One of the most popular sugar alternatives could lead to dangerous side effects.
The artificial sweetener sucralose – which is found in the ubiquitous yellow packets of Splenda – is being linked to leukemia, according to a study published by the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health.
Mice that were fed sucralose daily for their entire lives developed leukemia and other blood cancers.
Nutrition watchdog group Center for Science in the Public Interest is formally recommending that consumers avoid sucralose. Artificial sweetener Splenda is sucralose-based.
It’s a big deal considering this is the same company that listed sucralose as a safe alternative to sugar prior to the new research findings.
Sucralose can be found in over 4,500 products, according to the study.
The sucralose case study was funded without special interests, unlike the majority of case studies for food additives.
“For most food additives, the safety studies are conducted by the manufacturers who have financial incentives,” said Lisa Lefferts, senior scientist at the CSPI reports Eatclean.com.
Splenda is (officially) really bad for you. (Like, really bad, so quit the habit, will you?) https://t.co/Y4zFFzEIib pic.twitter.com/Ux6Ob9IkxY
— Well+Good (@iamwellandgood) March 8, 2016
Even if you don’t splurge on Splenda, you could still potentially see adverse effects.
"When something causes cancer at high doses, it generally causes cancer at lower doses, the risk is just smaller,” Lefferts said.
Skeptics of the new study are still being warned about the adverse effects of artificial sweeteners. New research shows artificial sweeteners cause weight gain, not weight loss, and diet soda can lead to an increase in belly fat, reports Eatclean.com.