Chemical Found in Artificial Sweetener Causes DNA Damage
As science progresses and changes the world around us, our food changes with it as well. Some of these changes have been beneficial. For example, technology has helped increase crop yield and make fresh produce readily available. An increased understanding of agriculture has allowed us to develop sustainable farming products. Food fortification products have become increasingly common to decrease dietary deficiencies. Yet not all advances have proven to be healthy for the body. Artificial sweeteners, which many turn to as a low-calorie solution, have been proven to be a hazard to the body. In fact, a recent study finds that the sweetener sucralose breaks up DNA.
Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have determined sucralose to be "genotoxic." As the name suggests, the sweetener harms genetic information by breaking up DNA. Sucralose-6-acetate is the specific chemical within the sweetener that is responsible for causing DNA damage.
An image of artificial sweetener.
Researchers also conducted further in vitro tests to expose human gut tissues to sucralose-6-acetate. They observed that when exposed to gut epithelial tissues - the tissue that lines your gut wall - sucralose-6-acetate caused a leaky gut. In other words, the chemical made the lining of the gut more permeable to outside molecules by damaging interfaces where epithelial cells connected to each other. This poses a danger to the body because waste that would typically leave the body ends up leaking into the bloodstream.
These results support growing evidence that artificial sweeteners like sucralose show an increased risk of cancer. Additionally, damaged DNA caused by sucralose can also play a role in the development of diseases like cancer. When DNA damage occurs to a gene that makes repair proteins, a cell has less ability to repair itself. Slowly, errors will accumulate within other genes, and the body will lose its ability to recover, allowing cancer to form. Damaged DNA could also cause mutations within a person's genetic code. These mutations could lead to abnormal bodily functions, which could develop into cancer.
This study raises a host of concerns about the potential health effects associated with sucralose. Aside from being a poor choice from a nutrition standpoint, sucralose also poses many threats to the body. Damaging DNA can have immense effects on one's long-term health. Aside from the diseases it can lead to, broken DNA can also be passed on to offspring causing health problems for generations to come. Additionally, a leaky gut poses threats to the digestive system and can cause prolonged inflammation in the body, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Given the risks, it may be time for health agencies to revisit the approval of artificial sweeteners. As for consumers, recent discoveries should serve as a reminder to avoid processed food.
