Splenda... and all it's Chemically Altered Glory!

SPLENDA:

This article has long been overdue. For those of you who love to drink Diet Coke because you think you're doing your body a favor, I want you to read this article, and reconsider your beverage choices.


As you all know, I am a HUGE proponent of eating healthy, clean, and natural. So artificial sweeteners kind of go against nature, by their very nature. Starting with Splenda (aka Sucralose), a sugar substitute CHEMICALLY ALTERED so that our bodies cannot digest the sugar calories. They alter the chemical code, to make it into a chlorinated sucrose (sugar) molecule. Meaning they change sugar's basic molecular structure. Here's a diagram to show you what I mean: The first diagram is of sucrose's chemical structure.


The second diagram (below) is of sucrose's altered structure, now Sucralose.




Notice that the two OH's on the right are now Cl's.




How do they alter the very chemical structure? I can guarantee it's not natural. If you'd like to know more about the process, click here.



Despite the fact that it isn't natural, there have been numerous studies that find nothing wrong with Splenda. The only study I could find to actually say anything possibly negative about Splenda or Sucralose's effect on the human body were from a Duke University study funded by the Sugar lobbying group, so they may not be as impartial as we'd like them to be. The study found the mice in the study who were dosed with between 100 and 1000 mg/kg per day of sucralose had a 50% reduction of good bacteria in their intestines. They also found it increased body fat in those rats and led to an increased pH level in their intestines. These were rats, however, not humans.

On the other hand, who's to say the studies conducted by the FDA are unbiased? I've recently had the unfortunately eye-opening experience of watching Food, Inc., and I feel as though the FDA is not as trustworthy as it would like us to believe it is.

So I did some more digging.

I'm not super excited about doing research on the Internet. Anyone can put anything they want out into cyberspace, and I don't want to falsely report to my faithful blog followers. I will say this: the fact that Splenda/sucralose has chlorine, and the fact that our bodies absorb anywhere from 11-27% of it, means we might be slowly poisoning ourselves with it. Chlorine is not meant for the body. We're also tricking our bodies. We intake a sweet substance, and our brain tells the insulin receptors to get ready for a big surge of insulin! But then nothing happens. We get zero. Now our bodies are ready for action, and nothing? What does this do? It makes us crave the sugar and the jolt we usually get with it, and tends to turn dieters into sugar junkies all over again.

And must I stress for the 3rd time that SPLENDA IS NOT NATURAL. It just isn't. It was made in a lab, it has potentially harmful chlorinated chemicals in it, and it's not recognized by the body. Our bodies were designed to ingest very low levels of sweeteners, things occuring in nature. Table sugar does not fit in to this plan, nor does Splenda. My consensus? Stay away.

I wanted to include here a few of the blogs and sites I found against Splenda, just so we can kind of see what the CONSUMERS and the Organic Community are saying, not just the scientists:

http://splendasickness.blogspot.com/

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_16815.cfm

the following web pages also scared me but I'm not sure how trustworthy they are, so take it with a grain of salt:

http://www.truthforum.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=170
http://www.wnho.net/splenda_reaction.htm

I know there are several other artificial sweeteners out there. I found Splenda to be the least threatening of them all. I wanted to blog about all of them, but honestly, just the little amount of info I got was incredibly time consuming, and not nearly as fruitful as I'd hoped it would be. I will blog next about the natural calorie free sweetener, Stevia, and whether or not it's healthy to put into our bodies.

As a final note, I have a personal blog. I recently posted on the movie Food, Inc., which I watched last weekend. I didn't post about it on this blog because I feel like it's a personal passion I now have, something I don't want to push on others. But if you're interested in reading about my very strong opinions on the Food Industry as we know it, please check out my blog at http://hoketungs.blogspot.com/.

New Years Resolutions, and Why They Often Fail

It's 2010. Time passes so quickly. I think back on how a full decade has passed since the Y2K scare of 2000, and it really doesn't feel like it was that long ago. Normally the blog posts I write are full of information and research. Today I want to write something I have seen time and again, and experienced myself around the new year.

The Number 1 New Years Resolution that Most People Make and NEVER ACT ON:

In 2010 I want to Lose Weight:

Ok.. so you want to lose weight. Most people stop here. Hence, the lack of success... However, if this is the resolution you have made, I'd like you to ask yourself the following questions:

1. How much Weight do you want to Lose?

2. Why?

3. How are you going to ensure that you lose this weight/get in shape/tone up?

4. Are you going to eat healthy and exercise?

5. How often and what type of exercise will you be doing?

6. How will you change your diet?

7. How are you going to make sure you do this?

8. How STRONG is your resolve to lose weight?

Just because you dream it, doesn't mean it will happen. You have to MAKE IT HAPPEN. I could sit around all day WISHING I had an amazing body, but unless I go to the gym, work out regularly, and eat the right things the right way, I am not going to see a difference in my body. Your body is the product of how you treat it. I know this. I know because I was able to transform my OWN body, and I know that if MY body could change, EVERYONE's body can change (for the better or the worse). It is human nature. Our bodies adapt to the environment we give them. I have seen clients bodies change. I've seen a woman with no shape, turn into a beautiful hour glass within months. I have seen women's butts go from saggy and shapeless to round, taught, and about 2 inches higher than they once were.

You also have to WANT IT ENOUGH. On a scale of 1-10 how determined are you to reach your goals? If you are at a 7, you won't see results. You have to be at a 10, heck, an 11, to make sure you follow through with your weight loss plan. There is no magic weight loss pill. Losing weight requires WORK. Losing weight is not easy and can be frustrating. It doesn't happen overnight, and you may not see results for weeks, or months. And then... one day, you go shopping and are suddenly having to buy pants 2 sizes smaller! That's the reward, though, and you have to do the work to get that.

So this year, when you decide you want to "lose weight" make a real plan. If you don't see yourself having enough willpower to stick to the plan, but feel like all you need is a little support, or a little guidance, maybe you should think about hiring a trainer. Maybe a little kick in the rear is what you need. Most people really don't have all the tools they need to lose weight. Most people have no idea what to eat, how often to exercise, what KIND of exercise they should be doing, etc. That's where I come in. Nothing makes me happier than helping people achieve their goals.

I hope you all enjoyed bringing in the New Year, and are ready to make 2010 the HEALTHIEST YEAR OF YOUR LIVES!!!!