In an era of hyper health consciousness, it helps to know what is or isn’t safe to eat — even it’s hard to keep track of. While artificial sweeteners have always been controversial in terms of their benefits or hazards to people’s health, a recent study has confirmed that the artificial sweetener Splenda may contribute to serious health complications like cancer.
According to NBC, a study published in the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health has found that mice who were regularly fed the artificial sweetener had a higher chance of developing leukemia and other blood cancers than mice who did not have Splenda in their diet.
As a result of the study, the Center for Science in the Public Interest is now formally recommending that consumers avoid Splenda. This comes as a surprise, especially when considering that up until 2013 Splenda was on the list of foods that were considered by the organization to be totally safe.
However, it is worth noting that the rats in the study who were given a serving of sucralose, the primary ingredient in Splenda, were given an amount which winds up being the equivalent of ten cans of diet soda per day.
“And even if you consume less, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a problem,” says Lisa Lefferts, senior scientist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). “When something causes cancer at high doses, it generally causes cancer at lower doses, the risk in just smaller.”
The CSPI recommends that everybody stay completely away from Splenda, and any other artificial sweeteners containers sucralose.