As a society, we’re addicted to sugar. It seems like extra sugar is added to all processed foods. Approximately 80% of all food on the grocery shelf contains it. As a result, sugar related illnesses like type2 diabetes, heart disease and fatty liver disease have increased. Obesity has become the leading cause of preventable deaths. To combat that, artificial sweeteners have flooded the market and become almost as prevalent in diets as sugar. There is a problem. We may be replacing one health enemy for a new one. Could sugar actually be healthier?
Artificial sweeteners can affect your hormones.
You may be still packing on the pounds, yet have substituted all sugar containing foods for ones with artificial sweeteners. There’s a reason that can happen. Artificial sweeteners contain between 200 and 600 times the sweetness as sugar, which can dull the taste buds, requiring more sweetness to get that sweet taste. Studies show it can slow your metabolism by affecting hormones. Some studies show artificial sweeteners can increase the risk of stroke, heart problems, type 2 diabetes and even make bad changes in your microbiome that affect your whole body.
There are different results from different types of artificial sweeteners.
Artificial sweeteners include a wide variety of products, with each having their own negatives and positives on how they react with your body and brain. They include acesulfame, neotame, aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose. They trick your brain into thinking it ate something sweet, but don’t provide satiety. Just like sugar, artificial sweeteners trigger the area of the brain, making them both addictive. It also interrupts the body’s natural response to sugar, which is to prepare for increased blood glucose. That causes the body to stop signaling and results in weight gain and higher blood glucose levels.
New studies show that artificial sweeteners can increase viscous fat.
Diet soft drinks are often the most prevalent place people consume artificial sweeteners, so scientists used that to study the effect they had on the waistline. A large circumference is indicative of viscous fat, which is associated with many types of conditions and diseases. It’s the worst possible fat, since it’s hard to lose and crowds organs. It showed that those who drank the most diet soft drink, had the largest waistline. Another study showed drinks with artificial sweeteners increased the risk of metabolic disease by 36% and type 2 diabetes by 67%.
- Your microbiome affect many of bodily functions and your digestion, including mental processing. Artificial sweeteners can cause a disruption and change in your microbiome that affects your health.
- Not only are artificial sweeteners in food like salad dressing, alcoholic beverages, snack foods and candy, it’s in children’s chewable vitamins, toothpaste and mouthwash. Even nicotine gum for those trying to kick the smoking habit, contains artificial sweeteners.
- Aspartame has been linked to “brain tumors, mental retardation, birth defects, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, fibromyalgia, and diabetes,” according to Flying Safety, the United States Air Force official publication.
- Rather than choosing either products with added sugar or ones with artificial sweeteners, consider giving up added sweetness of all types. It takes a while, but eventually you’ll find the true sweet taste of fruits and that they fill your need for something sweet.
For more information, contact us today at Rising Fitness Gym