Splenda is a very popular brand of sucralose.

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Sucralose

Artificial Sweeteners:

Sugar substitutes that contain little or no calories are called artificial sweeteners, non-nutritive sweeteners or non-caloric sweeteners. Well-known artificial sweeteners include sucralose, aspartame, saccharin, acesulfame-K and neotame.

Sugar alcohols such as xylitol and sorbital are also used to replace sugar and have fewer calories than regular sugar.

What It Is:

Sucralose is a very popular artificial sweetener usually sold with the brand name Splenda. It is manufactured from sugar, but in its finished form is approximately 600 times sweeter, so very little of it is needed to sweeten foods. Very little sucralose is absorbed by the body and most of it passes through the digestive system. The small amount that is absorbed leaves the body through the urine.

What It Is Not:

Sucralose is not poisonous, it does not cause cancer and it is not a pesticide. Sucralose does not break down in the body and it doesn't release chlorine into your body.

How It Is Made:

Sucralose is manufactured from sucrose, what we normal call table sugar. The conversion of sucrose to sucralose is made by adding three chlorine atoms to each molecule of the table sugar. This process makes the sugar indigestible so the body doesn't recognize it as a carbohydrate. Since it isn't digested like sugar, the body isn't able to use it for energy, therefor, no calories are consumed.

Don't let the chlorine scare you. Chlorine is also found as a chloride in table salt, lettuce and mushrooms. Twenty years of science has shown sucralose to be safe for humans to consume.

How To Use It:

Sucralose can be used like sugar to sprinkle on your cereal, in your coffee or in your cooking and baking.

Splenda is available in large packages for use in baking and cooking. It is important to note that Splenda is a blend of sucralose and starches. The starches do contain some calories - so Splenda has about 95 calories per cup.

Safety:

Sucralose has been used safely as an artificial sweetener for over 20 years.

Canada was the first country to approve sucralose for use in foods and beverages. The FDA approved sucralose in 1998 after reviewing 110 scientific studies. Sucralose is approved for use by everyone including pregnant women and children.

Fears:

There are a few anecdotal reports of adverse reactions to sucralose, and some dubious websites claim sucralose is a cause of several illnesses including thymus damage, which could affect the immune system.

This claim is based on one rat study where young rats fed sucralose showed decreased weight in their thymus glands. This is a common response for rats when they are under stress due to weight loss for any reason. Follow-up studies did not discover any evidence of immune system dysfunction with the consumption of sucralose.

Sucralose Recipes:

• Pomegranate Jelly with Splenda
• Sugar-Free Dried Cranberries
• Blueberry Sorbet Made With Splenda