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Splenda and Diabetics

Apr 12, 2011 | By Jessica Jacobs

Artificial and natural sweeteners can suit the dietary needs of people with diabetes. Artificial sweetners include saccharine, aspartame, acesulfame-K, neotame and sucralose, which is known as Splenda. Natural sweeteners include agave nectar and stevia. Although many diabetics use Splenda, the long-term effects of the substance's use in diabetics is unresolved by clinical studies currently available.

Diabetes

Diabetes refers to a range of metabolic disorders that have the common characteristic of hyperglycemia or high blood sugar levels in the blood plasma. According to the book "Integrative Medicine" by David Rakel, factors that contribute to hyperglycemia in diabetics include deficiency of insulin secretion, decreased glucose consumption by your cells or an increased production of insulin. Type 1 diabetes is the result of complete or partial insulin deficiency. On the other hand, individuals with type 2 diabetes have insulin resistance, decreased production of insulin and elevated glucose production.

Sweeteners

Sucrose or saccharose is the scientific name of table sugar. Sucrose comes from sugarcane and sugar beets and the process uses hot water to extract the sucrose. Artificial sweeteners do not contain any glucose. Therefore, diabetics can use artificial sweeteners as sugar substitutes. Another benefit of artificial sweeteners for diabetics is that they have no calories. However, these artificial sweeteners continue to raise doubts about their effect on health issues such as cancer, fertility and allergic reactions. According to MayoClinic.com, much of the adverse press regarding artificial sweeteners dates back to the 1970s and current clinical evidence does not support the doubts associated with artificial sweetener use.

Splenda

Splenda contains sucralose and claims to be a no-calorie sugar. Splenda's manufacturing process extracts sucralose from sucrose or raffinose. Splenda is 600 times sweeter than sugar. Splenda's manufacturing process also adds trityl chloride, acetic anhydride and thionyl chloride to the sucralose. Because of this manufacturing process, the sucrose undergoes a molecular change. Your body no longer recognizes the sucrose and, therefore, does not absorb the sucrose. This is why Splenda claims sucralose is safe for diabetics even though it is derived from white sugar. However, the way the body responds to sweeteners can vary from person to person, and the actual long-term safety of Splenda for diabetics is unresolved.

Splenda Concerns

Splenda is an FDA-approved sweetener. However, this does not mean it is safe for your specific medical condition. Dr. Janet Starr Hull, a certified nutritionist with a doctorate in nutrition, analyzed the studies submitted to the FDA for Splenda approval. These studies showed an increase in glycosilation, which means a faulty control of diabetes. In 2008, the "Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health" published a study conducted on animals that showed that Splenda could increase the pH levels in the intestines and contribute to weight gain. Since weight control is an important aspect of managing diabetes, taking Splenda may not be a good option for diabetics. According to Ellen Kamhi, a registered nutritionist and clinical instructor at Stony Brook Medical School, additional side effects associated with Splenda include bloating, nausea, diarrhea, headache, anxiety and skin rash.

References

Article reviewed by Sharon Last updated on: Apr 12, 2011

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