Dietitians Say Splenda Is Not the Same as Sugar

Courtroom battles between the makers of Splenda and Equal have many questioning the safety of artificial sweeteners.

Since early 2000 McNeil Nutritionals has been advertising that its product -- Splenda -- is "made from sugar so it tastes like sugar." But the National Sugar Association and Merisant Worldwide (maker of Equal brand sweetener) have challenged that claim in a lawsuit.

McNeil Nutritionals shot back with a countersuit implying the case against them was more about corporate sour grapes than truth in consumer advertising.

But court battles and corporate backstabbing aside, the question on consumers' minds is not so much whether advertising slogans are right or wrong, but do they really make a difference -- at home, on the dinner table where it really counts?

Dietitian Nancy Restuccia, MS, RD, says they most definitely do. "Splenda is not sugar -- and to piggyback it on to the reputation of the centuries' old profile of sugar is more than misleading, it could come back to haunt us, perhaps sooner than we think," says Restuccia, a nutritionist at the Center for Obesity Surgery at New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center in New York City. Indeed, while there are currently only a handful of studies that question Splenda's safety and more than 100 which attest to it's safe use, Restuccia says it simply hasn't been around long enough to amass any long-term data -- or even short-term data involving heavy consumption.

According to the manufacturer of Splenda, Johnson & Johnson/McNeil, since its introduction more than a decade ago, millions of people have safely eaten products made with sucralose - which is the basis of Splenda.

J. Roberto Moran, MD, director of medical and nutritional affairs for McNeil Nutritionals LLC, says, "More than 80 countries have approved the use of sucralose in foods, including the United States FDA in 1998."

McNeil also says sucralose is one of the most tested food ingredients ever introduced and its safety has been confirmed by regulatory agencies around the world. Studies, he says, number more than 100 over a 20 year period, all demonstrating that sucralose has no harmful effects.

What Happens When Sweeteners Interact?

"Sugar may have its health drawbacks, but at least we know we're not in for any major surprises -- and we just can't say that about Splenda yet -- so to imply that it's got the same profile as sugar is misleading and that is important today, as well as in the long run, " she says.

Samantha Heller, MS, RD, agrees. "Saying Splenda is made from sugar is like taking the round wheels off a car and putting on square wheels. Is it still a car? Yes. But can it still perform like a car? No -- and what's more we don't know what's going to happen when people try to 'drive it' cross country," says Heller.