By Jennifer Procario
These days, there seems to be a decision to make nearly everything about or related to our health. Regular or diet? Caffeinated or decaf? Sugar-free, fat-free, or carb-free? The list is endless. What is bad for us? Which diet is the best? Along the lines of these nutrition questions is one that has been around for decades: are artificial sweeteners good for us? Which one is better: Sweet ‘N Low or Equal?
More recently there’s been a new popular packet in our dispensers, Splenda. Used to seeing pink, blue, and white packets, people wondered what this yellow packet was. After reading the packet, it was still the same as the others: zero fat, zero calories, and less than 1 gram of sugar. The difference is the motto on the front, “Made from sugar so it tastes like sugar.”
Suddenly, the popularity and curiosity of Splenda began. The low-carb and no-carb frenzy paved the way for Splenda. It was also promoted because of low-carb diets such as the Atkins, South Beach and Zone. This allowed a person who cannot consume high intakes of sugar to use it. These diets, as well as the media hype on carbohydrates, sent people diving through crowds at the market in search of Splenda.
However, for each fan a product has, there’s always a critic. What exactly is Splenda all about?
Splenda is the product name for Sucralose. In 1998, the FDA approved the use of Sucralose, which is, in fact, derived from sugar. According to the Splenda Website, the process consists of replacing the three hydrogen-oxygen groups in the sugar, or sucrose, combined with three chlorine atoms. The result is chlorinated sugar, which is approximately 600 times sweeter than sugar. Because Sucralose is not broken down, it has no calories and the body does not recognize it as a carbohydrate.
This chemical change has some people against the product, yet the idea has other people loving it. Even professionals have different opinions on the product as well as on other artificial sweeteners.
Dr. Jerome Antonino, physician and chiropractor at Health Drs./Opty. Medical of Howard Beach, N.Y., says he never recommends any artificial sweeteners, including Splenda.
“Our body isn’t made to process those chemicals in that form,” Dr. Antonino said. “Your body can’t handle the end product of processing these chemicals. And as a result, people can get sick.”
Last year, Splenda was available in the Student Center; this year, it’s gone.
“Purchasing manager at Hofstra Dining Services, Bruce Falco, based on a request of a customer, purchased Splenda to accommodate our customers,” Eisa Shukran, director of Dining Services, said. “Due to the decrease in demand, we took it off the shelf as a third option of sugar substitute.”
Shukran and Lackmann do not connect the removal of Splenda with any potential health problems, rather just lack of demand for it. Sweet ‘N Low and Equal are still carried.
A doctor who openly discourages the use of Splenda writes about all the potential negative effects.
Dr. Joseph Mercola, a licensed physician and surgeon in Illinois, is part of several professional organizations such as the Medicine Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. According to Dr. Mercola’s Website (www.mercola.com), research in animal studies has shown that Splenda can cause rats, mice and rabbits to have health problems as follows: shrunken thymus glands, enlarged liver and kidneys, atrophy of lymph follicles in the spleen and thymus, increased cecal weight, reduced growth rate, decreased blood cell count, hyperplasia of the pelvis, extension of the pregnancy period, aborted pregnancy, decreased fetal body weights and placental weights and diarrhea.
Whether or not humans should worry is still being discussed.
Dr. Joel Ullman of Gynecology and Obstetrics Associates of Larchmont, N.Y., has been a doctor for years with specific attention to women’s health.
“There is actually no scientific proof that these artificial sweeteners have done real damage to humans,” Dr. Ullman said. “There are no clinical studies; there have only been animal studies.”
The bottom line is that the long-term effects and consequences, for humans, at this point, still remain unclear.
Although carb-conscious students might be missing Splenda, not everyone at campus cares that it isn’t around.
“I’ll use it if I have to. I feel that it is too sweet and prefer the taste of sugar,” Lauren Slattery, a junior film and English major, said. “It may come from the same plant, but it is not the same thing.”
Matt Yackeren, a senior TV/video major is against the notion of any sugar substitute.
“I’ve never used it. I don’t even want to know what it is,” Yackeren said. “People have tried to make a praiseworthy sugar substitute for years, and this isn’t any different. I’ll take real sugar over fake sugar any day.”
Even though Splenda was used as an artifical sweetener in many diet products, it is a dangerous substance to put in the body because of its byproducts. (Image courtesy www.colawp.com)