New Study Suggests That Artificial Sweetener May Cause Leukemia
Researchers now say that people may not want to consume Splenda, an artificial sweetener, after a study found that it can significantly increase the risk of leukemia.
Since its introduction to the U.S. market in 1999, Splenda (also known as sucralose) has been promoted by its manufacturer as a healthy alternative to refined sugar. However, some health experts have warned that the artificial sweetener can cause significant health problems, including a risk of cancer.
Although warnings about the adverse health conditions of consuming Splenda are not a new development, what is new is a study conducted by Italian researchers and recently published in the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health. The study reportedly fed varying amounts of sucralose to 457 male mice and 396 female mice over a 12-day period and tracked the death rates of the mice.
What the Italian researchers saw was alarming. The rodents who were fed higher amounts of sucralose developed malignant cancer at a significantly quicker pace. Prior to this study, it had generally been believed that sucralose was “biologically inert.”
The new findings are extremely important for US consumers because Splenda is very popular, being consumed by millions of people. Although sucralose and other artificial sweeteners like aspartame (distributed in the United States under the brand names NutraSweet and Equal) and acesulfame (distributed as ACK, Sweet One and Sunett) are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the federal agency has generally recognized Splenda as safe for consumption. With these new study results showing that sucralose might actually be a more dangerous food product than standard sugar, it will be interesting to see what US health officials do next.
For additional information, view the Lifescript.com article, “Splenda Linked to Higher Leukemia Risk.”
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