There is an understandable rush to reduce our sugar intake. There is plenty of evidence that excessive sugar consumption leads to diseases like diabetes and beyond. The problem is, though, that although you may want to decrease sugar in your diet, you have probably developed a reliance on sweetness in your foods. That is the way processed food has certainly evolved, and it is why there has been such a growth in the market for “artificial sweetenersâ€. There are natural options like Stevia that tend to be good options but what has been reported on recently is the synthetic sweetener “sucraloseâ€.
Sucralose is a derivative of sugar fermented with chlorine, making it a chlorocarbon. Sucralose is 600 times the sweetness of sucrose but the evidence shows it does not affect dental caries and is heat stable. According to a new report there are also many biological effects that people who use sucralose should be aware of.
In the new report, researchers summarised hundreds of peer-reviewed publications. They found biological effects that include changes in insulin levels in the blood and altered blood glucose levels.
Additionally, sucralose, they say, has been shown to induce enzymes cytochrome P-450 and P-glycoprotein to levels that may reduce the bioavailability of therapeutic drugs. The researchers also indicate that sucralose has been shown in these studies to cause changes in the cells lining the intestines. During baking, say the researchers, sucralose decomposes to chloropropanols which are potentially harmful compounds. They also reported that sucralose is metabolised in the digestive system into substances that are of unknown safety.
The researchers made the point that most of these effects occur at dosages of sucralose that are approved for use in the food supply by global health authorities.
In all, the report is a reminder that some of these alternatives that we leap to when trying to avoid one food are not benign or without effect themselves. It is tempting to call for tighter regulations and changes in administrative philosophy but, really, this kind of research is a call for each person to become more engaged with what they put into their body and to take responsibility for it.
