How Splenda Ruined My Life
Why I Never Use Artificial Sweeteners Anymore
I’m convinced that cutting out just one chemical (and everything containing it) is more important than any of the others.
I think it’s very important that those of you who haven’t gone through a lot of trial-and-error with fitness and nutrition see that dieting alone can be dangerous; especially when we aren’t prepared for the effects of what we consume.
I’m going to briefly refer to my own feelings and behaviors that helped shaped these beliefs. This is my own experience during very pivotal times, and how this chemical acted as the catalyst that precipitated struggles I wrought on my own life.
My Journey, in Stages
Going off to college was the first and most significant life change I experienced in early adulthood, as I’m sure is true for many others too. The following is a short bullet-type summary of how my eating habits changed drastically in stages that coincided with important events such as that one:
Stage 1: High school senior year; I typically eat when hungry, and whatever I want; first weight-lifting sessions had, mainly enjoyed the competition of it; learned secondhand health knowledge through friends; started adding heavy protein shakes between meals.
Stage 2: Summer before college; gained some muscle and some fat; began researching about diet on the internet; started counting my calories to look “lean” for college..
Stage 3: First year of college; girls all around; my eating and working out is primary focus; not very muscular, aesthetics most important to me; body-dysmorphia starts; see-saw restriction/gaining starts; followed a very low fat diet without realizing, likely because calories are higher in fats.
Stage 4: Mid freshman year to Summer before sophomore year; now pledging my fraternity, more girls in my vicinity than before; body-dysmorphia in full effect, restriction see-saw becomes extreme, secret eating disorder starts;
*Toward the end of this period I went to get my Testosterone and cholesterol checked by a doctor because something felt off.
My HDL tested at 4x higher than my LDL (HDL=good, LDL=bad; However, a healthy ratio is 2 LDL to every 1 HDL); at the time the only fats I ate were fish oil gels and trace amounts from the low-fat food I had been eating.
Total triglycerides= 26, should be >125 minimum
Total testosterone= 55, normal amount for my age= 220-1200 [Here I learned the hard way that cholesterols are made from the fats we consume, and they are also what testosterone and other hormones are derived from];
Stage 5: Sophomore Year of College; now a brother of my fraternity, living in frat house on-campus; added fats to my diet; testosterone re-checked after 6-week normal-fat diet, back to mid-normal levels; gained much more size; eating disorder has become an addiction; studied fitness and nutrition 24/7; protein became main focus and began intaking more fitness products (protein, bcaas, etc); used Splenda as a way to keep sugar calories down; restriction/gaining diet on-and-off.
Stage 6: Junior year of college; eating disorder still in full-effect, restricting/see-saw dieting; working out sometimes twice a day; buying primarily perishable foods for cooking; taking various supplements found by studying on internet forums; got up to using 6 Splendas in one cup of coffee at one point.
*This stage lasted 3-5 years. During this time I dropped out of college and personal problems ensued. My eating disorder became more or less prevalent but I thought this was because of the other things I was going through at the time. I am leaving many of those things out, but they aren’t completely necessary to explain what happened next.
Stage 7: Moved back in with parents; depression and anxiety high; decided to work on myself and my life; fitness still important to me; began studying general health knowledge from actual sources; led to my decision to stop consuming all artificial sweeteners and products containing them.
*I’m bolding the statement about artificial sweeteners because it’s the single most important action I took in my personal growth. After I stopped using artificial sweeteners, there came a drastic change to my mind and my behavior. My eating disorder completely disappeared. My anxiety and addictive behaviors diminished immensely. My attitude changed. I couldn’t pinpoint what was different but I noticed a deep change within myself.
What It Was Like While Using Splenda
Looking back, I realized that from the first moderate use of artificial sweeteners, my focus and behavior was altered. My eating disorder, although surely accompanied by strong emotional ties to how others perceive me, had absolutely been fueled by them.
In fact, I am convinced that artificial sweeteners (particularly sucralose), led to so many of the personal problems I had been experiencing in my life right up until I stopped them.
Of course there were other factors at play; being chubbier during middle school years probably predisposed me, adding that in with the new place, new people and my need to be liked, it could be considered a perfect storm.
But what I do know for sure is that artificial sweeteners came right before every other problem that I had. Meanwhile, if you had asked me in high school I never would have believed that I would resort to such extreme methods of calorie restriction.
*To better describe what it felt like, it was as if my body was expecting the sweetness I was tasting and when it didn’t get it, my mind would then follow with a stronger sugar craving.
Normal sugar wasn’t sweet enough for me at this point. I strongly feel that this catalyzed my eating disorder and continued to fuel it like a positive feedback loop continuously growing stronger, which brought about extreme anxiety and self-hate.
It was also as if the continuous need for those chemicals had caused me such severe anxiety that I had to attempt to control something, anything, so that I could feel alright.
I believe that this anxiety led to every single other issue I had, as I attempted to quell the feeling that I was not “in control.”
Today I believe that it’s not just the expectation of sugary carbohydrates that causes this mental distress, but the actual chemicals themselves doing things to our body and minds.
What It Was Like After
Once my mind was in balance, I reorganized my priorities; I moved away from my parents’ home and went back to finish college on my own. I became cognizant of everything I ate, but not to the point of extreme control.
No counting calories, no disordered eating behaviors, etc. It wasn’t so much that I was trying to make these changes, but rather the opposite; I just no longer felt the strong desire to resort to those methods.
My mind was no longer screaming at me during every bite of food I took. It just didn’t matter that much. The same was true for so many other issues that had previously been plaguing my thoughts.
If it’s so Bad, then Why Do People Still Use Artificial Sweeteners?
I shared this very personal experience because it impressed upon me the priceless realization that no one can be sure how the chemicals we [unwittingly] consume might affect us. Artificial sweeteners, and particularly Sucralose, are insidiously hidden in nearly every single performance booster or recovery shake there is. Not to mention the many diet products that advertise “zero sugar” and “low-calorie” slogans. Those who don’t know any better would likely think that these are healthy products.
“But wait, if this is actually dangerous, how could it be in so many products?”
Easy, it’s the cheapest with 200 times the sweetness of sugar and none of the calories..
..but at what cost?
The Current Research Against Artificial Sweeteners
I slightly alluded to the health concerns of sucralose in my video blog about how to make your own (carcinogen-free) pre-workout. From destroying your gut microbiome to diabetes and cancer, let’s take a look at what studies say about the safety of sucralose and some other artificial sweeteners (sources below):
A 2020 study published in the journal Cell Metabolism by a group of Yale researchers found that the consumption of sucralose in combination with carbohydrates can swiftly turn a healthy person into one with high blood sugar.
A 2019 study in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine found that consumption of two or more glasses of artificially sweetened soft drinks a day increased deaths from circulatory diseases.
A 2008 study by scientists at Purdue University (P-U.. classic) showed that artificial sweeteners alone could result in higher blood pressure, weight gain, and and increased risk of diabetes, stroke and heart disease in rats.
Dozens of studies have linked aspartame — the artificial sweetener in nearly every diet soda — to serious health problems, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, seizures, stroke and dementia, as well as negative effects such as intestinal dysbiosis, mood disorders, headaches and migraines. Evidence also links aspartame to weight gain, increased appetite and obesity-related diseases.
An in-depth scientific review of sucralose published in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health reveals an extensive list of safety concerns, including toxicity, DNA damage, and heightened carcinogenic potential when used in cooking.
When heated, sucralose releases chloropropanols, which belong to a class of toxins known as dioxins. Dioxin, which was a toxic component of the Agent Orange used to defoliate jungles during the Vietnam War, is easily one of the most dangerous chemicals known to man. (Many other artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame, are not recommended for cooking purposes as they're known to break down in high temperatures.)
A study published in October of 2013 also expressed concern over the chlorination reactions that occur when sucralose is cooked in stainless steel cookware. This process generates highly toxic compounds, including dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs).
Animal research also suggests a link between Splenda consumption and an increased risk of Leukemia.
Animal research published in 2008 found it could kill as much as 50 percent of your microbiome. Sucralose appears to target beneficial microorganisms to a greater extent than pathogenic and other more detrimental bacteria. According to one study, these adverse effects on gut microbiota remained even after a three-month long recovery period.
Both animal and human studies have shown that Splenda alters glucose and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) levels, thereby promoting weight gain and type 2 diabetes.
The adverse effects of sucralose are oftentimes misdiagnosed or overlooked entirely as the side effects are so varied and mimic common ailments. The following are common symptoms, usually noticed within a 24-hour period following consumption of a Splenda product:
Skin -- Redness, itching, swelling, blistering, weeping, crusting, rash, eruptions, or itchy bumps or welts (hives)
Nose -- Stuffy nose, runny nose, sneezing
Heart -- Palpitations or fluttering
Lungs -- Wheezing, tightness, cough, or shortness of breath
Eyes -- Bloodshot, itchy, swollen, or watery
Joints -- Joint pains or aches
Head -- Swelling of the face, eyelids, lips, tongue, or throat; headaches and migraines
Stomach -- Bloating, gas, pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or bloody diarrhea (I mean seriously, come on!)
Neurological -- Anxiety, dizziness, spaced-out sensation, depression
..and the list of credible evidence keeps going on and on. However, I think the picture I’ve painted is clear.
*On a side note, I recommend that those interested in such research always use independent studies. In 1996, 165 studies on the artificial sweetener Aspartame were reviewed by Dr. Ralph Walton.
He found that of the 74 that were industry related, all of them found no health risks associated with it. The other 91 were independent studies; of these, 92% identified at least one potential health concern.
The other 8% were classified as independent studies, but they were by the FDA.. which has been questioned for it’s coziness within such industries.
Coincidence..? I think we’re all smarter than that.
What This Means for You
Hopefully this is obvious by now, but I whole-heartedly believe that no one should be consuming sucralose or any other artificial sweeteners. I don’t even think they should be legally sold as food. I don’t even buy products containing stevia or other natural, non-nutritive sweeteners. Sugar is the only sweetener I use.
Why? Well, the way I look at it, just coming from a plant doesn’t always mean something is good for you. Although they have medical uses, cocaine and morphine are found naturally occurring in plants and come along with a host of adverse effects. I also wouldn’t eat Poison Ivy if I got the chance.
In my experience, there is always a trade-off in life. If a pill makes you lose weight, it will affect you in equal and oppositely negative ways.
But back to my earlier point, no one knows how novel chemicals might affect them. If you don’t feel anything from artificial sweeteners (..yet), fine; no one is stopping you. But with so much [now unavoidable] evidence to the contrary, I advise those of you that are interested to start listening carefully to how your bodies react to the foods you consume.
Also, why not start cutting out processed and chemically treated foods to see if there is a difference in yourself?
It surely couldn’t hurt to do so.
And to cut out the harmful chemicals (especially sucralose) from your health supplements, consider using Blate Papes. We use them everyday to take only the ingredients we want and nothing else. Learn more them here!
