I once knew someone who drank poison every day. This was not some sort of True Crime story about a disgruntled spouse trying to get the life insurance payment. It was something the person chose themselves. Now, they might not have called it poison per se, but they knew it wasn’t good for them. Not having it made them have regular migraines. Having it gave them migraines. It wasn’t a drug, but they knew they shouldn’t have it anymore. They didn’t think that it was the source of their health problems. And even though it seemed harmless, it was poisoning them. It’s probably poisoning you too. It’s in your food. It’s in your drinks. It’s on almost every restaurant table next to the butter and jelly. It’s probably in the jelly too. It’s that terrible, slow killer in a yellow packet: Splenda.

Splenda? You probably saw the news of a new study explaining that a popular sweetener, sucralose, commonly known as Splenda, is a “genotoxic compound.” What this means is that it attacks your DNA, causing all sorts of problems from “leaky gut”, to insulin intolerance, leukemia, and the list goes on. It’s used in so many products, especially those advertised as “zero-calorie” or “diet,” like the diet Dr. Pepper my friend drinks every day.

That’s the reason it is so popular. We know that we shouldn’t have too much sugar, a naturally occurring sweetener, but we like things to taste sweet. So we created alternatives like sucralose or aspartame, not reckoning that there is a price for everything. Doctors and the FDA told us it was good for us just like smoking and margarine. It reeks of when we were told “vestigial organs” could be removed with no side effects because they contributed nothing to the body. Or the modern sex change industry. Every medication, surgery, sugar alternative, shortcut, intervention, word, thought, and deed has a price. Everything has a price.

For some, the price is worth it. Many do not even consider that “there is no such thing as a free [Diet Soda].” It’s something of which Scripture constantly tries to remind us. Solomon said, “Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things” (Eccl. 11:9). Jesus continued, “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment” (Matt. 12:36).

Sometimes the price is evident. Other times, it waits years to cash in. Well beyond sucralose, the price for sin outweighs them all. And it is patient. Sadly, someone else had to cash our bill in full measure. We won’t “again crucify Him to [ourselves] and put Him to an open shame”… will we?

It’s not worth it. I imagine a lot of food companies are going to put some more thought into what they produce. We should too.                  

– DMF