Yes I know, sugar and butter — the root of all evil in foodstuffs, right? We want all the delicious goodness they contain, but we want none of the bad they contain. Yes… we want to have our delicious cake and eat it too, but not get fat or anything like that.
So we have our long list of artificial sweeteners, which are well-known to have their side-effects. And the latest savior for the sugar-lover is Splenda, because it’s made from sugar, right? Must be good for you!
Check out the latest from PubMed.
Splenda alters gut microflora and increases intestinal p-glycoprotein and cytochrome p-450 in male rats.
Department of Pharmacology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA. donia@duke.edu
Splenda is comprised of the high-potency artificial sweetener sucralose (1.1%) and the fillers maltodextrin and glucose. Splenda was administered by oral gavage at 100, 300, 500, or 1000 mg/kg to male Sprague-Dawley rats for 12-wk, during which fecal samples were collected weekly for bacterial analysis and measurement of fecal pH. After 12-wk, half of the animals from each treatment group were sacrificed to determine the intestinal expression of the membrane efflux transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and the cytochrome P-450 (CYP) metabolism system by Western blot. The remaining animals were allowed to recover for an additional 12-wk, and further assessments of fecal microflora, fecal pH, and expression of P-gp and CYP were determined. At the end of the 12-wk treatment period, the numbers of total anaerobes, bifidobacteria, lactobacilli, Bacteroides, clostridia, and total aerobic bacteria were significantly decreased; however, there was no significant treatment effect on enterobacteria. Splenda also increased fecal pH and enhanced the expression of P-gp by 2.43-fold, CYP3A4 by 2.51-fold, and CYP2D1 by 3.49-fold. Following the 12-wk recovery period, only the total anaerobes and bifidobacteria remained significantly depressed, whereas pH values, P-gp, and CYP3A4 and CYP2D1 remained elevated. These changes occurred at Splenda dosages that contained sucralose at 1.1-11 mg/kg (the US FDA Acceptable Daily Intake for sucralose is 5 mg/kg). Evidence indicates that a 12-wk administration of Splenda exerted numerous adverse effects, including (1) reduction in beneficial fecal microflora, (2) increased fecal pH, and (3) enhanced expression levels of P-gp, CYP3A4, and CYP2D1, which are known to limit the bioavailability of orally administered drugs.
PMID: 18800291 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]
Other links talking about the same.
Look folks. I’m not saying you should sit down and eat a sugar-encrusted stick of butter, or twenty. But generally speaking I’ve found that the closer the food remains to nature the more it tends to work out alright. The more we process it, the more it’s engineered in a laboratory, the less good for you it really is.
But whatever you do, just do it in moderation. That’s really the key.
Stuff From Hsoi 