argument) there are a LOT of artificial things that people consume that save our lives - most medicines would be such an example. (Even aspirin and penicillin are in far greater concentrations than would be found naturally - similar to a willow bark compound apparently, and from mold respectively.) The definition of what is artificial is vague and I just don't see how one can claim thaat 'artificial' means 'harmful or dangerous' without data to back that up.
On the flip side, it seems that there has been a very large (incidental) study in progress...everyone on the planet who has been eating this stuff for years. That is a much larger sample than any research group could perform. With all this, I've never heard a claim of harm aside from arguments similar to yours- that artificial things are bad or risky to use.
The article you referenced talked about possible weight gain (contrary to the
intent of the consumer) but didn’t link it to cancer, heart disease, memory loss,
or anything else. This seems like a personal choice/lack of control issue, not asweetner issue.
Thanks again for your time!
reply
Hi Bikerjohn,
Heather Reese wrote a great article on sweeteners and weight gain you can find it from the following link
http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/92/20195/weight-gain/
I personally stay away from artificial sweeteners. Research and studies will say something along the lines that "there is no clear evidence" but the human body evolved eating from natures bounty and our body can metabolize sugar that is found naturally in fruits without any side effects. Anything that is made in a lab has some sort of side effects. For some it's minor others severe. Is it a risk you are willing to take? When it comes to anything that goes into your mouth and ultimately it becomes the very thing your cells are made of, try staying as natural as possible. Sugar is not the enemy, the quantity you take is.
Move Your Body, Move Your Life
Kenn Kihiu
http://www.dancexfitness.com/
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