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Splenda Sweetener Research Papers

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Splenda Sweetener Research Papers
In 1976 scientists at Tate & Lyle Ltd., a large British sugar refiner, and researchers at the University of London discovered sucralose, a no calorie sweetener also known by its brand name as Splenda. Sucralose is a chlorinated chemical compound that is made in a multiple-step chemical manufacturing process. In the process, three atoms of chlorine are substituted for three hydroxyl groups in the sugar molecule sucrose (white table sugar), creating a tightly bonded, highly stable molecule. The tight bonds that hold the molecule together prevent the body from recognizing sucralose as a sugar, therefore preventing it from being metabolized and causing most of it to pass through the body undigested.
Although sucralose has been used outside
…show more content…
When additional chlorine atoms are added to a sucrose molecule the molecule in effect tastes sweeter. In the case of Splenda, the number of chlorine atoms present in the sucralose molecule cause it to taste 600 times more sweeter than tabletop sugar (Truth About Splenda). Other artificial sweeteners don't come close to this: Aspartame (found in NutraSweet and Equal) is only 150-200 times sweeter, and Acesulfame K (Sunette) is only 200 times sweeter ("The Secret Dangers…"). Also, unlike other artificial sweeteners, Splenda does not leave behind a bitter aftertaste, and it remains stable at high temperatures and extreme pH values. Because of this, Splenda is able to stay sweet during cooking and baking, however recipes must be altered and modified because of the dramatic increased sweetness of Splenda. Over 100 toxicity tests have also shown that Splenda is a safer option than other sweeteners. Aspartame and saccharin, two older sweeteners, were deeply studied in the 1980's and were found to cause cancer, but only when consumed in extreme amounts. Splenda users do not need to be concerned with ingesting extreme amounts of the sweetener; a dose of Splenda sufficient to sweeten a serving of baked goods is 1/700th of the FDA's daily-recommended safe amount ("Suralose"). Therefore, when taken in the recommended dosage, the amount of Splenda consumed is extremely …show more content…
One argument comes from a number of consumer, agricultural and health organizations, which claim the marketing pitch for Splenda is misleading and does not accurately reflect the product. Currently, Splenda runs a multi-million dollar advertising campaign with slogans that say, "Think sugar, say Splenda," and "Made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar" (Splenda), encouraging the misconception that Splenda is equivalent to natural sugar, which is not true. Splenda is a chlorocarbon chemical that is manufactured in labs and derived from non-sugar-like starting materials, a process that greatly differs from extracting natural sugar, sucrose, which comes from sugar beets and sugar canes (Truth About

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