Splenda Isn’t So Splendid – The Toxic Rumsfeld-Monsanto Link

via: NaturalSociety.com
Christina Sarich
November 9, 2014

As we get closer to the holidays, many people look for ways to cut back on sugar and other indulgences so that when the New Year rolls around, they won’t have to work so hard to lose those extra pounds. While it is a good idea to avoid sugar altogether, using the artificial sweeteners Splenda or Aspartame might be even worse. There are numerous reasons you should avoid the stuff in little yellow packages (or pink, or blue). Here is why.

Donald Rumsfeld, the very same politician who supports GMOs, is perhaps the singular man who got Splenda onto the market after the FDA initially refused it. If you have gotten sick from consuming this toxic substance, you can thank him, along with its makers. Splenda was created by the British company Tate & Lyle along with the pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson.

Perhaps you remember when the Coca-Cola company launched its ad campaign to fight obesity back in the early 80s? This was all part of a ploy to begin the use of aspartame, whose patent was once owned by none other than Monsanto! Ironically, there are numerous studies that show this stuff causes obesity. It doesn’t prevent obesity.

Before they started selling you Splenda, it was called NutraSweet. In 1985, Monsanto purchased G.D. Searle, the chemical company that held the patent to aspartame, the active ingredient in NutraSweet, as well as Splenda and many other artificial sweeteners. Is Splenda safe? It depends who you ask.

Let’s look at a little timeline, shall we?

• 1901: Monsanto Chemical Works is formed.

• 1976: When Ford loses the 1976 election, Rumsfeld returns to private business life, and is named president and CEO of the pharmaceutical corporation G. D. Searle & Company, during which time he leads the legalization of Aspartame.

• 1977: Monsanto stops producing PCBs.

• 1997: Monsanto businesses are spun off as Solutia Inc.

• 1999: John Hunter is named chairman and CEO.

• 2000: Monsanto’s Pharmaceutical Services Division is created. Monsanto also merges with the drug-maker Pharmacia & UpJohn Inc., which took control of the Searle pharmaceutical operations, and the current Monsanto Co. was incorporated as a subsidiary in October 2000.

• 2002: PCB trial results in sharp drop in stock price.

Continue Reading At: NaturalSociety.com

Splenda soon to unleash ‘Nectresse’ – Here’s what you need to know about this new ‘natural’ sweetener

via: NaturalNews
Tuesday, August 07, 2012
By: Jonathan Benson

[NaturalNews] McNeil Nutritionals, LLC, maker of the artificial sweetener Splenda, is gearing up to introduce a new “natural” sweetener known as Nectresse that will cater specifically to those looking for a healthy alternative to artificial sweeteners and sugar. But is Nectresse really as natural as McNeil claims it is, or is the product just another example of tricky marketing hype aimed at health-conscious consumers?

According to the Nectresse website, the product is “100 percent natural,” and is made from the heat-stable extract of an Asian melon known as monk fruit, or Lo Han. McNeil claims that Nectresse contains zero calories per serving, and that monk fruit is 150 times sweeter than sugar, which means that consumers do not need to use very much of it to effectively sweeten foods and beverages.

Nectresse contains other additives besides monk fruit

But monk fruit is not the only ingredient in Nectresse, nor is it even the primary ingredient. The first and most abundant ingredient in Nectresse is actually erythritol, a sugar alcohol commonly derived from corn, the vast majority of which has been genetically modified (GM) in the U.S. And the second ingredient in Nectresse is sugar, which is refined and more than likely comes from GM sugar beets.

The third ingredient in Nectresse is monk fruit, which McNeil explains is extracted using a natural process involving both water and heat rather than chemicals — this is good. But the fourth and final ingredient in Nectresse is molasses, which once again is a sugar that more than likely was derived from GM sugar beets — producers that use sugar from sugar cane, after all, typically indicate this on their ingredient labels.

Nectresse, not so natural after all

So three out of the four ingredients used in Nectresse appear to be derived from bioengineered crops, and two of these ingredients are refined sugars. And since erythritol is a sugar alcohol, as well as the most abundant ingredient in Nectresse, McNeil can legally claim under U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines that Nectresse contains zero calories per serving.

But the fact that Nectresse more than likely contains ingredients derived from GM sources means that it is hardly the “natural” product that McNeil is hyping it up to be. Sure, Nectresse contains a little bit of monk fruit which, like the stevia plant, contains compounds that are naturally very sweet, but that do not provide the body with calories in the same way as sugar. But the other ingredients found in Nectresse can hardly be considered natural.

According to MonkFruit.org, (http://www.monkfruit.org/monk-fruit/68/food-beverage-manufacturers) monk fruit can actually be up to 200 times sweeter than sugar because it contains natural antioxidants known as mogrosides that have a strong, sweet taste, but that are not actually considered to be sugar. These mogrosides are unique to monk fruit, and they also contain zero calories.

By itself, in other words, monk fruit appears to be viable as a healthy, alternative sweetener that, because of its heat stability, can work better than stevia in certain food applications that require baking, sauteing, or other forms of heat cooking. Nectresse, on the other hand, appears to be an adulterated version of the monk fruit that represents the corporate food industry’s latest attempt at trying to cash in on the health-conscious.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.nectresse.com/

http://www.naturalnews.com/stevia.html

Read More At: NaturalNews.com

Natural Strategies for Treating Common Digestive Problems

via: NaturalSociety
by: Kelsey Coy
July 28, 2012

In my acupuncture practice, I encounter a huge variety of digestive disorders. This isn’t terribly surprising to me, though, given that Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) currently affects 20% of the adult population and is among the disorders most frequently diagnosed by doctors. IBS symptoms vary tremendously from person to person, and the disorder’s etiology is not well-understood. While effective pharmaceutical management of IBS has been unsurprisingly lacking, there are a number of more natural methods to regulate the digestive system and help treat common digestive problems.

Treating Common Digestive Problems and Disorders Naturally

Peruse those listed below, based on the symptoms relevant to your digestive issues.

Try reducing (or eliminating) consumption of:

• Caffeine

• Coffee, including decaffeinated

• Alcohol

• Dairy Products

• Ice Cold Beverages

• Artificial Sweeteners, including Splenda

Try increasing consumption of:

• Chamomile

• Peppermint

• Fennel

• Ginger

• Oatmeal

For intestinal disorder of any sort:

• Probiotics – Probiotics improve the health of the entire digestive tract by promoting the flourishing of the ‘good’ bacteria that populate the intestines. It is especially important to experience all of the benefits of probiotics due to the widespread use of antibiotics, which effectively kill the ‘good’ bacteria in your gut – causing numerous health issues. Look for a ‘soil based’ probiotic to ensure the organisms will survive in stomach acid and pass into the gut.

• Psyllium or Acacia Fiber – Great for helping to treat common digestive problems, insoluble fiber helps build bulk in the intestine and therefore serves as a sort of natural ‘vacuum.’ Increase consumption gradually and drink plenty of water to allow your body to adjust and avoid bloating. Work up to taking a tablespoon full nightly before bed to soothe and regulate intestines.

Continue Reading At: NaturalSociety.com

Splenda pushing new ‘essentials’ line of toxic sucralose as a health product

Natural News
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
By: Ethan A. Huff

[NaturalNews] Desperate to maintain its false brand image of being a healthy sugar alternative, the Splenda company, maker of toxic sucralose, has unveiled a new product line called “Splenda essentials” that incorporates trace amounts of B vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber as bait to convince the health-conscious community that Splenda is good for them. But do not be fooled. These products are still filled with the same toxic chlorocarbon sucralose as normal Splenda, which is linked to some very severe health problems.

Marketed as being “made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar,” Splenda’s main ingredient, sucralose, is basically a chlorinated sugar that the company claims is harmless because it passes right through the body unabsorbed. Utilizing the same process used to create some pesticides, however, including the now-banned pesticide DDT, sucralose is anything but an inert sweetener. Numerous scientific studies have found that sucralose is absorbed by the body when consumed, and one particular study in Japan found that up to 40 percent of it is absorbed (http://www.truthaboutsplenda.com/images/japanese_study.pdf).

Why is this such a big deal? As reported by the Alliance for Natural Health USA (ANH-USA), the absorption of chlorinated compounds can cause severe damage to the nervous system, immune system, bodily organs, microflora balance in the intestines, and glandular systems. Dr. James Bowen, M.D., a physician and biochemist, likens chlorine compounds to “nature’s Doberman attack dog — a highly excitable, ferocious atomic element employed as a biocide in bleach, disinfectants, insecticide, WWI poison gas and hydrochloric acid.”

Added vitamins and minerals in Splenda essentials so minimal that they provide no real health benefits

The addition of trace levels of a few vitamins and some fiber to its “essentials” line is obviously a desperate marketing ploy by Splenda to cover all this up and convince the public that sucralose is a healthy product. But the amount of added vitamins and fiber in each Splenda essentials packet is so incredibly low that it is virtually impossible for anyone to derive any health benefits from them.

A single packet of Splenda essentials fiber, for instance, contains just a single gram of fiber, which is about three percent of the U.S. government’s recommended daily allowance (RDA) of fiber. Splenda essentials with B vitamins contains about 20 percent of the RDA for vitamins B1, B5, and B6. But as we all know, the official RDA for most vitamins and minerals is too low to begin with, which means these amounts of B vitamins are basically nothing more than trace levels as well.

These added vitamins and fiber are also synthetic, which means the body will reject most of them anyway. And yet the Splenda company is making fraudulent claims that using Splenda essentials will “help support a healthy metabolism,” for instance, or that the packets contain nutrients “like those found in fruits and vegetables.”

These claims are patently false, especially because sucralose itself inhibits proper metabolic function and throws off digestive balance. The chemical also damages internal organs, including the liver, which is responsible for absorbing nutrients and distributing them throughout the body, as well as detoxifying the body of toxic chemicals like sucralose.

ANH-USA has filed a citizen petition with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to go after Splenda for its fraudulent marketing tactics. By making false claims about the supposed health benefits of Splenda essentials, the Splenda company is deliberately deceiving the public and putting the health of millions of people at great risk (http://www.anh-usa.org).

Source: NaturalNews.com