Sucralose is another artificial sweetener just like aspartame. The difference is that this particular sugar substitute at least started out as sucrose. After much processing, however, the end product does not really resemble anything found in nature.
To turn a molecule of sucrose into sucralose, three of its hydroxyl groups (hydrogen-oxygen pair) are substituted with chlorine. It’s a complex process which involves regular sugar being treated with a number of chemicals at various stages. Given its actual composition and structure, there is some contention that a more accurate name to call this sweetener would be “trichlorogalactosucrose”.
But of course its current label is easier to market as it sounds like the artificial sweetener is a natural derivative of regular sugar.
Sucralose is measured to be around 600 times sweeter than ordinary sugar and this is perhaps its only positive trait. The Superhuman Food Pyramid categorizes it as something to be avoided because it offers no nutritional value or any other health benefit to the consumer.
Read on to find out what potential risks are associated with sucralose and why it contributes nothing to your quest to Become Superhuman.
Sucralose Health Risks
Manufacturers often use the low-calorie angle to promote their artificial sweetener products. Sucralose truthfully enough carries this property because it is not fully absorbed by the body.
What needs to be further considered however is that in a stand-alone sweetener such as Splenda, there are additional bulk ingredients such as maltodextrin and dextrose included in the packet. These sugar compounds make their own caloric contribution of 2-4 calories per teaspoon and don’t just pass through your system like sucralose. The US FDA however allows the “zero calories” label for anything that provides less than 5 calories per serving.
The use of sucralose in a commercial food or beverage product doesn’t add to its total calories. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because there’s sucralose in it, such a product has suddenly become safe for diabetics or no longer has any significant impact to your metabolism and weight. Most of these packaged food and drinks still contain other highly-refined carbohydrate ingredients.
As mentioned, this artificial sweetener cannot be completely broken down by the digestive system. Around 85% is excreted intact and 15% is temporarily absorbed. Of the small portion that does enter your system, not enough long-term research on humans seems to be available regarding its metabolic byproducts and its consequent interaction.
Various symptoms have been reported by individual consumers regarding sucralose. They range from nausea and skin irritation to anxiety and mood swings. These are really just anecdotes and don’t prove the dangers of this artificial sweetener. But more than the issue of safety, perhaps the question should be whether to ingest a food additive that does nothing else than momentarily satisfy a craving for sweetness.
In the next post, I’ll tell you about the negative effects of acesulfame and why you should avoid it to succeed in your quest to Become Superhuman.
In the meantime, if you care to jump ahead, here is a complete listing of the herbs, spices and sweeteners on Superhuman Food Pyramid:
Eat
• Cinnamon
• Cloves
• Stevia
• Xylitol
• Maltitol
• Turmeric
• Curry
• Cumin
• Fennel
• Garlic
• Ginger
Moderate
• Sucanat
• Truvia
Avoid
• Candy
• MSG
If you have questions, comments or feedback about the negative effects of sucralose, the Superhuman Food Pyramid, this website, or other aspects of Becoming Superhuman, then leave your thoughts below, as well as any tips you have on the negative effects of sucralose.
Author Bio: Ben Greenfield
His credentials include:
Bachelor’s and master’s degrees from University of Idaho in sports science and exercise physiology
Personal training and strength and conditioning certifications from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)
Sports nutrition certification from the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN)
Advanced bicycle fitting certification from Serotta, the “Harvard” of bicycle fitting schools
Over 10 years experience in coaching professional, collegiate, and recreational athletes from all sports
Ben hosts the highly popular fitness, nutrition and wellness website at http://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com, which features blogs, podcasts, and product reviews from Ben. He is a frequent contributor to Triathlete magazine and LAVA magazine, Endurance Planet (http://www.enduranceplanet.com), the outdoor sports magazine OutThere Monthly and has been featured in WebMD, the Spokesman-Review, Inlander magazine, In-Health magazine, Fit-Pro magazine, PTontheNet, Prevention magazine, Women’s Running magazine, and Inside Triathlon magazine.
As a public speaker on fitness, nutrition, and training, Ben hosts one of the top ranked fitness podcasts in iTunes, the Get-Fit Guy (http://www.GetFitGuy.com), and has been a keynote lecturer at the Hawaii Ironman World Championships Medical Conference, the Coeur D’ Alene Ironman Medical Conference, USAT Art & Science of Coaching Symposium, Can-Fit-Pro Conference, Pilgrim’s Wellness Center Education Series, Fleet Feet Sports Endurance Sports Clinic and REI Nutrition Clinic. He sits on the board of directors for Tri-Fusion triathlon team, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and is the official coach for the YoungTri. As a triathlon coach and competitor, Ben competes at Ironman and Half-Ironman World Championships, holds a ranking as of USAT’s top ranked age grouper triathletes, and competes in 15-20 triathlons each year, both nationally and internationally.
I applaud your sucralose article (I am intolerant of maltodextrin, sucralose, & others) but I’m not comfortable with your article on maltitol. I don’t consider it any better than any other artificial sweeter. My bottom line – stop sweetening and get over it. Get used to eating fruit or not adding sweeteners at all. I am impressed with your articles though. Thanks.
By accident I found that it was the dextrose in splenda that was giving me overactive b ladder symptoms when I used a product that just had sucralose and nothing else in it and the systems went away. I don’t like that splenda advertises that it includes sucralose on the front and only lists dextrose and maltadextrose on the back. no more splenda for me.