During the low-sugar, no-sugar, low-fat, low-calorie craze, many people thought they could have all the soda and cake they want as long as it had artificial sweeteners. That’s because artificial sweeteners don’t have many calories. Despite being approved by the government; the safety of these sweeteners is questionable.
Yet, adults and kids are routinely consuming this substance every single day without realizing. So maybe you’ve been told that consuming a small amount is harmless. Does that still apply when it cumulatively adds up in your toothpaste at 6 AM, low-cal cereal breakfast at 7 AM followed with some vitamins, sipping coffee at 9 AM, gum chewing at 11 AM, sipping diet soda at 2 PM, and eating sugar-free cookies at 4 PM?
COMMON PRODUCTS ARTIFICIALLY SWEETENED:
Diet and zero-calorie sodas
Gum
Condiments
Vitamins
Toothpaste
Low-fat yogurt
Snack foods and crackers
Cookies and cakes
Juice
Cereal
Most products that are low-calorie, low-sugar, sugar-free, low-fat
COMMON ARTIFICIAL SWEETENER BRANDS:
Sweet ‘N Low
Nutrasweet
Equal
Sweet Twin
Splenda
Steviva
Truvia
NAMES ON THE INGREDIENT LIST:
Aspartame
Saccharine
Sucralose
Neotame
Acesulfame-K
Stevia
Artificial sweeteners are known as non-nutritive sweeteners. Because artificial sweeteners are not real food, they are not metabolized in the body. If you’re thinking (YAY!) because that means it’s not adding calories to your body, then put a hard pause on that thought. Did you ever stop to wonder if it’s not real and it’s not being metabolized by the body, then what happens to it? They are chemicals and these chemical compounds add to the toxicity of our cells since our body doesn’t recognize it. We also know that toxic substances that accumulate in the body get stored in our fat cells.
It’s terrible because many people are turning to artificial sweeteners for weight loss. Diabetics are sometimes advised by dieticians and doctors to use artificial sweeteners, instead of looking for a real and sustainable healthy solution to their ailments.
Our bodies use glucose (sugar converted from carbohydrates and any form of sugar itself) for fuel. When we taste something sweet on our tongue, it sends a signal to our brain, which the brain signals our body to expect calories and glucose. It’s a hard fake on the ball court because guess what – our bodies don’t receive those calories from glucose. For a temporary moment, our brain is satisfied with the taste of the sweetness on our tongue but not too long after, our body will crave again because we still need to consume those real calories. Therefore, people that consume diet soda may end up snacking or eating more later on, which is how it leads to weight gain.
There is no proper evidence that can conclude these sweeteners are safe for weight loss or to be used by diabetics. People that are pregnant, lactating, children, migraine, diabetics, and epilepsy patients should be very cautious about the adverse-effects of artificial sweeteners.
Artificial, hashtag #artificial, is associated with digestive issues, altering gut bacteria (microbiome), tumours, diabetes, neurological issues, and obesity.
HARMFUL EFFECTS OF ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS
WEIGHT GAIN & OBESITY
As mentioned above, doctors tend to recommend artificial sweeteners as a low-calorie option for weight loss. Unfortunately, the opposite tends to happen.
Various studies conclude that artificial sweeteners increase the risk of weight gain, metabolic disease, obesity, and Type 2 diabetes.
They can also cause metabolic disease in babies that are exposed to it in pregnant or lactating women.
The brain expects the reward of sweetness and calories but it’s only partial because the brain solely receives the sweet taste and not the calories. This may activate an increased appetite so that the body can receive those calories, which results in consuming excess food to satisfy the brain’s signal for hunger.
TUMOURS & CANCER
Studies show that consumption of certain artificial sweeteners are linked to increasing the risk of cancers, like bladder cancer and urinary tract tumours.
NEUROLOGICAL PROBLEMS
Artificial sweeteners can affect our cognitive and behavioural functions. These neurological problems include mood disorders, headaches, migraines, anxiety, insomnia, and seizures.
GUT MICROBIOME
The bacteria in our digestive tract is essential to our health. Our gut is where the majority of our immune system is, crucial for our digestion, health, immunity from illness and disease, and our body’s natural functions.
Artificial sweeteners can alter the gut bacteria, causing digestive distress (like worsening the symptoms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease or Crohn's disease), and increasing the harmful bacteria strains in the same family of bacteria as salmonella and e.coli.
The FDA may have approved artificial sweeteners safe for consumption in a certain dosage but it's now 2018! As the food-trends supersize everything and people eat higher and larger quantities of sweet foods, those studies don’t prove its safety, especially if someone is consuming two or three diet sodas in one day.
Why are we fighting so hard to find PROOF that what we’re ingesting isn’t going to harm us, instead of teaching us the foods that will heal us? Artificial sweeteners are not providing any health benefit. They’re not added to natural foods, only to those foods packaged and processed in a lab. Doctors and dieticians are not addressing the real problem for their patients, whether they are overweight or experiencing blood sugar management issues, which should really be about finding a HEALTHY solution to the overall sugar consumption.
Natural sweeteners should be used in place of processed sugar and artificial sweeteners, in limited amounts, while you try to transition off of processed sugars. Natural sweeteners have more nutrient value, making them a better option of sweetness, like:
Raw Honey
Maple Syrup
Coconut Sugar
Stevia (Green Crystal)
Applesauce
Date Sugar
Molasses
Monk Fruit Sweetener
Dates
Mashed Bananas
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