Sucralose is an artificial sweetener found in thousands of consumer foods and beverages. It is noncaloric and is 300 to 1,000 times as sweet as table sugar.

The chemical structure of sucralose is very similar to table sugar, but it contains three chlorine atoms, which table sugar does not.

The FDA claims that sucralose is safe for human consumption. But if you study the clinical literature behind sucralose, I don’t know how any person could come to that conclusion.

Animal studies found that large doses of sucralose disrupted intestinal flora by decreasing the amount of bacteria by 50 percent and increasing the pH level in the colon. This caused increases in body weight.

However, these results were found only when rats ingested very large amounts of sucralose.

There are many side effects associated with sucralose, including:

• Allergic reactions

• Blurred vision

• Dizziness

• Elevated blood sugar and insulin

• Gastrointestinal problems

• Migraines

• Seizures

• Weight gain

Sucralose was also found to alter the normal DNA in mice, a process that can cause cancer.

And if that isn’t bad enough, when it is heated sucralose can turn into toxic chloropropanols and other dioxin-like compounds.

Clearly, sucralose should be avoided. It has no therapeutic value and it is associated with a host of adverse effects, particularly when heated.