Sometimes I wonder why we still talk about the diet sweeteners. I am amazed that people still use them. You’d think that the word would be out by now, and that the health dangers would be clear.
I guess some people don’t want to admit that there is no free ticket to eating all the sugar-free products you desire without paying the high price of harming your body in the long run. The technology of foods (artificial sweeteners and manmade foods) will not secure eternal health, beauty, slimness, or youth. Laboratory chemicals are not the answer.
Tell that to PepsiCo.
The Pepsi Switch
In response to consumer surveys showing aspartame as the # 1 reason Americans are shunning diet colas, PepsiCo is switching from aspartame to sucralose, a less controversial but still artificial sweetener they claim.
PepsiCo thinks sucralose has “come to the rescue” as the healthier chemical sugar replacement “made from real sugar.” They don’t want to hear that it may be just as dangerous as aspartame and this “white knight” of sweeteners is no improvement.
What’s really odd, too, is Pepsico’s Pepsi Next is sold in the US using sucralose, but it is sold in other countries using stevia.
Why?
Well, PepsiCo has not responded to why the ingredients in American Pepsi NEXT are different in other markets.
Chlorinated Sugar
So, what’s wrong with sucralose?
Sucralose contains chlorine, which is a carcinogen. Sucralose is patented as a manmade chlorinated sucrose sweetener and it is registered as chlorinated sucrose (sugar).
Chlorinated sucrose is not found anywhere in nature, like real sugar (sucrose) that is extracted from sugar cane and sugar beets.
Chlorinated sucrose only exists because of humans.
The marketers insist the chlorine in sucralose is no health danger because it is chemically “bound” and cannot be “released” in the body during digestion. I question that.
When you realize what man-made chlorine can do inside your body, you may decide not to drink it.
Sucralose was created in a lab using a complex process involving dozens of chemicals you and I can barely pronounce – let alone consume. Basically, the chemists forced chlorine into an unnatural chemical bond with a sugar molecule. This produced a sweeter product, but at what health price?
Chemical Soup
A long list of other artificial chemicals have to be added to this mix to keep sucralose from digesting in our bodies. These toxic substances prevent (hopefully) the dangerous chlorine molecules from detaching from the sugar molecule inside of your digestive tract, which is considered a carcinogenic hazard.
Here is the actual process for producing this sweetener. I highlighted the chemicals in bold for emphasis.
According to the International Patent A23L001-236 and PEP Review #90-1-4 (July 1991), sucralose is synthesized by this five-step process:
1. sucrose is tritylated with trityl chloride in the presence of dimethylformamide and 4-methylmorpholine and the tritylated sucrose is then acetylated with acetic anhydride,
2. the resulting TRISPA (6,1′,6′-tri-O-trityl-penta-O-acetylsucrose) is chlorinated with hydrogen chloride in the presence of toluene,
3. the resulting 4-PAS (sucrose 2,3,4,3′,4′-pentaacetate) is heated in the presence of methyl isobutyl ketone and acetic acid,
4. the resulting 6-PAS (sucrose 2,3,6,3′,4′-pentaacetate) is chlorinated with thionyl chloride in the presence of toluene and benzyltriethylammonium chloride, and
5. the resulting TOSPA (sucralose pentaacetate) is treated with methanol (wood alcohol, a poison) in the presence of sodium methoxide to produce sucralose.
This is sucralose. PepsiCo says it is a perfectly safe sugar molecule.
Chemicals Added
Here is the complete list of chemicals used to synthesize sucralose in the five-step process (above):
1. Acetone
2. Acetic acid
3. Acetyl alcohol
4. Acetic anhydride
5. Ammonium chloride
6. Benzene
7. Chlorinated sulfates
8. Ethyl alcohol
9. Isobutyl ketones
10. Formaldehyde
11. Hydrogen chloride
12. Lithium chloride
13. Methanol
14. Sodium methoxide
15. Sulfuryl chloride
16. Trityl chloride
17. Toluene
18. Thionyl chloride
Pepsi True®
So by switching from aspartame to sucralose, Pepsi appears to be jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
Why don’t they market their Pepsi True with a blend of sugar and stevia in the US? The only place that you can find it is off the Internet.
People have complained that True has real sugar in it and that the aftertaste is bitter, but heck, this is a better choice if you crave a fizzy drink.
The best choice is no cola at all. But, if you really want one, choose one with natural cane sugar and stevia.
This information is based on the original research from Dr. Janet Starr Hull. For more information on Splenda, see Dr. Hull’s book Splenda®: Is It Safe Or Not?.
If you want to learn how to detox from these harmful artificial sugars, stay tuned for a big announcement we have coming about my detox program.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only, and is educational in nature. The FDA may not have evaluated some of the statements. This article is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Please discuss with your own, qualified health care provider before adding supplements or making any changes to your dietary program.
