It appears that yet another artificial sweetener has been deemed bad for you.  The Center for Science in the Public Interest has raised the safety rating of Splenda from “safe” to “caution” after a concerning study done in Italy.
Scientists in Italy recently researched the effects of Splenda (also called sucralose) in mice over time.  It was determined that there may be a correlation between the sweetener and leukemia in rodents.  Although the study hasn’t yet been peer reviewed or published, it does raise some red flags.
This comes years after another common sweetener, NutraSweet, was questioned as to its safety.  And we know that regular soda’s sugar can lead to obesity, tooth decay, and heart disease, so what is still delicious and yet safe to drink?  Here are a couple of recipes that are healthy, low in sugar, and perfect for a warm summer’s day.
Lemon Cucumber Seltzer:

1. Pour 8 cups of seltzer water or club soda into a pitcher.
2. Add ½ of a cucumber, sliced.
3. Add 2 lemons sliced.
4. Stir in 2 trays of ice cubes, and chill for 10 minutes
5. Serve with several ice cubes and a few cucumber and lemon slices.

Orange Spritzer:

1. Add a tray of ice cubes to a large pitcher.
2. Pour in 4 cups of 100% orange juice.
3. Add 4 cups of seltzer water.
4. Stir and serve immediately.
5. Add an orange slice to garnish, if you’d like.

 
Source: Huffington Post