In our calorie-conscious world where obesity is recognized as a risk factor for a laundry list of diseases, many people choose low- and no-calorie sugar substitutes. But some fear that several, including sucralose, are linked to cancer.

However, a study from the University of London found that sucralose — sold as Splenda — doesn't cause cancer and is safe to eat.

"This latest review of sucralose studies should reassure those who choose sucralose, and can be particularly useful to scientists and healthcare professionals, who may be asked for information on low calorie sweetener safety," says the study's lead author Sir Colin Berry.

Berry and his colleagues conducted a review of studies measuring the carcinogenicity potential of sucralose.

The studies were designed to maximize the possibility of detecting potentially adverse effects,, and many of them tested dosages hundreds to thousands of times greater than any reasonable level of consumption.

For example, the studies reviewed included studies of sucralose in quantities equivalent in sweetness to 74 to 495 pounds of sugar per day for an average adult.

The Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for sucralose, established by the Joint Food and Agricultural Organization/World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives, is 0 to 15 mg/kg body weight/day.

In the studies reviewed, even when exposure levels were several orders of magnitude greater than the recommended ADI, sucralose showed no carcinogenic activity.

The article was published in Nutrition and Cancer: An International Journal.

Other studies have found concerns, and some experts fear that not enough long-term research has been conducted to declare sucralose safe.

Research in animals has found that sucralose can shrink the thymus gland up to 40 percent, and can enlarge the liver and kidneys. One study found that it killed up to 50 percent of the gut's microbiome.

Currently, sucralose is on the FDA's GRAS (generally recognized as safe) list.