Explosive Facts about Sugar Substitutes! A Sweet Delight or Toxic Poison?

Dr. Theresa Dale, PhD, CCN, NP, feels it is dishonest to market these sugar substitute chemicals as “safe for human consumption”. From fast food chains to the best restaurants, aspartame is right there next to salt and pepper, as if it merits being a part of daily life. These potentially hazardous substances are always right in our face. Children are continuously bombarded with subliminal exposure to foods and treats containing artificial sweeteners whether on TV ads or Kid’s shows. Yet, there is an increase in childhood obesity, having more than tripled in the past 30 years, affecting both immediate and long term health. Sugar substitutes such as Splenda are 600 times sweeter than sugar, and very small amounts are needed to achieve the desired sweetness, but does it help put a lid on the desire for more sweets? A 1988 study published in the scholarly journal “Physiology and Behavior,” reports that individuals who consume non-nutritive sweeteners crave sugar more than those who don’t use these sweeteners. Researchers suggest that because artificial sweeteners are much sweeter than table sugar, they increase desire for very sweet flavors.

Among the worst offenders and the most commonly used sugar substitutes are Aspartame and Sucralose. The Aspartame Toxicity Information Center submitted an evidence based Docket to the FDA, listing over 92 different health side effects associated with aspartame consumption alone. Still to this date, fine print on packaging and marketing of aspartame products do not disclose these side effects. Side effects can occur gradually, can be immediate, or can have acute reactions. Dr. Dale feels that updating labeling laws is essential, establishing new regulations for concerned consumers with disclosure of side-effects.

How did this chemical get approved by the FDA?

NutraSweet (a brand name for Aspartame) was not approved until 1981, in dry foods. Former FDA Investigator Arthur M. Evangelista detailed the history of aspartame. To its credit, for over eight years the FDA refused to approve it because of the seizures and brain tumors this drug produce in lab animals. The FDA continued to refuse to approve it until President Reagan took office and fired the FDA Commissioner who wouldn’t approve it. The political process at work, Dr. Arthur Hull Hayes was appointed as commissioner. G.D. Searl pharmaceuticals hired Donald Rumsfeld, former member of the U.S. Congress and Chief of Staff, to handle the aspartame approval difficulties as a “legal problem rather than a scientific problem.” (US Senate 1987). There was so much opposition to approval that an FDA Board of Inquiry was set up that said: “Do not approve aspartame”. Dr. Hayes overruled his own Board of Inquiry.

Aspartame Side Effects Exposed: Grave’s Disease or Aspartame Poisoning?

According to Dr. Lendon Smith, M.D., there is an enormous population suffering from side effects associated with aspartame, yet have no idea why drugs, supplements and herbs do not relieve their symptoms. Subsequently, there are users who do not ‘appear’ to suffer immediate reactions at all; the reason being is because aspartame builds up in the body over time. Even individuals who do not have a current side effect are susceptible to the long-term damage caused by excitatory amino acids, phenylalanine, methanol, and DKP.

Let us briefly examine a few adverse reactions and side effects of aspartame:

• Psychological/Psychiatric – severe depression, irritability, aggression, anxiety, personality changes, insomnia, phobias.
• Gastrointestinal – nausea, diarrhea (sometimes with blood in stools), abdominal pain, pain when swallowing.
• Skin and Allergies – itching without a rash, lip and mouth reactions, hives, aggravated respiratory allergies such as asthma.
• Chest – palpitations, tachycardia, shortness of breath, recent high blood pressure.
• Neurologic – epileptic seizures, headaches, migraines and (some severe) dizziness, unsteadiness, confusion, memory loss, severe drowsiness and sleepiness, paresthesia or numbness of the limbs, severe slurring of speech, severe hyperactivity and restless legs, atypical facial pain, severe tremors.
• Eyes – blindness in one or both eyes, decreased vision and/or other eye problems such as blurring, bright flashes, squiggly lines, tunnel vision, decreased night vision, pain in one or both eyes, decreased tears, trouble with contact lenses, bulging eyes.
• Ear – tinnitus, ringing or buzzing sound, severe intolerance of noise, marked hearing impairment.
• Endocrine and Metabolic – loss of control of diabetes, menstrual changes, marked thinning or loss of hair, marked weight loss, gradual weight gain, aggravated low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), severe PMS.
• Other symptoms – frequency of voiding and burning during urination, excessive thirst, fluid retention, leg swelling and bloating.

These ‘disease syndromes’ are commonly misdiagnosed because aspartame symptoms mock textbook ‘disease’ symptoms. Aspartame may trigger, mimic, or cause the following illnesses:

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Epstein-Barr, Post-Polio Syndrome, Lyme Disease, Grave’s Disease, Meniere’s Disease, ALS, Epilepsy, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), EMS, Hypothyroidism Fibromyalgia, Lupus, non-Hodgkin’s, Lymphoma, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).

Moreover, a 2007 article in the scholarly journal “Environmental Health Perspectives,” notes that rats exposed to aspartame in utero have a higher risk of cancer over the course of their lives. This may or may not indicate that using aspartame as an adult will increase the risk of cancer, but Theresa Dale feels that it does suggest if someone becomes pregnant, using aspartame during pregnancy might make it more likely that the unborn child will have a higher risk of cancer later in life.

It is typical that aspartame symptoms cannot be detected in lab tests and on x-rays because aspartame changes the ratio of amino acids in the blood, blocking or lowering the levels of serotonin, tyrosine, dopamine, norepinephrine, and adrenaline. Further, textbook disorders and diseases may actually be a toxic overload resulting from aspartame poisoning. Is it not common to hear someone say they have gone to the doctor with real, physical symptoms, but they can’t find the cause? Could it be a negative result of diet, environment or emotions? The Aspartame and Sucralose Detoxification Program is a safe and effective way to reverse symptoms. The Wellness Center for Research and Education suggests 8-steps to detoxifying these sugar substitutes:

• Remove all sugar-free products with aspartame and sucralose from your diet.
• Read Labels carefully
• Get a Five Element Saliva Test
• Detoxify using the Dr. Dale’s Slow Cleanse for 30 days.
• Restore depleted nutrients with Dr. Dale’s Optimal Multi and Nano Ionic Multi.
• Exercise and stretch 5 days per week and get plenty of rest.
• Eat 75% raw foods at every meal.
• Water: Drink 7 to 8 glasses (8 oz each)

Sucralose Toxicity: mouse or man?

According to a grass roots movement, the Sucralose Toxicity Information Center, research findings appear to show a significant reduction in size of the thymus gland, yet “the manufacturer claimed that sucralose was unpleasant for the rodents to eat in large doses and that starvation caused the shrunken thymus glands”.

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. (New Scientist 23 Nov 1991, pg 13)

The most misunderstood fact about sucralose is that it is nothing like sugar even though the marketing implies that it is. Sucralose was actually discovered while trying to create a new insecticide. It may have started out as sugar, but the final product is anything but sugar. According to the book Sweet Deception, sucralose is made when sugar is treated with trityl chloride, acetic anhydride, hydrogen chlorine, thionyl chloride, and methanol in the presence of dimethylformamide, 4-methylmorpholine, toluene, methyl isobutyl ketone, acetic acid, benzyltriethlyammonium chloride, and sodium methoxide, making it unlike anything found in nature. Furthermore, read the fine print on the Splenda web site; it states that “although sucralose has a structure like sugar and a sugar-like taste, it is not natural.”

Sucralose.org stated that “the sucralose molecule contains three atoms of chlorine, and this is the key to how we intensify the sweetness of sugar and remove the calories.” Some chemists have noted that the presence of chlorine is thought to be the most dangerous component of sucralose. Chlorine is considered a carcinogen and has been used in poisonous gas, disinfectants, pesticides, and plastics. The digestion and absorption of sucralose is not clear due to a lack of long-term studies on humans since the majority of studies were done on animals for short lengths of time. Sucralose is not yet approved for use in most European countries, where it is still under review.

Sucralose does have calories; nevertheless since it is 600 times sweeter than sugar, very small amounts are needed to achieve the desired sweetness so the consumer normally won’t ingest enough to get any calories. Splenda is a popular product that contains the artificial sweetener sucralose, but that is not all that it contains. The other two ingredients in Splenda are a mixture of dextrose and maltodextrin, which are used to increase bulk and both are carbohydrates that do have calories. The USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference shows that 10 grams, i.e., ten individual packets, of Splenda (NDB No: 19868) have 33 Calories. Ten grams of Splenda contain 9.00 g of carbohydrates consisting of 8.03 g of sugars (dextrose) and 0.96 grams of starch (maltodextrin). For comparison, 10 grams of granulated sugar (NDB No: 19335) have 39 Calories. This is only 6 calories more than the equivalent weight of Splenda. Anybody who uses Splenda instead of sugar is

saving an insignificant number of calories. Because this is found in a great many products used in cooking, it can be possible to consume 1 cup or more each day. One cup of Splenda contains 96 calories and 32 grams of carbohydrates, which is often unnoticed due to the label claiming that it’s a no calorie sweetener. For people with diabetes, this is a significant amount of carbohydrates, and for people who are watching their weight, this can be a problem. Consuming an additional 100 calories a day can result in a weight gain of 10 lbs. per year!

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Contact Information

Dr. Theresa Dale

The Wellness Center for Research & Education, Inc.

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(800) 219-1261