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People may think Johnson & Johnson's Splenda', made from sucralose, has"come to the rescue" as the newest chemical sugar replacement "made fromreal sugar." People don't want to hear that it may be just as dangerous asaspartame, and this "white knight" of sweeteners is no improvement.

Splenda (sucralose) is created in the lab, using a complex processinvolving dozens of chemicals you and I can barely pronounce - let aloneconsume. To illustrate the alarming "chemical soup" required to createsucralose, I have listed here the actual process for producing thissweetener. I highlighted the chemicals in bold type for emphasis.

According to the Splenda International Patent A23L001-236 and PEP Review#90-1-4 (July 1991), sucralose is synthesized by this five-step process:

1. sucrose is tritylated with trityl chloride in the presence ofdimethylformamide and 4-methylmorpholine and the tritylated sucrose is thenacetylated with acetic anhydride,

2. the resulting TRISPA (6,1',6'-tri-O-trityl-penta-O-acetylsucrose) ischlorinated with hydrogen chloride in the presence of toluene,

3. the resulting 4-PAS (sucrose 2,3,4,3',4'-pentaacetate) is heated inthe presence of methyl isobutyl ketone and acetic acid,

4. the resulting 6-PAS (sucrose 2,3,6,3',4'-pentaacetate) is chlorinatedwith thionyl chloride in the presence of toluene and benzyltriethylammoniumchloride, and

5. the resulting TOSPA (sucralose pentaacetate) is treated with methanol(wood alcohol, a poison) in the presence of sodium methoxide to producesucralose.

The Splenda marketers stress that sucralose is "made from sugar but isderived from this sugar through a process that selectively substitutes threeatoms of chlorine for three hydrogen-oxygen groups on the sucrose molecule."While this is true, it is a deceptively simple description, implying thatsucralose is just a benign sugar with a touch of chlorine, and thereby, safefor consumption.

So sucralose becomes a "low-calorie" sugar with a complicated processthat results in Splenda's chemical formula: 1,6-dichloro-1,6-dideoxy-BETA-D-fructofuranosyl-4-chloro-4-deoxy-alpha-D-galactopyranoside.

The FDA states in their Final Report on Splenda that sucralose is"produced at an approximate purity of ninety-eight percent." The other twopercent does not have to be reported to the FDA, nor listed as addedingredients. So what's in the other two percent? The chemicals used tosynthesize sucralose in the five-step process:

1. Acetone
2. Acetic acid
3. Acetyl alcohol
4. Acetic anhydride
5. Ammonium chloride
6. Benzene
7. Chlorinated sulfates
8. Ethyl alcohol
9. Isobutyl ketones
10. Formaldehyde
11. Hydrogen chloride
12. Lithium chloride
13. Methanol
14. Sodium methoxide
15. Sulfuryl chloride
16. Trityl chloride
17. Toluene
18. Thionyl chloride

Now you can see why I do not recommend sucralose for pregnancy or forchildren, especially after reading this list.

It's time to admit that there is no free ticket to eating all thesugar-free products you desire without paying the high price of harming yourbody in the long run. Laboratory chemicals are not the answer.

From Dr. Janet Starr Hull's website Splenda Exposed:
http://www.splendaexposed.com

This information is based on research from Dr. Janet Starr Hull. For moreinformation on Splenda, see Dr. Hull's newly released book Splenda': Is ItSafe Or Not? at http://www.issplendasafe.com.