Sugar Substitutes Facts
Here is the 98th in our new series of 100 Weight Loss Tips posts that are designed to give you a brand new top tip on how to lose weight.
As with the last post that looked at the evils of sugar, this one carries that on it the form of the other nemesis of slimmers and dieters everywhere, SUGAR SUBSTITUTES!
Sugar substitutes, or artificial sweeteners as they are also known as, are every bit as evil as sugar (especially non-milk extrinsic sugars MNE's) itself. If that sounds like a blow to the whole weight loss belief system, then I'm afraid you can consider yourself beaten and bruised!
You have almost definitely been of the belief that by eating and drinking foods and liquids that are sweetened by artificial sweeteners, then you are safe from the ravages of that terrible weight gaining refined sugar that all the weight loss diets warn you about - and with very good reason. But the truth of the matter is quite different from what you have been led to believe.
Sugar Substitutes Are Bad For You
Artificial sweeteners DO NOT HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT! Fact.
Do you really think that your body can possibly know how to deal with something that was man-made? Seriously. This is not a joke. These artificial, chemically-adjusted sweetening products do not occur naturally in the wild.
No matter what the nice, natural looking advertisements might look like, there are no Splenda trees growing peacefully in warmer climes. Nor will you find NutraSweet plants growing happily in green pastures. They and all other artificial sweeteners are produced in a laboratory and manufactured in a factory.
To really put the kibosh on the whole rapid weight loss myth about artificial sweeteners, it is a known scientifically proved fact that ingesting sugar substitutes may actually increase your levels of hunger! Which causes you to eat more and, yep, gain weight, not lose it!
Don't forget about all the many health issues that are associated with these unnatural substances. The worst offender is saccharin, which was proved as a cause of cancer back in the 1930s.
The US government actually banned it then, but was forced to bury the evidence and reinstate it under pressure from powerful diabetes groups who said that because there was no other sugar substitute available for diabetics, saccharin must be made available.
In the 1970s, the evidence re-surfaced but was again beaten down with a big stick from pressure groups and the food industry. Today, saccharin is banned in many countries due to the overwhelming evidence linking it with cancer.
Aspartame
Aspartame (NutraSweet, Candarel etc) is the next worst offender. It too is linked with cell and DNA damage which leads to the formation of cancer cells. It contains wood alcohols which at temperatures above 83 degrees Fahrenheit converts to produce formaldehyde (the stuff used in embalming fluid).
Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen and is also a cause of imbalances of chemicals in the brain which lead to symptoms very similar to those experienced by soldiers in the Gulf war and known as Gulf War Syndrome. Incidentally, those soldiers were given a free diet cola drink (you and Michael Jackson know the one I mean) in large quantities, which contained aspartame.
The average temperatures in the gulf were above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, by the way...
If you have the given a choice, despite all that was said in the previous post, it's almost better to go with a product your body has the ability to deal with, such as real, unprocessed sugar (such as molasses) or even refined sugar in smaller quantities. If you can avoid it, you should of course!
Toxic Colorants
It's far safer and healthier too, to keep well away from blue, yellow and pink packets of things entirely.
Watch out for chewing gum as they nearly all contain the artificial sweeteners aspartame and/or sorbitol and constantly chewing them will lead to an increase in hunger! Same goes for diet soda drinks, they may be labeled "diet" but they sure do nothing to help you actually diet but in fact they do the exact opposite and help you to gain weight!
If you are having a hard time digesting all this incredible revelation stuff, do yourself a big favor and search Google for "Artificial Sweeteners May Damage Diet Efforts." Don't be too shocked at what you find. Then come back and tell me you still believe artificial sweeteners are okay to consume and to give to your kids. No way, Jose!
Weight loss tips number 97 will follow in the next post!
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Posted on Sun, 07 Jun 2009 in Top 100 Weight Loss Tips | 2 Comments
2 thoughts on "Sugar Substitutes Facts"
Lauren Stewart says:
I thought aspartame can cause cancer in laboratory animals, but didn't know it was the same for humans. Geez, i've been drinking diet soda and eating low sugar products for a few years and it got me worried. I read up some more and found a ton of material covering this. I really never gave it a second thought until I read your article and it got me thinking about it.
Now I read labels and if I see aspartame, I throw it back on the shelf in disgust. How can our government condone the sale of this poison in so many foods? Its crazy and its unforgivable.
Niamh Browne says:
I used to always eat chewing gum as I was told it cleaned my teeth, made my breath fresh and made my metabolism higher! Screw that! I'll just eat less sugary foods to prevent plaque. I'm glad I found this site!