Does Splenda Cause Cancer? A Questionable Study Claims It Does

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We know, we know, everything causes cancer, at least in theory. But sucralose, better known as Splenda to most people, is the latest to be put in the cancer barrel, and the fact that it causes blood cancers in mice raises serious questions. Or would, if everyone had been drinking 10 diet sodas a day since they were a fetus.

The study exposed groups of mice to 0, 500, 2,000, 8,000, and 16,000 parts per million of Splenda, from 12 days after gestation, roughly the equivalent of the third trimester in humans, to every day thereafter. Unsurprisingly, the group exposed to the equivalent of 10 diet sodas made with Splenda every day developed cancers. So, boom, case closed, right?

Not so fast. First of all, this study is from the Ramazzini Institute, which has something of a reputation in scientific circles. For example, here’s a study they also did on aspartame that used the same methodology and came to the same conclusions. Among the problems, they tend to refer to every abnormal growth as a cancer and seem to have trouble sorting mice with cancer from mice who are sick for other reasons. Depending on who you ask, the Institute either cherry-picks the worst possible result for publicity, or is a noble scientific rebel who disagrees with dangerous corporate interests like, er, the Food and Drug Administration and most European safety authorities.

It’s worth saying here that too much of anything is bad for you in the long run. A balanced diet is crucial to your health, and that means you probably shouldn’t be consuming 10 of anything. So, the lesson you should learn from this is to enjoy your Splenda; just don’t eat an entire bag of it every single day. Somehow, we suspect that won’t be a problem.

(Via MSN)

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