Depression is an extreme mood disorder that can cause immense amounts of sadness and loss of activity/ participation in life. Depression is very serious and can change an individual completely. When people are depressed they don’t know to do anything or socialize. It alters your behavior and you no longer see the good in most things. There obviously are a lot of causes of depression, but I came across a very interesting article that questions whether or not depression can be triggered by viruses.

On the Harvard Health Blog, there was a paragraph stated about a group of researchers looking into this hypothesis. They carefully dissected a Danish data base that contains every person born in the country by a registration number.The data base consists of information and records of peoples health related issues. In the blog post “Infection, Autoimmune Disease Linked to Depression” by Patrick Skerrett, he says the following: “Among Danes born between 1945 and 1995, almost 92,000 had a mood disorder. Of these, 36,000 had suffered a severe infection or developed an autoimmune disease (such as type 1 diabetes, celiac disease, lupus, and the like) at some point before being diagnosed with the mood disorder… The researchers estimated that in the Danish population, severe infection and autoimmune disease account for 12% of mood disorders.” (Infection, 1).

Infections and viruses, along with the medication provided to help cure the, can cause inflammation in many parts of the body. Cytokines in our body become active when we swell up or inflame. Studies show that cytokines change how brain cells communicate. Cells begin to attack nerves and healthy parts of the body instead of fighting off the unhealthy cells that make people sick. This can also show that a virus can cause depression.

Sources:

1.) Skerrett, Patrick J. “Infection, Autoimmune Disease Linked to Depression – Harvard Health Blog.” Harvard Health Blog RSS. N.p., 17 June 2013. Web. 04 Dec. 2014. <http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/infection-autoimmune-disease-linked-to-depression-201306176397>

2.) Gregoire, Carolyn. “Why This Psychologist Thinks Depression Is An Infectious Disease.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 02 Dec. 2014. Web. 04 Dec. 2014.<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/02/depression-infectious-dis_n_6172074.html>

It is about that time of year where all of the holiday’s have arrived. As much as I love spending time with my friends and family, I also love all of the food. Obviously on the holidays people eat more than they usually wood. You have full course meals including appetizers and deserts. Also your portions are probably a bit bigger than usual. Every time I overstuff myself with these big meals I get extremely tired and I know a lot of people feel that way also. I never understood what about large quantities of food can make someone sleepy. If calories are what gives us energy, then why do we get tired?

Foods that contain high levels of carbs, fat, and sugar can trigger neurons in your body to send the message that you need to slow down in order to digest large supplements on food. The body must direct the attention to digesting and breaking down the large portions of food. The Huffington post had an online article about this topic and the author stated the following: “More specifically, researchers found, a group of brain cells called orexin neurons that are found in the hypothalmus are very sensitive to glucose levels, which spike after a big meal. Those neurons produce a protein, orexin, which moderates wakefulness in the brain,” (Sleeping After Eating A Big Meal, 1). Also, melatonin and seratonin are two chemicals in the body that can trigger drowsiness. When food intake increases, insulin in the body increases, which brings out these two chemicals as well.

Also, large quantities of foods that are bad for you also make you extremely tired. In the film “Super Size Me” Morgan Spurlock conducts an experiment of eating McDonalds every day for a whole month. Every meal was McDonaldsa and if he had the option to supersize his fries and drink he would. After just one week of eating like this, he said in his documentary that he felt extremely tired and sluggish all the time. He was sleeping longer and taking naps often, which he says is something he never did. The chemicals in his body were triggered by the high fat, sugar, and carbs that made his body slow down like how I said in the first paragraph.

In conclusion, when we overstuff our bodies we are bound to get tired… and if you do it every day you can put on a few pounds as well.

Sources:

1. Melnick, Meredith. “Sleepy After Eating A Big Meal? Here’s Why.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 22 Nov. 2012. Web. 04 Dec. 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/22/sleepy-after-eating-a-big-meal-why_n_2171058.html>

My little sister has disabilities and loves music. She loves to sing and just listen to a variety of songs all day long. She has experienced a myriad of therapies, which all help, but the one I found most interesting was music therapy. It’s not even just used for children with disabilities, but with children who are extremely ill. For example, in one of the THON movies, one of the children with cancer is in the hospital receiving music therapy from the therapist right in his room. I never realized what about music therapy helps an individual so i decided to look into it.

Music therapy is growing now more than ever, but actually goes all the way back to World Wars I and II when nurses would sing to their injured solider patients. CNN posted an article called “When Patients Have Music Emergencies” by Elizabeth Landau, and this is an excerpt from the article with the subtitle “Why It Works”:

“There is scientific research to back up the idea that music has healing properties. A 2013 analysis by Daniel Levitin, a prominent psychologist who studies the neuroscience of music at McGill University in Montreal, and his colleagues highlighted a variety of evidence: for instance, one study showed music’s anti-anxiety properties, another found music was associated with higher levels of immunoglobin A, an antibody linked to immunity. The brain’s reward center responds to music — a brain structure called the striatum releases the chemical dopamine, associated with pleasure. Food and sex also have this effect. The dopamine rush could even be comparable to methamphetamines, Robert Zatorre, professor of neurology and neurosurgery at Montreal Neurological Institute, told CNN last year,” (Landau, 1).

Music therapy is calming and soothing for patients and can ease any form of anxiety. It brings a sense of happiness to an ill patient and even happiness to people with disabilities who have a hard time understanding the world around them. Brian Jantz, a music therapist, was also written about in this CNN article. He conducted an experiment proving music therapy works when one of  his four year old patients was nervous about an intense X-Ray. He played music the whole walk to the X-Ray room, during the X-Ray, and during the walk back. The young girl didn’t even notice the X-Ray happened because she was calmed and distracted by the music.

In my opinion, I find these techniques more helpful then giving a patient endless amounts of medicine. If we can find alternatives like these that don’t require tons of medicines and needles, we should use them more often. My sister goes to speech therapy, occupational therapy, and music therapy. She always tells me music therapy is her favorite and she loves attending. I find that making a patient happy and distracting them from their problem can be one of the biggest aids when trying to overcome their obstacle.

Sources:

1.) http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/23/health/music-therapy/

One of my friends here at schools is constantly eating Healthy Choice and Lean Cuisine because she says it is the healthiest option available here. I wouldn’t doubt that these frozen meals are healthier than some of the options accessed at school, but the fact that it is a FROZEN food item made me curious as to what its content was and if it was actually all that healthy. Oddly, many of the product sites to not share a whole list of the ingredients inside of their foods. Researchers tend to think this is because they’re hiding what’s actually in the product.

On FitDay.com  they list many advantages and disadvantages to frozen food. The main advantage that companies advertise for these products is that it is healthy because of the portion control. These frozen foods are packed with the proper serving size for an individual trying to lose weight. Once it is done, you cannot go grab more food.

The disadvantage to frozen meals like these is the use of chemicals to give the food the taste of a home cooked meal. There are many preservatives in these frozen foods to attempt to give off the taste of freshness. Some of these unhealthy additives are Maltodextrin, Soy Lecithin, Carrageenan, Soy Lecithin, and Potassium Chloride. Also, the mimicked steaming isn’t exactly healthy to heat up this frozen meal due to the contents that are in it.

“The 10 oz serving is to be heated in a microwaveable packaging that mimics the effect of steaming. Steaming is a preparation method that requires little to no oils, unlike a saute.  You each can be the judge regarding the flavor,” (Fooducate, 1).

Healthy Choice and Lean Cuisine have also been recalled items many times because users have found chunks of plastic in their foods. Users who have tried to do diet experiments with these frozen meals felt they weren’t getting enough nutrients a day. In fact, their metabolisms slowed down which made it harder for them to lose weight. The Daily Finance discusses these recalls.

Sources:

1.) http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/18/recall-roundup-lean-cuisine-and-kashi-meals-chocolate-milk-bl/

2.) http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/weight-loss/are-frozen-diet-foods-really-healthy.html#b

3.) http://blog.fooducate.com/2010/06/15/how-healthy-are-healthy-choices-frozen-meals/

According to the Vision Council, about 70% of adults in America have eye strain problems due to excessive use of electronic devices. The average American spends about an average of 6 to 9 hours in front of some sort of digital screen each day. This type of eye strain can cause irritation, dry eyes, and blurred vision. An individual can feel the eye strain simply after two hours of using an electronic device. Blue Light, also known as HEV, is the light that causes the most eye strain from the color schemes on a digital service. “Studies suggest that overexposure to heV light can damage the retina, the part of the eye that brings objects into focus. this occurs when blue light penetrates the macular pigment of the eye and causes a breakdown of that protective shield. This leaves the eye more susceptible to blue light exposure and cell degeneration,” (Digiteyezed, 9).

A group of college students conducted an experiment where they observed several students in the computer lab at their school. They recorded interviews with the students asking how long they’ve been using the computer, if they felt pain in their eyes, and how often a week they use the computers. They observed students constantly rubbing their eyes and massaging their heads, hinting the strain taking place after using the digital screen for so long. Head, neck, and back aches can also come along with digital eye strain.

Digital eye strain is becoming one of the most prominent pains in workers and students neighboring arthritis. In order to prevent digital eye strain you should turn down the brightness on your device, adjust the device to below eye level, keep it far away from your face, increase size of text to avoid strain when reading, take 20 minute breaks in between digital use, and limit your computer or digital device use time per day.

Sources

1.) http://www.thevisioncouncil.org/sites/default/files/TVCDigitEYEzedReport2013.pdf

I felt this article was relevant to write because now being a student in college, there are more unhealthy foods surrounding me than healthy. I’ve encountered a few small break outs at school that have never happened to me at home.  Everyone says that greasy and a variety of junk foods can cause break outs. I wanted to know if this was true or if it was just a myth.

In order for acne to occur, your pores and open hair follicles become clogged with various things such as oil, bacteria, and dead skin cells. Our faces are one of the few parts of the body the body with the most oil glands, therefore break outs tend to occur here more often. Acne is known as a bacterial reaction to those pores clogging up. Mayo Clinic wrote an article describing  acne, how it forms, symptoms, and causes for acne. After their studies they wrote in this article that greasy foods and chocolate are NOT causes of acne, but certain foods which increase blood sugar are. Some of the foods they’ve listed that can trigger acne are bread, bagels, chips, and various products that are rich in dairy and carbs.

On Acne.org, people post about their encounters with acne and experiment they have conducted to attempt to make their acne go away. Jo, a user on this site, posted about her dietary experiment to sustain from dairy, sugar, grain, and most processed foods. Jo would eat more vegetables and healthier products hoping it would make her skin clear up. She posted that a week into this diet, her skin still looked the same. She only started seeing a difference in her skin after taking certain vitamins and medicines for acne and to decrease the oil production on her skin.

After examining this information and Jo’s diet experiment, you can conclude that the greasy food causing acne statement is a myth. Changes in hormones, certain medications, make up products, fascial cleansers, and grain/ dairy products are what can be causing an individual to get acne.

Sources

1.) http://www.acne.org/messageboard/blog/4070/entry-26139-diet-experiment-for-oily-skin/

2.) http://www.acne.org/messageboard/blog/4070/entry-26139-diet-experiment-for-oily-skin/

There has been mixed reviews about if Nyquil and if actually makes people sleepy or not. When I ask my friends and family, some say it makes them pass out immediately but others say it does nothing for them. According to research, there are certain chemicals in Nyquil that make you drowsy, but if you use Nyquil often, this side effect may no longer happen because your body becomes used to it. My question is what in Nyquil actually makes you sleepy?

Nyquil contains doxylamine succinate or chlorpheniramine maleate . These two chemicals can cause an individual to become drowsy. Alcohol is also in Nyquil as an inactive constitute which can make someone extremely tired, especially if you take a large dosage at once. KnowsWhy.com says the following about Nyquil and its contents that lead to a users drowsiness:

“Doxylamine succinate which is one of the constituents of Nyquil is an antihistamine which is known to make one sleepy. It is sometimes used for treatment of insomnia. Too much use of this chemical might lead to the creation of hallucinations in us. It is known that some of the antihistamines that cause drowsiness are increased by alcohol. As Nyquil has both of them as its ingredients, it can severely cause sleepiness. Nyquil also consists of Tylenol as an ingredient for fever. This medication also consists of dextromethorphan, high fructose corn syrup, polyethylene glycol, purified water, red 40, saccharin sodium and sodium citrate. As experienced by many people, Nyquil makes them have a sound sleep. Acetaminophen is another ingredient of Nyquil. Acetaminophen is a fever reducer but does not cause drowsiness. Dextromethorphan will cause cough to subside but simultaneously also leads to drowsiness,” (KnowsWhy.com, 1).

I find when I use Nyquil, I fall asleep within a half hour to an hour after taking the prescribed dose. Other people have had no drowsy symptoms and say its one conscious that makes them fall sleep after taking it because they are well aware Nyquil is known for making people fall asleep.

In conclusion, there are actually chemicals in Nyquil that make you fall asleep and it is not just a myth. Not only are these chemicals found in Nyquil, but in other antihistamines.

Work Cited

1.) http://www.knowswhy.com/why-does-nyquil-make-you-sleepy/

2.) http://archive.wired.com/science/discoveries/magazine/15-11/st_nyquil

Im sure a lot of you like to work out or just engage in psychical activity to avoid gaining weight. Whatever the reason is, most of you probably do work out. In every work out I do, I make sure I perform a certain amount of cardio. I try to hit around 45 minutes of cardio a day then proceed with the rest of the work out including weights, ab exercises, and so on. Running is my cardio go to mainly because I find it most beneficial. It works so many muscles in your body and requires so much more strength and endurance. I feel more worked after running in comparison to biking or using the elliptical. This could obviously vary for different people. When the weather isn’t at the condition to run outside, I run on the treadmill. My friends who run track argue that running on the treadmill does nothing for you, so I decided to compare the two.

I feel one good thing about running on the treadmill is that you are forced to keep up with the speed. You can challenge yourself by increasing a speed and unless your ready to fall off of the treadmill, you have to run that fast. Also, you can increase the incline on a treadmill to make your run a bit more strenuous. If you are running outdoors on a track or a flat area, you don’t experience a surface level change. LiveStrong.com identifies running on a treadmill beneficial to maintaing good cholesterol and blood pressure. They also say it is a stress reliever.

Of course, there are downfalls to running on a treadmill. Studies and experiments show that the unnaturalness of a treadmill can cause pain and damage to muscles and bones. “Shin splints” or any form of pain in the legs can be present after aggressively stomping on a moving flat belt for so long. Other injuries can be present in your feet, hips, or knees from running on the treadmill. “Since the rubber belt essentially pulls your feet out from under you when you run, you don’t have to push off as much to generate forward momentum. This affects your gait and foot strike pattern, which can affect your joints if you’re used to running with a natural gait outdoors,” (Kelliher,1). Aside from the effects of the body, treadmills are definitely harder to run on because it is boring. You remain in the same place looking at the same thing for your entire run. On Sparkpeople.com they state in their article  that running on the treadmill requires less muscle fiber and coordination, making it less intense and beneficial that actually running outside.

Although both ways of running still mean we are being active, it seems we should try and take advantage of the opportunities to run outside.

1.  Kelliher, Steven. “Is Running on a Treadmill Bad?” LIVESTRONG.COM. LIVESTRONG.COM, 31 Jan. 2014. Web. 18 Sept. 2014. < http://www.livestrong.com/article/296197-is-running-on-a-treadmill-bad/>
2. “Treadmill vs. Running outside.” Runners Connect. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2014. < http://runnersconnect.net/running-training-articles/treadmill-vs-running-outside/>
3. Walters, Jennipher. “Are You Cheating Yourself by Choosing the Treadmill?” SparkPeople. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2014. <http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=1461&page=3>

My aunt and uncle are extremely heavy cigarette smokers and it doesn’t make sense to me. They know, as well as the rest of us, how harmful cigarette smoking is. It damages your lungs as well as many other organs. It can cause cancer, yellow your teeth, and evidently give you a bad smell. I would always tell them to just quit but they just repeatedly said how hard it was after being addicted to it for so long. What about the cigarette makes it so hard to stop?

Nicotine is the addictive substance in the cigarette. Nicotine is found in tobacco plants and can be consumed through cigarettes or directly chewing the plant itself. “Nicotine is a nitrogen-containing chemical – an alkaloid, which is made by several types of plants, including the tobacco plant. Nicotine is also produced synthetically… Nicotine is also an antiherbivore chemical, specifically for the elimination of insects – it used to be extensively used as an insecticide,” (What is Nicotine, 1). The fact that smokers are consume a substance that is used in products to kill bugs should add to the myriad of facts as to why it should be completely avoided. When a smoker inhales this products, it gives off a feeling of relief. Once the very temporary high wheres off, and addictive smoker can immediately fall into a state of withdrawal. They then can get anxiety or annoyed very easily. Nicotine withdrawal symptoms happen quickly after finishing the cigarette. The drug stimulates central nervous and cardiovascular systems. On quitsmoking.com they state in their article that nicotine ” constricts blood vessels, increasing the blood pressure and stimulating the heart, and raises the blood fat levels. In its liquid form, nicotine is a powerful poison—the injection of even one drop would be deadly. It is the nicotine, not the smoke, that causes people to continue to smoke cigarettes, but it is the cigarette smoke that causes many of the problems.”

Along with Nicotine, there are over 4,000 harmful chemicals found in a cigarette that should not be consumed but making smoking so hard to quit.

Sources:

1. “What Is Nicotine.” Medical News Today. MediLexicon International, 15 Sept. 2014. Web. 18 Sept. 2014. < http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240820.php>
2. “The Symptoms of Nicotine Withdrawal.” WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2014. <http://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/understanding-nicotine-withdrawal-symptoms>
3. “Why Is It so Hard to Quit?” Why Is It so Hard to Quit? N.p., 5 Aug. 2013. Web. 18 Sept. 2014. <http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/QuitSmoking/QuittingSmoking/Why-is-it-so-hard-to-quit_UCM_324053_Article.jsp>
4. Haas, Elson M. “What’s Does Nicotine Do to Your Body.” What’s Does Nicotine Do to Your Body. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2014. <http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com/nicotine.htm>

Most of us love Chipotle and if you live in State College you know there is one located downtown from our campus. It is addicting and delicious. The few times that I’ve been there lines have been wrapped around the entire store and sometimes continue outside of the door. I remember one day I was eating there I told my friend I would regret eating this “crap” later in the day. She tried to make me feel better by saying Chipotle is the healthier option when it comes to fast foods because most of the products used or organic. This is something I’ve heard before and wasn’t necessarily sure if it was true. I decided to research if eating Chipotle truly is the healthier way to go when it comes to fast foods.

On MindBodyGreen.com, there was an article posted called “Healthy Fast Food: Is Chipotle The Winner?” The article states “45 percent of Chipotle’s beans are organic, and restaurants buy produce from local family farmers in the months it’s available,” (MindBodyGreen, 1). Yes this is a benefit, but what about the other 55 percent? Also, when you over indulge on any food, whether its healthy or not, it isn’t exactly the best thing to do.

Despite the few organic products, Chipotle menu items are extremely high in sodium, calories, oils, preservatives, and GMO’s. Livestrong.com discussed ingredients in Chipotle and when analyzing how much sodium these meals contain, they identified it to be in the area of 2,000 milligrams of sodium in one dish. They say that on average you should only consume 2,300 milligrams of sodium each day. Basically one dish wipes out your entire proper intake for the day. The calories in one chipotle dish are about 1,200 calories when you should only be consuming 2,000 a day. These calories are also mostly calories in fat. The most dangerous aspect of the Chipotle dish seems to the GMO’s which are genetically modified organisms. GMO’s are basically when a product is “genetically engineered with DNA from bacteria”, which is directly quoted from the nongmoproject.org post on GMO’s. The link describing the negatives of GMO’s is attached to the word GMO above, and they do say that it is something that is unsafe and should be avoided. GMO’s are found on many of chipotles products such as the chicken, flour, and corn because it is in a lot of the oils used. These oils contain trans fat which can be harmful to your healthy cholesterol levels.

Sources:

1. MindBodyGreen. “Healthy Fast Food: Is Chipotle the Winner?”MindBodyGreen. N.p., 29 Jan. 2010. Web. 18 Sept. 2014. <http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-346/Healthy-Fast-Food-Is-Chipotle-the-Winner.html>
2. McNight, Clay. “Is Chipotle Healthy?” LIVESTRONG.COM. LIVESTRONG.COM, 21 Oct. 2013. Web. 18 Sept. 2014 <http://www.livestrong.com/article/399991-is-chipotle-healthy/>
3. “GMO Facts.” The NonGMO Project RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2014. <http://www.nongmoproject.org/learn-more/>

There are several rumors that washing your hair every day is bad for you. In the past, I have tried to wash my hair every other day because I learned that there are healthy oils produced in your scalp that help your hair remain healthy and grow. I was often scared that my hair would become too dry if I was over doing the usage of shampoo and conditioner. When I became heavily involved in soccer and working out, it was basically impossible not to wash my hair every night because I would sweat from the psychical activity. I decided to create a post on this because I know a lot of girls discuss this topic a lot and have many different answers to this controversial question.

In all of the articles I read for this post, they all state that it truly depends on the type of hair you have along with factor such as how much psychical activity you engage in and what you put in your hair. Also, it depends if your using cosmetics in your in your hair such as gels or waxes that can clog the pores in your scalp. For example, if you have curly and thick hair, many articles state that it is not necessary to wash your hair everyday, and that you should wash it every other day/ every two days. Beauty expert Julyne Derrick posted an article called “How Much Should You Shampoo Your Hair” on About Style, which is attached here, and breaks it down for the hair types and how often you should wash your hair. She discusses every where from thick hair, to dry hair, to oily hair.

Some dermatologists agree that due to hair being fiber, the more you wash a fiber the worse the appearance of it becomes. They say there is no need to wash it every day unless it is extremely necessary. It would be necessary like I said above if you sweat. “Sweat can also contain DHT, or Dihydrotestosterone. DHT is a sex hormone… which restricts blood flow to the hair follicles, in effect restricting nutrient supply to the hair, starving it to death,” (Is It Bad To Wash Your Hair Everyday, 1). Also, like previously mentioned, if you use waxes, gels, and other hair cosmetic products you should wash your hair every day. Falling asleep with these products in your hair allows the harmful chemicals in them to seep through the pores in your scalp. If they get into your body, your basically consuming harmful chemicals.

In conclusion, it isn’t necessarily awful to wash your hair every day. If you have valid reasons such as the ones briefly discussed above you should. If you can avoid washing your hair because you don’t sweat, use products, or have dirty hair that day, don’t do it.

Sources:

1. Derrick, Julyne. “Is It Bad to Shampoo Daily?” About. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2014. http://beauty.about.com/od/hairbasics/f/hairwashing.htm
2. “Is It Bad To Wash Your Hair Everyday? – NiceHair | How To Stop Hair Loss.” NiceHair. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2014. http://www.nicehair.org/hair-care-advice/is-it-bad-to-wash-your-hair-everyday
3. How Often Should You Wash Your Hair?” WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2014 <http://www.webmd.com/beauty/shampoo/how-often-wash-hair>

How can a sweetener possibly be healthy for you? Any sugar product is not exactly healthy for your body. A lot of people have this idea that Splenda is a healthy sugar, but they were wrong. Splenda’s slogan “Made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar” is not true. This artificial sweetener contains chlorine, aspartame, and saccharin. Today, Aspartame is known to be the most dangerous substances found in food. It is made up of aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol. These chemicals cause tons of damage to the body. The FDA reported that reactions from this product can be headaches, dizziness, seizures, weight gain, rashes, depression, and more. If you click on the article linked to Aspartame, you can see that each of the chemicals that make up aspartame have their own health risks. Some of the health risks on the charts in this article include ALS, brain lesions, epilepsy, sleeping disorders, and more. In addition to these risks, in the article “Splenda May Not Be So Splendid After All” by Clare Leschin- Hoar, she discusses that an Italian Laboratory performed an experiment on mice by giving them Splenda and the chemicals in this artificial sweetener caused leukemia.

“New studies show that sucralose is actually metabolized, says study coauthor Susan S. Schiffman, PhD, an adjunct professor at North Carolina State University. Enter a slew of problems, including:

Reduces good gut bacteria: Sucralose alters the amount and quality of those beneficial microbes that hang out in your belly (the same ones found in yogurt) by 50% or more.

Makes meds less effective: The sugar substitute limits the absorption of therapeutic drugs, such as those for cancer and heart disease, rendering them less effective.

Releases toxins: Many people bake with Splenda to reduce the calories in a recipe, but it decomposes during baking, which releases potentially toxic compounds called chloroproanols.

May alter your body’s responses: Sucralose can alter insulin responses and blood sugar levels, has been associated with inflammatory bowel disease, and may even alter genes, the researchers note,” (Girdwain, 1).

This is an excerpt from the article “Is Splenda Really Safe” by Jessica Girdwain. Sucralose is Splenda; Splenda being its brand name. Here she lists more problems tagged along with this so called “healthy option” of sugar. Due to the fact that this sugar is artificial, it is clear that it is unhealthy; hence artificial.  It is evident that there are many negative side effects to using Splenda. It is not the healthier option like they advertise it to be. It is extremely important that Americans today understand all of the negatives tagged along with using artificial sweeteners because they are the number one selling sweeteners in the market.

Work Cited

1.) “Aspartame: The Most Dangerous Substance on the Market.” Mercola.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.

2.) Girdwain, Jessica. “Is Splenda Really Safe?” Prevention. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.

3.) Leschin- Hoar, Clare. “Splenda May Not Be So Splendid After All.”TakePart. N.p., 13 June 2013. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.

4.) “The Dangers of Splenda.” Snopes.com:. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.

5.) “Splenda – The Little Packet of Death.” Natural Healing Natural Health Breakthroughs from Across the Globe RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.

Hi my name is Alexi Zacarias. I am freshman here at Penn State. I am taking this class because my advisor recommended it and it seemed interesting. She said students gave a lot of positive feedback about the course. I’m not a science major because I am not interested in any career pertaining to science. Although I don’t want a career in science, I do find the topics of this course interesting. I am in the school of Communications and hope to declare a major in advertising.  I hope to advertise for a fashion company in New York after my years here at Penn State.