Splenda, also known as sucralose, is artificial
sweetener which is a chlorinated sucrose derivative. Facts about
this artificial chemical follow:
Pre-approval research showed that sucralose caused
shrunken thymus glands (up to 40% shrinkage) and enlarged liver
and kidneys.
The manufacturer put forth two arguments in an attempt
to claim that sucralose is not toxic:
- The dose of sucralose in the experiments was high.
However, for chemicals that do not have generations of safe
use, the dosage tested must be adjusted for variations in
potential toxicity within the human population and between
humans and rodents. In order to this, toxicologists
estimate a variation of effects in the human population of
10 times. In other words, one person may not have effects
until a dose of 10 mg per kg of body weight (10 mg/kg) is
reached, while another person may have chronic toxicity
effects at 1 mg per kg of body weight (1 mg/kg). In
addition, it is well known that many chemicals are much
more toxic in humans than in rodents (or even monkeys). For
example, the chemicals that the sweetener aspartame breaks
down into vary from 5 to 50 times more toxic in humans than
in rodents. Therefore, toxicologists estimate a further 10
times the dose for differences between human and rodent
toxicity for a total of 100 times (10 * 10).A person ingesting the TDI for some chemical may
find that it causes cancer or immune system or neurological
problems after many years or decades of use. So, if the
manufacturer claims that the dose was equivalent to 50 diet
sodas, then the TDI would be one half (1/2) of a diet soda,
and even that dose may or may not be safe. - In order to estimate a potential safe dose in
humans, one must divide the lowest dose in given to rodents
that was seen to have any negative effects on their thymus
glands, liver or kidneys by 100. That dose is then known as
the maximum Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) for lifetime use.
Keep in mind that the TDI is just an estimate. Some chemicals
are much more than 10 times more toxic in humans than in
rodents (or will cause cancer in
humans in low-dose, long-term exposure and do not cause
cancer in rodents at all). - The manufacturer claimed that the sucralose was
unpleasant for the rodents to eat in large doses. They said
that starvation caused the shrunken thymus glands. From the
New Scientist (23 Nov 1991, pg 13):
[Toxicologist Judith] Bellin reviewed studies on rats
starved under experimental conditions, and concluded that their
growth rate could be reduced by as much as a third without the
thymus losing a significant amount of weight (less than 7
percent).
The changes were much more marked in rats fed on
sucralose. While the animals' growth rate was reduced by between
7 and 20 percent, their thymuses shrank by as much as 40
percent.
Página siguiente  |