If you’ve loaded up on holiday sweets and are looking for a way to cut back, a new artificial sweetener may be the answer. Iowa State University Extension nutritionist Elisabeth Schafer says the new sweetener is now available in stores.It’s sold under the brand name “Splenda”. It’s chemical name is “sucralose”. Schafer says “Splenda” is a regular sugar molecule that’s had three chlorine atoms added to it.Putting the chorine in the molecule makes it unusable by the human body. Schafer says the molecular change makes the substance 600 times sweeter than normal sugar, so you don’t need to use as much.She says “Splenda” doesn’t have the health concerns linked to some other artificial sweeteners.Schafer does have a concern about giving the substance to children.Some people might be tempted to use the sweetener as a substitute for all sugar, but Schafer’s not sure that would be healthy.
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