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On Nov 07, 2008 at 3:14 pm caddie wrote:

. . . . .

I wouldn't defend Splenda with regard to having a bad effect on gut bacteria, and I'm glad you brought that information to our attention.

But I do question the relevance of rat studies regarding weight gain. The theory, as I understand it, is that the body associates sweet taste with calories, and if it gets sweet taste without getting "needed" calories, it somehow triggers the need/desire for more calories. Obviously, rats will respond to that trigger. But humans can reason that they've had their sweet treat, and will keep the rest of their calories in line. Obviously, that second part can be a huge struggle for so many of us (whether we use Splenda or not)! But until there are studies on people, I remain a skeptic.

On Nov 07, 2008 at 3:35 pm Larry Hobbs wrote:

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Caddie,

Thanks for your input.

I would like to see human studies also, but to me, it is much safer to assume that this is true unless proven otherwise.

If a drug caused cancer in rats, would you keep taking it because it had not been proven in humans?

I wouldn't.

For me, I see absolutely no benefit to consuming Splenda.

I only see potential risks.

Some of these potential risks are very serious such as the potential for increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and obesity due to the decrease in good bacteria.

See the related article here:

http://fatnews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/3683/

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Let me briefly tell you about an experience where doctors "assumed" a drug could not be causing a problem which could have been fatal.

In 2002, my mother started experiencing choking episodes three weeks after she started taking the blood pressure medicine Atacand.

I was sure from the moment she told me about this that the drug was causing the problem even though it took me a total of 9 days and 90 hours of research to figure out exactly how it was causing it.

She ultimately went into the hospital and was seen by 10 doctors, all of whom told her the drug could not possibly cause the problem, and told her to keep taking the drug.

This seemed insane to me.

My mother told the doctors that I thought the drug was causing the problem, but they said, "No, the drug can't possibly cause this problem. Keep taking it."

To me, in a case like this, you must error on the side of caution and stop the drug immediately even if the doctors could not possibly imagine how the drug might cause the problem.

It turns out that in someone my mothers age taking the dose of the drug she was taking, it raised blood levels of a chemical -- angiotensen II -- to the exact same level seen in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome.

In patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome, 50 percent die within six months. Yikes!

So their assumption could have killed my mother.

To me, the same is true with Splenda in that I think it the only safe thing to do is to assume that it is true and stop taking it.

I see no benefit to take it.

On Nov 09, 2008 at 7:35 pm caddie wrote:

. . . . .

I don't see Splenda's alleged impact on weight gain as being comparable to a drug that may cause cancer. First, as I said in my first post, there's a cognitive element to weight control, which rats obviously cannot deploy. My own experience has been that Splenda has been useful in weight loss. And, obviously, if one does start gaining weight while using Splenda, you can just stop and (hopefully!) lose it back. A bit different than dealing with cancer.

However, the adverse digestive impact does concern me. Do you know the specifics of the study? Was this the kind of research with Saccharin, where rats were fed the equivalent of 800 cans of Tab a day? Or was it more realistic?

That's an awful story about your mother, by the way. I'm glad she was so persistent!

On Nov 10, 2008 at 9:12 am Larry Hobbs wrote:

. . . . .

The study with Splenda used amounts that humans use.

The maximum recommended intake of Splenda is 2.3 mg per pound of body weight.

In the study with rats, three of the doses they tested were at or below this level.

Only the highest dose was higher than this.

On Nov 10, 2008 at 9:16 am Larry Hobbs wrote:

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Caddie,

The Duke researchers noted that the decrease in good gut bacteria as seen with Splenda may play a role in "irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and cancer".

They did not come out and say consuming Splenda might increase the risk of these diseases, but that is exactly what they meant.

On Nov 10, 2008 at 1:08 pm caddie wrote:

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Larry, thanks for the info!
Do you have similar concerns (or are there studies) about other artificial sweeteners too?

On Nov 10, 2008 at 2:49 pm Larry Hobbs wrote:

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Caddie,

The best data suggests that artificial sweeteners tend to cause people to gain weight.

Numerous studies have found this association.

Here are some of the findings.

People who consume 3 artificially sweetened beverages per day are twice as likely to be overweight.

See here:

http://fatnews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/3329/

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Artificial sweeteners increase calories, weight, fat, decrease calorie compensation & thermogenesis.

See here:

http://fatnews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/3093/

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Rats given saccharin ate more calories, gained more weight and gained more body fat.

See here:

http://fatnews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/2950/

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Highest saccharin consumption associated with 3 lbs weight gain over four years.

See here:

http://fatnews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/1645/

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Each can of diet soda per day increases risk of overweight by 41%.

Here is a quote from the paper.

?For regular soft-drink drinkers,? Daniel DeNoon of WebMD reported, ?the risk of becoming overweight or obese was:?

26% for up to 1/2 can each day
30.4% for 1/2 to one can each day
32.8% for 1 to 2 cans each day
47.2% for more than 2 cans each day.

?For diet soft-drink drinkers,? DeNoon continues, ?the risk of becoming overweight or obese was:?

36.5% for up to 1/2 can each day
37.5% for 1/2 to one can each day
54.5% for 1 to 2 cans each day
57.1% for more than 2 cans each day.

?For each can of diet soft drink consumed each day, a person?s risk of obesity went up 41%.?

See here:

http://fatnews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/1636/

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Articles on Artificial Sweeteners are posted here:

http://fatnews.com/index.php/weblog/C7/

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Recent research suggests that they cause the brain to disconnect sweetness with calories, so they cause us to overeat.

See here:

http://fatnews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/3092/

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However, to be fair, a study from about from 1997 by Blackburn found Nutrasweet (aspartame) to be quite effective for weight maintenance.

After three years, those who consumed the most NutraSweet maintained a weight loss of 10 pounds versus 1 pound for those who did not consume NutraSweet.

The article is posted here:

http://fatnews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/1637/

On Sep 26, 2009 at 8:58 am Angela wrote:

. . . . .

So what do you do now? After taking splenda for months and now learning that it causes weight gain? Of course stop taking it...but will you continue to gain weight after? And if so...then how do you lose it and stop the afteraffects of splenda weight gain?

On Sep 28, 2009 at 11:31 am Larry Hobbs wrote:

. . . . .

Angela,

I would avoid Splenda.

I don't know if it continues to cause weight gain in humans after they stop taking it like it dose in rats.

If I remember correctly, years ago a researcher said that about 80% of they find in rats, also applies to humans.

Therefore, I would tend to assume that Splenda works the same in humans as it does in rats unless I see evidence to the contrary.

I would just avoid it.

On Nov 17, 2009 at 7:45 pm TY wrote:

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these numbers are huge.... splenda is only 1.1% sucralose, thus there are 11 mg sucralose/ packet. So, in order for a 150 lbs person to see the weight gaining effects of 45 mg sucralose / lbs, they must eat 613 packets in a day... come on

On Nov 17, 2009 at 8:14 pm Larry Hobbs wrote:

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Here is how I calculate it.

They found weight gain when animals were given as little as 1.1 mg of Sucralose per pound of body weight (45 mg of Spenda per pound of body weight).

For a 150 lbs person, this would be 165 mg of Sucralose.

150 lbs x 1.1 mg = 165 mg of Sucralose.

You note that one packet of Splenda contains 11 mg of Sucralose.

Therefore, this would be 15 packages.

165 mg of Sucralose divided by 11 mg per package equals 15 packages.

Therefore, if a 150 lbs person consumed 11 packages, this is the equivalent amount given to animals.

Please feel free to share your comments about this article.

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