Sweet Truths

Q: You talk about safety in foods in your column, do you think the fake sweeteners that are used in a lot of our food is really ‘safe’? From coffee in the morning to low calorie dressing on our salads and fake sugar in drinks and desserts, it seems to be everywhere…………………………………….TooSweet

A: Isn’t it interesting how a lot of the products that have been created over the last 20 years or so, that are supposed to be healthier, more convenient and better for us, turn out to be exactly the opposite.

There is a school of thought that believes the closer our diet is to what it might have been 100 years ago, the healthier we will be. In other words if it is made on a plant, not in one, it will be much better for our bodies. Life is not quite that simple because we now know that a lot of the food we eat has been genetically modified without our knowledge or permission. Being diligent about what we ingest becomes more important all the time.

As far as the artificial sweeteners, my guess is it’s ok in small doses but doesn’t make sense in the long term. The evils of aspartame have been well documented in recent years. The newer versions such as Splenda and Nutrasweet are just as dangerous. When I went to research studies on the safety of the products I found as many as 200 studies, most financed by the manufacturer. What is interesting about it is that none of those corporately sponsored studies even addressed the safety factor. Independent studies of artificial sweeteners (not funded by the people who make money from them) show the down sides of using these kind of products.

The first myth is that Splenda and the like are calorie free. In fact each package has at least 4 calories from the filler (sugar) used. Since the artificial product is 600 times sweeter than sugar it doesn’t take much to fill a little bag. 99% filler and 1% sucralose.

Most studies done on artificial sweeteners are done on animals, not humans. Results show that it is especially risky for pregnant women and young children, having a negative effect on depression, migraines, seizures, strokes, many types of cancer, etc.

The artificial ingredients in these sweeteners interact with other normal body fluids and the food we eat and become toxic. Some of this gets flushed out of the body but some becomes stored in the body’s fat cells. Over time the toxic effects multiply and the body is more at risk for many different diseases.

We take risks with our bodies because we are looking for easy fast answers to minimize the effects of overindulgence. If we think something is low calorie or zero calories it’s almost like a license to eat it, because ’it doesn’t really count.’

There is evidence to suggest that artificial sweeteners actually can make you gain weight. Natural sweeteners have a property that tells the brain that it is full, satisfied. The artificial has no indicator and the body can’t read it.

If you are interested in finding out more about the danger of artificial sweeteners check out Sweet Deception by Mercola and Pearsall. A three year study project on the subject.

Let’s learn to eat less and enjoy it more.