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Sucralose & Diabetes

May 6, 2011 | By Angela Ogunjimi
Sucralose & Diabetes
Photo Credit tea and sugar image by Maria Brzostowska from Fotolia.com

Given the importance of controlling blood sugar, sucralose can be a welcome addition to the kitchens of people with diabetics. This potent and versatile sweetener has no calories, and your body doesn't even recognize it as a carbohydrate. With its approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the sweetener was tested and deemed safe for people with diabetes. And this step won its recommendation for use by the American Diabetes Association.

Sucralose Facts

Sucralose, most commonly known in the United States under the brand name Splenda, debuted in 1976. It wasn't until 1998, however, that it gained FDA approval as a general purpose sweetener. Sucralose is known for its intense sweetness and for having no calories. It's made from regular sugar, but in the manufacturing process, three atoms of chlorine replace parts of the sugar molecule. Sucralose is manufactured and marketed in the United States by McNeil Specialty Products Company. Sucralose no-calorie products contain less than 1 g of carbs per serving.

Nutrition Recommendations

First it should be noted that the American Diabetes Association says the use of regular sugar, or sucrose, is safe for diabetics. The association says sugar doesn't raise blood sugar any more than other forms of carbohydrates, so diabetics can incorporate sugar-containing foods into their meal plans. When it comes to what it calls "nonnutritive sweeteners," the association also labels them as safe for diabetics to consume. It cites FDA protocol for not allowing sweeteners on the market before they are tested in different populations, including people with diabetes.

Effect of Sucralose on Glucose

Two early research studies on people with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes demonstrated that sucralose does not adversely affect blood sugar control. The first, published in 1996 in "Diabetes Care," examined the effects of a 1,000-mg dose of sucralose in both insulin-dependent and non-insulin-dependent diabetics and concluded that in the short term, sucralose did not affect blood sugar control. Another studied just type 2 diabetics consuming 7.5 mg of sucralose per kilogram of body weight for three months and followed up with them for an additional four weeks. That was said to be three times the normal amount of sucralose. Similarly, the authors of a 2003 report, published in the "Journal of the American Dietetic Association," found the sweetener had no effect on blood sugar control.

Adverse Effects Reports

Additional studies of nondiabetics showed the sweetener does not stimulate an insulin release, but a 2008 animal study published in the "Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health" showed the sweetener changes the bacteria in the intestinal tract. One of its effects was to increase the release of a substance that could limit the absorption of some medicine. A 2000 study by British and American researchers, published in "Food and Chemical Toxicology," found that repeated intake of sucralose in healthy adults for 12 weeks resulted in no adverse events attributable to sucralose. However, a 2002 dental study, published in the "Journal of Clinical Dentistry," found that sucralose was generally non-cariogenic by itself, but when bulking agents are added to the sweetener to make it more like table sugar, it has the potential to cause cavities.

References

Article reviewed by Mary Bland Last updated on: May 6, 2011

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