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Sucralose

Sucralose is a calorie-free sweetener made from ordinary sugar and is 600 times sweeter than sugar. Aspartame, on the other hand, is only 180 to 200 times sweeter. Sucralose tastes like sugar and - unlike saccharin - has no bitter aftertaste. It has no calories, does not cause tooth decay, is exceptionally heat-stable and has very good solubility and miscibility with other food components. This means that the body can neither digest nor absorb sucralose. Sucralose is particularly effective in combination with other sweeteners and can be used in a wide range of foods and beverages due to its high quality of sweetness, its excellent water solubility and its stability. Like sugar, sucralose can react with water in solutions, but only over a longer period of time at very high acidity levels and temperatures.

Sucralose, also marketed under the name Splenda, was developed in the USA and initially approved in Canada in 1991. From 1998, sucralose was approved in more than 40 countries. Scuraclose is the abbreviation for trichlorosaccharose or, more precisely, 1,6-dichloro-1,6-dideoxy-β-D-fructofuranosyl-4-chloro-4-deoxy-α-D-galactopyranoside. Before approval, it was tested in more than 100 toxicity studies over a period of 13 years. Neither carcinogenic properties nor negative effects on the reproductive and nervous system were found, and no genetic toxicity was detected. The human body excretes 85% of ingested sucralose and only absorbs 15%. And even this amount is excreted unchanged by the body within 24 hours.

This means that sucralose does not accumulate in the body. It does not enter the brain, is not absorbed in the breast milk of pregnant women or breastfeeding women. Nor does it interfere in any way with food intake or the production of insulin. Studies on diabetics have shown that they too can safely consume sucralose. Sucralose is often criticized for containing chlorine, which is also found in pesticides. But chlorine is a natural element that we also find in lettuce, tomatoes, mushrooms and melons. And ordinary table salt is sodium chloride. Critics also like to claim that sucralose has only been on the market for too short a time to be able to determine certain health effects.

However, it has been used commercially in Canada since 1991 and negative effects should therefore have been apparent for some time - but none have occurred. In addition, the doses used in animal studies corresponded to a period of use of 13 years or more, but here too no health effects of sucralose were found. Finally, here is the result of a study three years ago in which the intake of artificial sweeteners - including sucralose - was compared with sugar. The test ran for ten weeks and the participants were overweight people who used either sugar or artificial sweeteners. The results showed that Those who ate a lot of sugar (28 percent of energy intake) had increased levels of body weight, fat mass and blood pressure. In contrast, these effects did not occur in the group that consumed artificial sweeteners.

This does not mean that it is safe to consume all artificial sweeteners. As is so often the case, it is important to keep consumption in moderation! On the other hand, the human body cannot absorb so much sucralose that it causes health problems. The toxicity profile of sucralose in humans and in animal studies is better than that of all other artificial sweeteners. You would therefore have to drink a lot of light lemonade with sucralose - and then the carbon dioxide it contains would be more deadly than the sweetener. The properties of sucralose are very promising compared to the sweeteners mainly used up to now.

  • tastes like sucrose and - unlike saccharin - has no bitter aftertaste
  • is not metabolized in the body, i.e. sucralose passes through our digestive tract without being changed by metabolic processes and therefore has no calories
  • is also suitable for diabetics as it has no effect on blood sugar levels
  • does not lead to tooth damage
  • is - unlike aspartame (Nutrasweet™) - exceptionally heat-stable and can also be used for frying or baking
  • has a high stability, even - unlike aspartame - in acidic products
  • has very good solubility and miscibility with other food components.

The approval and use of sweeteners, like that of all other food additives, is harmonized at EU level. According to EU law, food additives may only be authorized in the EU if they are safe, technologically necessary and beneficial to consumers. Before the proposal was drawn up, the Scientific Committee on Food proved the safety of the sweetener. For sucralose, it set an Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI, defined as the amount a person can consume daily over a lifetime without appreciable risk to health) of 15 mg/kg body weight.

References

  1. Opinion of the Scientific Committee on Food on sucralose (Adopted by the SCF on September 7, 2000
  2. Sport Revue 8/05 Are artificial sweeteners such as sucralose harmful to our health? Page: 44-47