Splenda: A Sweet Deception

I hope you all heeded my previous advice and stayed away from the artificial white stuff, and I don’t mean fake snow! I think I’d better back up my animosity towards Splenda with a bit of science as I realize my intoxicated liver may be a unique reaction enjoyed by a select few (in which case, lucky me).

Splenda claims its product has been thoroughly researched; yet not one long-term human study has been conducted to determine any potential health risks. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) gave Splenda the green light after reviewing only a handful of short-term tests, and each of those was conducted on animals, not humans.

Oh, and they were done by a Splenda manufacturer. Maybe they were a little biased?

In test animals, Splenda produced:

Swollen livers and kidneys (my formerly “fatty” liver fits into this category)
Shrunken thymus glands
Reduced growth rates
Decreased red blood cell count
Hyperplasia of the pelvis
Extension of the pregnancy period
Aborted pregnancy
Decreased fetal body weights and placental weights
Diarrhea

It’s far beyond my mental capabilities to comprehend why Splenda and the FDA continue to tout the yellow packets as completely harmless, considering the makers have affixed chlorine, a known poison, onto the natural sucrose molecule not once, not twice, but thrice!

My dad suggested I eliminate all Splenda from my diet, and I immediately did so because he was the one person whose advice I was smart enough to always take. (If a random specialist had given me the same “doctor’s orders,” I can tell you I would’ve rolled my eyes, gone home, and emptied five Splenda packets into a tall glass of iced tea).

In the days following my Splenda withdrawal, my headaches subsided until they were completely gone. I wasn’t getting dizzy anymore, and I was properly digesting all my food. A few months later, I returned to have another blood test, and guess what: my liver enzymes were back to normal.

I try my best to adhere to a 100 percent Splenda-free diet. But, the times I’ve chosen to ignore what I know about its toxicity, I’ve always regretted it. My head starts hurting, my stomach feels bloated, I even get irritable and my sunny disposition turns sour (insert “sweet” pun here).

I guess Splenda is kind of like an ex-boyfriend; it’s more or less a romance that didn’t exactly end amicably. Despite my full awareness that it’s no good for me, I give in to its attractive exterior and comfy familiarity only to have my hopes dashed by a giant headache and annoying stomach cramps.

So, let’s all join hands against going back to ex-boyfriends and ex-artificial sweeteners alike.

Stay fit, stay faithful.

Diana Anderson-Tyler is the author of Creation House’s Fit for Faith: A Christian Woman’s Guide to Total Fitness. Her popular website can be found at www.fit4faith.com, and she is the owner and a coach at CrossFit 925. Diana can be reached on Twitter.

For the original article, visit fit4faith.com.