I get this question a lot, what's the best type of artificial sugar? My answer, none of the above. When it comes to artificial sugar there are none that are healthy for us.
Diabetics need to be especially careful of eating too many sugars. This has led to all types of artificial sugars being put on the market so diabetics still eat sweet foods without raising the blood sugar. Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that and that's something we'll cover in another day.
I want to talk about the different types of artificial sugars. The first one is aspartame. Did you know 75% of all the nonprescription complaints to the FDA are about aspartame? That's because aspartame breaks down into formaldehyde in the human body. This formaldehyde does a number on our liver, may cause blindness, ringing in the ears, epilepsy, depression and allergies. There are over 100 known side effects of aspartame and no study showing it safe for long-term use.
The next one is saccharin. This chemical is a known neural inhibitor and carcinogen. Long-term studies have shown that saccharin leads to weight gain. The most potent side effects of saccharine is that it may cause bladder cancer and may cause urinary incontinence.
Sucralose came out as a safe alternative, but as we are finding out it isn't. Sucralose is a chlorocarbon, in the same class as carbon chloride, DDT, PCBs and methylene chloride, all deadly. Approximately 10 to 30% of all the sucralose you ingest is absorbed into your body, where it is filtered through the liver. Chlorocarbons are known to destroy hepatocytesin the liver.
Dr. James Bowen, M.D. states: "Just like aspartame, which achieved marketplace approval by the Food and Drug Administration when animal studies clearly demonstrated its toxicity, sucralose also failed in clinical trials with animals. Aspartame created brain tumors in rats. Sucralose has been found to shrink thymus glands (the biological seat of immunity) and produce liver inflammation in rats and mice. They can also cause skin rashes, panic, dizziness, diarrhea, swelling, muscle aches, headaches, intestinal cramping, bladder issues And stomach pain.
There have been no long-term studies of the side effects of sucralose in humans, but the Splenda manufacturer's own short-term studies showed that very high doses of sucralose shrank thymus glands, enlarged livers, and caused kidney disorders in rodents. The doses were measured at a level far beyond what would be expected in an ordinary diet.
There's only one real safe alternative and that is stevia. Stevia has an herb from Central and South America, therefore food. There are no studies that show stevia has any side effects. You want to use pure Stevia however. Derivatives and mixes that use maltodextrin or dextrose have been shown to have mild side effects.
What's my recommendation? If you truly need to replace sugar, use pure Stevia. Otherwise, the best diet of whole fruits and vegetables, whole meats is naturally low in sugar and it means you won't need to use any artificial sugar or real sugar at all.
Christina Major is the Naturopathic Doctor and Holistic Nutritionist of Crystal Holistic Health Consulting. Crystal Holistic Health helps people, especially women, who have Type II Diabetes, High Cholesterol and High Blood Pressure lower their numbers, get off medication and increase their energy so they can save money, take back control of their lives and improve the health and happiness of their families. You can get a free report on health at http://www.crystalholistichealth.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment