If you've added the artificial sweetener to your diet, your health may be dangerously at risk

If you’re a user of artificial sweeteners than you’re at risk for cancer. Studies have shown that artificial sweeteners like Splenda are very bad for your health.

It is a sweetener that one should completely avoid according to studies. Mercola reported that the Ramazzini Institute has linked the sweeteners to leukemia.

Research findings were first presented at a London cancer conference in 2012. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) downgraded Splenda from its ‘safe’ category to ‘caution.’

But now that the study has been published in a peer-reviewed journal, CSPI has again downgraded Splenda from ‘caution’ to ‘avoid.’ Researchers fed mice Splenda prenatally and continuing for their entire lifespan.

The mice were fed varying concentrations of the artificial sweetener. Sometimes 0 ppm (parts per million), 500 ppm, 2,000 ppm, 8,000 ppm or 16,000 ppm.

A significant increase in cancerous tumors was seen among male mice. The risk also increased along with the dose that they were given.

"These findings do not support previous data that sucralose is biologically inert. More studies are necessary to show the safety of sucralose, including new and more adequate carcinogenic bioassay on rats.”

Mercola, March 30, 2016

The risk of leukemia in male mice also significantly increased. This especially occurred when Splenda doses of 2,000 to 16,000 ppm were given.

It is to be noted, however, that CSPI is generally an organization whose guidelines need to be taken with a grain of salt. An example of this was when they recommended that people avoid artificial sweeteners like sucralose, aspartame, and saccharin but they still considered diet soda to be safer than drinking regular soda.

It’s been advised that one should cut Splenda out of their diet. The artificial sweetener is found in more than 4,500 products.

It was known for being somehow safer than other artificial sweeteners like aspartame. This was why PepsiCo cut out aspartame in its Diet Pepsi in 2015 and replaced it with Splenda.

Splenda then became one of the top-selling artificial sweeteners in the US. Between the year 2000 and 2004, the percentage of US households that were using Splenda products jumped from 3 percent to 20 percent.

By 2012, it had generated sales of nearly $288 million. But the sweetener is far from natural and another study found that it could wreak havoc on your gut bacteria in addition.

Splenda and artificial sweeteners, in general, can also raise your insulin levels and confuse your metabolism.