
What is sucralose? What are the concerns expressed by people regarding sucralose and pregnancy? Is sucralose safe during pregnancy? Find answers to all these questions in this article. Read on to know sucralose side effects…
Sucralose is an artificial sweetener which doesn’t provide any calories and is about 600 times as sweet as regular sugar. It is commonly used as a sugar substitute. Sucralose is widely used in commercial production of sweets. Before concluding anything about ‘sucralose and pregnancy’, let’s first learn about the properties and uses of sucralose.
Sucralose
The FDA and various national and international safety regulatory bodies have approved sucralose as artificial zero calorie sweetener. It is twice as sweet as saccharin, and almost 3.5 times as sweet as aspartame. It is commercially used in bakery products and for manufacturing products that have a longer shelf life. It is more popular than other low calorie sweeteners because of its taste, stability and safety. It is a highly heat-stable sweetener.
Effects of Sucralose During Pregnancy
The side effects of sucralose are being fiercely discussed by researchers all over the world. Sucralose contains chlorine which is a carcinogen. Manufacturers claim that it is just the same as the chlorine in table salt (NaCl) but some experts are not ready to accept this. Some of the common side effects of sucralose are nausea, dizziness, headache, bloating, fatigue, abdominal pain, weight loss, etc. Serious side effects like severe diarrhea, blurred vision, shortness of breath, depression, panic attacks, body pain, confusion, etc. were also noticed in some cases.
Some of the animal studies show that excessive or regular use of sucralose may result in shrunken thymus gland, atrophy of lymph follicles in the spleen and thymus, reduced growth rate, enlargement of liver and kidneys, etc. Sucralose dangers also include a decrease in the count of red blood cells, increased cecal weight, decreased fetal body weight and placental weight, hyperplasia of the pelvis, extension in the pregnancy period, abortion and gastrointestinal problems like diarrhea, etc. As intake of sucralose can lead to still birth, abortion, decreased birth weight of the baby, etc., it is advised that pregnant and lactating women should avoid foods containing sucralose.
Many people have sucralose allergy and they suffer from sucralose toxicity. Sucralose can even affect your brain and vision. However, this does not mean that everybody consuming sucralose will experience one or more of these side effects. Some people may not experience any side effects at all. The number and severity of the side effects may vary from person to person. Long-term side effects are rarely experienced if sucralose products are consumed occasionally.
Sucralose is used to manufacture a variety of sweets and desserts like jams, jellies, candies, sweet fillings, fruits juices, etc. It is easy to avoid these products. After examining the results of human and animal studies, the FDA has declared that sucralose possess no carcinogenic substances, it does not affect reproductive processes and neurological functions. As usual, all the controversies regarding sucralose dangers have left consumers confused and clueless. Doctors say that it takes nearly 15-20 days for sucralose to completely go out of the body after proper treatment. So it is better to be careful while consuming this artificial sweetener.
Doctors always state that excess consumption of sugar or any type of sweetener is not good for health. An acceptable daily intake for sucralose is 5mg/kg of body weight/day. I hope, those who were confused about the use of sucralose during pregnancy, would now take proper care and would read the labels carefully. Women should think of their own health and health of their baby and then decide whether it is really necessary to consume sucralose products during pregnancy.