Just when you think the perpetrators of chemophobia (actually this particular case makes chemophobia look like a knight in shining armor) cannot outdo themselves, someone seems to hit a new high.
This time it's "alternative" "medicine" "physician" Joseph Mercola. In a diatribe against Splenda he tosses out this gem:
"Splenda—"Made from Sugar" But More Similar to DDT...
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Why in the name of merciful Odin would these be considered similar? Because both of them have chlorines and we all know that chlorine is a toxic gas used in World War 1? I would say then that they share even more hydrogens than chlorines, and hydrogen is of course an inflammable gas, which can only mean that both Splenda and DDT have got to explode when consumed.
Naturally this goes beyond chemophobia and handily ends up way inland in the territory of unadulterated twaddle. Read the entire page if you are craving for that migraine and nausea which you have been longing for. I haven't read the whole thing, and who could blame me for this? A quick look through some of the references reveals the usual egregious howlers (studies extrapolated from rats who have been fed unrealistic doses of the material for an abnormally long period of time etc.) and I have no reason to believe that a more detailed look won't accomplish the same thing.
It strains my imagination to contemplate how even the loopiest of quacks could actually write something like this, let alone sincerely believe it. It's one of those very few times when freedom of speech starts sounding like a bad idea.
H/T: The promising "Chemicals are your Friends" page on Facebook, via Stuart Cantrill.
This time it's "alternative" "medicine" "physician" Joseph Mercola. In a diatribe against Splenda he tosses out this gem:
"Splenda—"Made from Sugar" But More Similar to DDT...
There is no mention of how exactly Splenda is even remotely close to DDT in structure, function or any other conceivable parameter for that matter. I really shouldn't have to do this but here are the structures of thetwo molecules.That's right.The catchy slogan "Made from sugar so it tastes like sugar" has fooled many, but chemically, Splenda is actually more similar to DDT than sugar."
Why in the name of merciful Odin would these be considered similar? Because both of them have chlorines and we all know that chlorine is a toxic gas used in World War 1? I would say then that they share even more hydrogens than chlorines, and hydrogen is of course an inflammable gas, which can only mean that both Splenda and DDT have got to explode when consumed.
Naturally this goes beyond chemophobia and handily ends up way inland in the territory of unadulterated twaddle. Read the entire page if you are craving for that migraine and nausea which you have been longing for. I haven't read the whole thing, and who could blame me for this? A quick look through some of the references reveals the usual egregious howlers (studies extrapolated from rats who have been fed unrealistic doses of the material for an abnormally long period of time etc.) and I have no reason to believe that a more detailed look won't accomplish the same thing.
It strains my imagination to contemplate how even the loopiest of quacks could actually write something like this, let alone sincerely believe it. It's one of those very few times when freedom of speech starts sounding like a bad idea.
H/T: The promising "Chemicals are your Friends" page on Facebook, via Stuart Cantrill.