Sucralose increases cancer risk and causes leaky gut
Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2023 2:22 pm
Sucralose Sugar Substitute May Damage Your DNA and Increase Your Cancer Risk
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/ ... ancer-risk
• A new study finds that a type of common sweetener may damage your DNA.
• The zero-calorie sweetener in question is sucralose, which is about 600 times sweeter than table sugar.
• The new study found that sucralose may lead to a leaky gut lining, and increase the activity of genes related to inflammation and cancer.
A study from researchers at North Carolina State University suggests that a chemical formed from one artificial sweetener might also damage our DNA.
The zero-calorie sweetener in question is sucralose, which is about 600 times sweeter than table sugar.
The World Health Organization recently recommended against using certain sugar substitutes to help lose weight, saying there is little evidence of long-term benefit.
Sucralose, known in the United States by the brand name Splenda, is used in thousands of products, including baked goods, beverages, chewing gum, gelatins and frozen dairy desserts.
In addition to DNA damage, the new study found that sucralose may lead to a leaky gut lining, and increase the activity of genes related to inflammation and cancer.
The findings from this study “raise health and safety concerns regarding the continued presence of sucralose in the food supply,” the authors wrote May 29 in a paper published in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B.
Potential impacts of sucralose on health
Regulatory approval of sucralose is based on studies that assume that it passes through the body unchanged.
But the authors of the new study point to earlier research showing that certain gut bacteria can transform sucralose into a similar molecule called sucralose-6-acetate.
This compound is also found in small amounts in some commercial sucralose products, they added, a byproduct of the manufacturing process.
A spokesperson for Splenda, one of the most frequently marketed forms of sucralose in the United States, said “we rigorously and routinely test and monitor for any impurities in our products … We can confirm that sucralose-6-acetate is not present in Splenda Brand sucralose.”
The researchers did not test Splenda sucralose products in their study, the company spokesperson confirmed.
In the new study, when researchers exposed human blood cells to sucralose-6-acetate, they found that it caused breaks in DNA. This could potentially increase the risk of cancer or other health problems.
Regulatory agencies such as the European Food Safety Authority set maximum levels of sucralose-6-acetate allowed in food products.
However, the amount of this chemical in a single serving of a sucralose-containing beverage could be high enough to potentially damage DNA, the authors of the new study pointed out.
People may also be exposed to even higher levels when gut bacteria convert sucralose into sucralose-6-acetate, they said.
Additional lab-based experiments carried out by the researchers raised other concerns about the potential impact of this chemical on the body.
In one test, researchers exposed human intestinal tissue to sucralose-6-acetate, finding that it increased the activation of genes associated with inflammation, oxidative stress. and cancer.
They also found that sucralose-6-acetate — and sucralose itself — damaged the junctions that hold together the cells that line the human intestines, causing the gut to become leaky.
This might allow gut microbes and molecules to move from the gut into the body, including ones that would normally pass out of the body in the feces.
A leaky gut is associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and may contribute to chronic liver disease.
[continued]
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/ ... ancer-risk
• A new study finds that a type of common sweetener may damage your DNA.
• The zero-calorie sweetener in question is sucralose, which is about 600 times sweeter than table sugar.
• The new study found that sucralose may lead to a leaky gut lining, and increase the activity of genes related to inflammation and cancer.
A study from researchers at North Carolina State University suggests that a chemical formed from one artificial sweetener might also damage our DNA.
The zero-calorie sweetener in question is sucralose, which is about 600 times sweeter than table sugar.
The World Health Organization recently recommended against using certain sugar substitutes to help lose weight, saying there is little evidence of long-term benefit.
Sucralose, known in the United States by the brand name Splenda, is used in thousands of products, including baked goods, beverages, chewing gum, gelatins and frozen dairy desserts.
In addition to DNA damage, the new study found that sucralose may lead to a leaky gut lining, and increase the activity of genes related to inflammation and cancer.
The findings from this study “raise health and safety concerns regarding the continued presence of sucralose in the food supply,” the authors wrote May 29 in a paper published in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B.
Potential impacts of sucralose on health
Regulatory approval of sucralose is based on studies that assume that it passes through the body unchanged.
But the authors of the new study point to earlier research showing that certain gut bacteria can transform sucralose into a similar molecule called sucralose-6-acetate.
This compound is also found in small amounts in some commercial sucralose products, they added, a byproduct of the manufacturing process.
A spokesperson for Splenda, one of the most frequently marketed forms of sucralose in the United States, said “we rigorously and routinely test and monitor for any impurities in our products … We can confirm that sucralose-6-acetate is not present in Splenda Brand sucralose.”
The researchers did not test Splenda sucralose products in their study, the company spokesperson confirmed.
In the new study, when researchers exposed human blood cells to sucralose-6-acetate, they found that it caused breaks in DNA. This could potentially increase the risk of cancer or other health problems.
Regulatory agencies such as the European Food Safety Authority set maximum levels of sucralose-6-acetate allowed in food products.
However, the amount of this chemical in a single serving of a sucralose-containing beverage could be high enough to potentially damage DNA, the authors of the new study pointed out.
People may also be exposed to even higher levels when gut bacteria convert sucralose into sucralose-6-acetate, they said.
Additional lab-based experiments carried out by the researchers raised other concerns about the potential impact of this chemical on the body.
In one test, researchers exposed human intestinal tissue to sucralose-6-acetate, finding that it increased the activation of genes associated with inflammation, oxidative stress. and cancer.
They also found that sucralose-6-acetate — and sucralose itself — damaged the junctions that hold together the cells that line the human intestines, causing the gut to become leaky.
This might allow gut microbes and molecules to move from the gut into the body, including ones that would normally pass out of the body in the feces.
A leaky gut is associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and may contribute to chronic liver disease.
[continued]