Say No to Artificial Sweeteners

    

In my last article we talked about the harmful effects of table sugar on our health. But let's face it-we all love our sweets. That is why artificial sweeteners have taken such an important role in our
diets.

Today, you find artificial sweeteners in everything from yogurt to baked goods. Big business continues to tell you that they're sugar-free and a healthy alternative to sugar.

Tragically, the truth is this: artificial sweeteners such as Splenda and Nutrasweet are NOT healthy -- or safe.

Saccharin, the first artificial sweetener, was synthesized in 1879.  It became popular because of its low cost of production at the time of sugar shortages during World Wars I and II.  After these wars, when sugar once more became available and inexpensive, the reasons for using saccharin shifted from economics to health. In 1981 the next artificial sweetener, aspartame, marketed as Nutra-Sweet, became popular.  Since then several new nonnutritive sweeteners have been introduced with a promise to be more like real sugar with few calories.

Aspartame is the most utilized artificial sweetener in the United States, controlling over 50% of the market. It is the technical name for the brand names NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, and Equal-Measure. Aspartame was discovered by accident in 1965 when James Schlatter, a chemist of G.D. Searle Company, was testing an anti-ulcer drug.

Multiple citings appear to indicate that aspartame has had the most complaints of any food additive available to the public. "It accounts for over 75 percent of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the FDA. Many of these reactions are very serious including seizures and death. A few of the 90 different documented symptoms listed in the report as being caused by aspartame include:

Headaches/migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, tachycardia, insomnia, vision problems, hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus, vertigo, memory loss, and joint pain."

Aspartame is a synthetic chemical composed of three ingredients – two amino acids and a methyl ester bond. The amino acids are phenylalanine and aspartic acid, two common components of many foods that are usually completely safe for consumption. But this is not the case with aspartame.

According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, "In a normal protein like meat, fish or eggs, phenylalanine and aspartic acid comprise 4-5 percent each of the total amino acid profile. This is how nature intends the human body to encounter these two amino acids and there is nothing wrong with these substances if they occur naturally in a proper balance with other amino acids.

But in aspartame the ratio of these two amino acids is 50 percent phenylalanine and 40 percent aspartic acid (with 10 percent methyl ester bond, aka wood alcohol, a known poison). In other words, on a percentage basis this is a massive quantity of two unnaturally isolated amino acids that are simply not found in this ratio in nature, bonded together by a known poison. "

The result of this chemical combination is a sweet tasting neurotoxin. As a result of its unnatural structure, the amino acids in aspartame literally attack the cells, even crossing the blood-brain barrier to attack your brain cells, creating a toxic cellular overstimulation, called excitotoxicity.

Recently an article in the New York Times discussed a new seven-year study on aspartame by Dr. Morando Soffritti. The research team found that the sweetener was associated with high rates of lymphoma, leukemia and other cancer in rats who were given doses equivalent to five 20 ounce diet sodas a day. This led the European Food Safety Authority to look more closely at the safety of aspartame.

You may think you're making a healthy choice by swapping out sugar for artificial sweeteners but the truth is that you're not. Your body, when given artificial sweeteners, begins craving sweets because you are not giving it the proper fuel it needs.

For those times when you just want a taste of something sweet, there is a healthier alternative called Stevia that you can use in moderation. Stevia is a natural plant and safe when used as a sweetener; no allergic reactions to it have been reported. It is hundreds of times sweeter than sugar and truly has virtually no calories. However, if you have insulin issues, it is best to avoid sweeteners altogether, including Stevia, as they all can decrease your sensitivity to insulin

So next time when you sweeten your beverage; STOP and think for a second and then try the healthy alternative like Stevia or 100% organic honey and toss out all artificial sweeteners and any products that contain them immediately.

Originally Published in Valley India Times, September 2011

Sources:

• McDougall,"Artificial Sweeteners Are Unnecessary and Unwise", The McDougll Newsletter, 2006 
• Mercola Joseph, "Proven Unsafe But FDA-Approved: Are YOU Still Consuming This Man-Made Poison?", Dr Mercola Website, 2011
• Manny, "Artificial Sweetners: Fact or Fiction", Fox News

Posted in: Diet