Surprising Study About Artificial Sweeteners

For those of you who are aware of the health dangers posed by artificial sweeteners and dutifully avoid them, the featured study findings may come as a shocking surprise.

Researchers have found that the artificial sweetener sucralose (Splenda) is a widespread contaminant in waste water, surface water, and ground water. In a recent test, water samples from 19 U.S. drinking water treatment plants serving more than 28 million people were analyzed for sucralose. The sweetener was found to be present in:

The source water of 15 out of 19 of drinking water treatment plants tested
The finished water of 13 out of 17 plants, and
In 8 out of 12 water distribution systems

The average amounts of sucralose in source water and finished water was 440 ng/L and 350 ng/L respectively.

According to the study:

“Further, in the subset of [drinking water treatment plants] with distribution system water sampled, the compound was found to persist regardless of the presence of residual chlorine or chloramines … The results of this study confirm that sucralose [is] an indicator compound … for the presence of other recalcitrant compounds in finished drinking water”.

Recalcitrant compounds are organic or synthetic compounds that resist being broken down by chemical processes, such as those employed by water treatment facilities. This is troublesome, particularly as sucralose can be quite detrimental to human health, and the contamination appears to be very widespread in US water supplies.

Sucralose Destroys Healthy Bacteria

Three years ago, an animal study published in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health reported that sucralose:

Reduced the amount of good bacteria in the animals’ intestines by 50 percent
Increased the pH level in the intestines
Contributed to increases in body weight, and
Affected P-glycoprotein (P-gp) levels in such a way that crucial health-related drugs could be rejected. In terms of human health, this P-gp effect could result in medications used in chemotherapy, AIDS treatment and treatments for heart conditions being shunted back into your intestines, rather than being absorbed
Is absorbed by fat cells (contrary to previous claims)

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Mac C.

1:09PM PST on Jan 27, 2012

I always try to avoid these, except stevia. Thanks for the vital information.

send a green star

Lynde T.

10:42AM PST on Jan 24, 2012

Ick! I try to avoid artificial sweeteners as much as possible. I was avoiding it before I even knew it was awful for you. I just don't feel right putting anything in my body that tastes like a chemical.

Summerannie M.

5:44PM PST on Jan 23, 2012

Ioana, I personally wouldnt touch Xylitol at all but I would if I wanted too buy STEVIA in the organic form. Better still as I have mentioned before you can go to your local Garden Nursery and ask for the STEVIA PLANT to grow. No cost then over the time, All you do is to keep it out of Frosts b/c it doesnt like frosts and when you need sugar then go and pick a leaf and toss it into your tea or coffee. You can even cook with it as well. Dry it and crush it up.

STEVIA is excellent for DIABETICS B/C it doesnt impinge on sugar levels at all, doesnt spike diabetes and best of all is, it doesnt have those nasty debilitating side effects that other substitutes have.

When you read the labels on your sugar substitute dont buy them if they have 950 , 951, up to 960 FORGET IT

So Stevia is the go. It is delicious and quite sweet, Id say that you might only want half a leaf and the leaves are small too. Stevia is quite sweet, so you have to learn how much you need. YOu can put it into your h/bag into a clear pouch or cling wrap and its way better than having a plastic hard container etc.

Im sure you ll like it. I d skip Xylitol.

Dont believe me..then do a Google Search of Stevia and you will find it 100% healthier even than Xylitol.

Keep on the page by learning about the horrible side effects of artificial sugars and what others dont know is also called ASPARTAME

Ioana Cristina S.

3:39PM PST on Jan 23, 2012

I recently found out that there is a type of sugar that is apparently healthy for the body. It's called xylitol and I think it comes from fruit and birch trees. I found it at the pharmacy next to other types of sugar substitutes. On the package it says that it's for people who have diabetes or who are hypoglycemic. I was wondering if this sugar is safe for people who don't have these conditions.

5:13PM PST on Jan 16, 2012

Debbie..... its just as bad. Anything other than Stevia and Agave are all tarred with the same brush. Artificial Sweeteners which are also called Aspartame to confused everyone or NEOTAME are all carcenogens...but in time WILL CAUSE ALZHEIMER's as well as 92 serious body diseases. It is called THE SILENT KILLER. and many sit and wobble in their seat and get all chuffed up and say oh but I have been drinking it or eating it for X amount of months or years or decades and nothing has happened..I say YET!!! you might think its fine but it will creep up on you and lest you realize that what is causing a problem in your body is actually and usually the side effects of aspartame Its in drugs too. Okay see if I can convince you and others even more..you have ants in your house and I am a lover of ants but only outside the house not inside the house...so its well known that if you want to get rid of them inside your house, is to use ASPARTAME OR ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS . The ants take the powder back to their nest and they die.....ALSO PETS DIE TOO... so what does that say about what YOU are ingesting?

POISON...isnt it...Its man made... its a chemical and its also ADDICTIVE. People cant kick the habit of ingesting it because they have addictive traits. So if you want to live a healthy life and a bit longer than your age now, then kick the habit and find STEVIA or GROW IT or use Agave. I personally havent used Agave but its excellent however i have used STEVIA the plant and have

Debbie C.

9:52AM PST on Jan 16, 2012

I like Sweet 'n Low. How bad is that one?

Thanks for the information.

5:36PM PST on Jan 15, 2012

Yes Maria...so you would ask yourself and to all who use it, what is it doing to us then when it can kill Ant nest colonies? Admittedly they are tiny compared to us, but when you use a/ sweeteners over a period of time over and over and over again, you then become like the ant. You figure it out. Pity all these people who drink it and have no idea about the ramifications to their health and well being are hoodwinked into ingesting it by the media's advertising.

Chewing gum..how many people chew sugar free chewing gum? Thousands! I ask them..... could you tell me the difference between Aspartame and Artificial Sugars please? Not one person could or can tell me. Why? Because they havent a clue b/c they have been brain washed about Artificial Sweeteners and no one knows the meaning of Aspartame..the answer?

THEY ARE THE SAME. different word but both words mean the same.... artificial man made sweetener.

It should be banned from every single food and drink product on the earth;

Want to use a sweetener that doesnt cause anything to you but its sweet like sugar and is good for you then grow STEVIA. Pick off a tiny leaf. YOU only need ONE LEAF to do it for you...or even half a leaf b/c its so sweet. tastes like sugar too and zero calories.

www.sweetpoison.com ...take a look at the website. You will be shocked to learn what a/sweeteners do to you.

Maria D.

5:10PM PST on Jan 15, 2012

Years ago, I complained to my mother about ants in my yard. She is a beekeeper. She told me that that her fellow beekeepers found a solution to ants raiding hives for honey. They put sweetener with aspartame on the ant trail or nest. The ants love the stuff. It has worked wonders in my yard thanks to Equal. A colleague had trouble with ants in her office. I shared this with her. She used Splenda. The ants disappeared. She no longer uses Splenda for her coffee.

Kiana S.

8:32AM PST on Jan 15, 2012

Yikes! I always avoid sugar substitutes because I know they're very bad for you, but it looks like I haven't avoided them as well as I thought if they're turning up in the US water supply. I currently live in the UK. I wonder if it's the same here.

rene d.

12:16AM PST on Jan 14, 2012

Thanks