The normal Western diet swims in the damaging refined sugars. Our addiction to the processed sweet stuff, that is hidden in all things from tomato sauce to low-fat dressings – damages our health. Here are 4 reasons you should avoid artificial sweeteners.
American’s are packing on the pounds at a record pace and more than 29 million of us now have type 2 diabetes. In fact, nearly one in four Americans over the age of 60 suffer from the disease.
It is not surprising that a lot of us use artificial sweeteners as a way to reduce refined sugars. The problem is that these chemical mixtures do much more harm than good.
Here are four excellent reasons to get rid of artificial sweeteners now:
1. Causes of weight gain
The first reason people turn to artificial sweeteners is to aid them in reducing their weight or maintain their current weight. Sadly, despite their demands for an advertising campaign, artificial sweeteners fail on both objectives. And we have known it for more than two decades.
Studies since the 80s have associated artificial sweeteners to weight gain. In a series of studies, people who replaced sugar with artificial sweeteners weighed more at the end of the study than those who continued to eat sugar.
Of course, the answer is not simply to go back to refined sugar. It is to lower artificial sweeteners and also reduce the amount of refined sugars in your diet. Become a label reader, reduce pre-packaged foods and consume more homemade dishes in which you can control the ingredients.
2. They are related to diabetes
Eating a large amount of refined sugar can put you on the fast track for type 2 diabetes. So, artificial sweeteners may seem like a good replacement. Do not be fooled. Research has associated artificial sweeteners to problems with blood sugar and diabetes.
And the link is not only discovered in those who are overweight. In a disturbing and revealing Brazilian study, normal-weight people who drank diet sodas were 15 percent more likely to develop diabetes than those who did not choose dietary drinks.
Avoid sodas and try tea or fruit infused with water instead.
3. Could trigger sugar cravings
Trying to satisfy your sweet tooth with a colorful packet does not work.
It turns out that your body reacts very differently to artificial sweeteners than the sugar does. When you eat sugar, the cells in your tongue send a message to your brain. The reward centers in your brain releasing a dopamine hormone making you feel satisfied. You know, that good old sugar rush.
However, when artificial sweeteners reach your taste buds, the message is truncated. Your body anticipates the caloric sweet things however when it does not get the hit it is looking for its brain doesn’t react with the same fulfilling chemicals.
These results to killer cravings that lead to overeating in trying to satisfy your sweet tooth, or achieving for something loaded with refined sugar instead. Avoid fake sugar and satisfy this desire for sugar with a delicious fruit. Eat a handful of berries or a juicy apple and you will get the dopamine release that your brain desires while taking healthy fiber and nutrients as well.
4. They mess with your intestines
We have known a lot about the gut flora in recent years. Now, we know that keeping a healthy balance of gut bugs is essential for overall good health. And it turns out that artificial sweeteners can harm your healthy bacteria right out of balance.
In a historical animal study, artificial sweeteners raised the amount of glucose in the blood in mice by an astonishing 200 to 400 percent. As researchers have trouble understanding why they finally understood it was related to the changes in sweeteners caused by intestinal bacteria. In other words, artificial sweeteners are not only related to weight gain, increased glucose levels and diabetes can also change the balance of bacteria that helps us to keep ourselves healthy.
Artificial sweeteners are just bad news. They provide to the same issues they are supposed to help sort out. Drop the fake sugars starting this day.
