Splenda… All Natural? Really?!

We are forever searching for the fountain of youth.  In fact, I spent quite a lot of time this weekend reading a new book – Project Longevity – which I will, of course, blog about shortly.  Here’s the thing.  We take resveratrol pills, get injected with botox and juvederm, go for facials and mud treatments, consume massive amounts of medications when we get diagnosed with diseases, and feed our kids antidepressants when they are angry and depressed.  So, let me ask all of you a question… Why are we slowly poisoning ourselves with the artificial sweeteners that the food industry is touting to be the answer to our sugar fix?

These nasty little chemicals that I wouldn’t feed my enemies make you look old and pasty, make your diabetes worse, make your children angry and uptight, might be the leading cause of many diseases, and – are you ready for this? – studies are showing links to Alzheimer’s, dementia, and brain tumors.

The world starts to get nervous with aspartame and along comes Splenda.  Now, they are touting, this chemical – that contains chlorine – is all natural.  Since some of you have asked, here are my thoughts on Splenda (sucralose) and how it is made:

• “Sucrose is tritylated with trityl chloride in the presence of dimethylformamide and 4-methylmorpholine, and the tritylated sucrose is then acetylated with acetic anhydride.
• The resulting sucrose molecule TRISPA is chlorinated with hydrogen chlorine in the presence of tolulene.
• The resulting 4-PAS is heated in the presence of methyl isobutyl ketone and acetic acid.
• The resulting 6-PAS is chlorinated with thionyl chloride in the presence of toluene and benzyltriethylammonium chloride.
• The resulting TOSPA is treated with methanol in the presence of sodium methoxide to produce sucralose.”  (Note that methanol, wood alcohol aka paint remover,  is one of the questionable ingredients in aspartame.)”

Does anyone know what on earth this means? The answer is no, don’t feel bad.  Even the inventors of Splenda admit that the body absorbs 15% of sucralose but they cannot guarantee us (out of this fifteen percent) what amount of the chlorine stays in the body and what percent gets flushed out.  I say get rid of all of those artificial sweeteners and learn how to enjoy a cup of java black.  I have even become so petrified of the additives in many brands of stevia that I am using honey in everything or nothing at all.  Yes, I am putting honey in my coffee these days.  It actually has a nice flavor.

Again, let me remind you of one of my most favorite sayings.  If it doesn’t come from the Earth and it didn’t have a mother, don’t eat (or drink) it.

Natural Solutions for Ringing in The Ears

After reading my blog about energy drinks yesterday, Dr. Smith forwarded a response to it.  I thought it was extremely important and relevant so I wanted to share it with you today.  “Thank you for your informative article.  I would like to comment on taurine:  There has been very good studies done on this very important sulfur containing amino acid.  Taurine can act as an anti-oxidant and can protect against atherosclerosis in the arteries, especially useful for many diabetic patients, protects against ischemia (reduced blood flow) in heart cells, has neuroprotective ability especially patients suffering from some forms of epilepsy by working synergistically with GABA receptors in the brain (calming -dampening down the over-excited nerves), it has shown to help in some cases of tinnitis (ringing in the ears) as well as being involved in the cholesterol elimination pathways of the body.  When prescribed by a knowledgeable doctor for the right reasons it can be a very useful natural intervention.  Merely putting it in energy drinks is rediculous especially when other stimulants are included.”

I am not quite sure why but in the last few months we have received a large number of e-mails with questions related to ringing in the ears.  I guess I think it might be fate that Dr. Smith chose to point out the benefits of taurine.  If you are one of those many people who have e-mailed us regarding ringing in the ears, you might want to think about a natural approach like taurine.

Speaking of natural, oh, don’t seem so shocked, you knew I was going to go here.  It has been my experience that a large number of individuals simply cut out artificial sweeteners and that does seem to alleviate the problem of  “ringing in the ears”.  Listen folks, I will tell you time and time again, look at your grocery store like a garden of life.  Keep on walking by those artificial sweeteners and head straight for the super foods.  By the way, it is my nature to always point out solutions, therefore, since I am not a fan of Equal or Splenda or any of the like, why not discover the many healthful benefits of agave nectar, honey, maple syrup and even raw sugar is preferable to the Splendas of the world.

Now, I am certain that some of the physicians reading reading my health blog yesterday just wanted to jump out of their seats at the sheer mention of enjoying a good cup of java.  Oh well…I must tell you I love my cup of java with a heaping tablespoon of honey and lots of great shakes of cinnamon.  It’s called moderation my friends.