Column: What’s wrong with sugar? Part II

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Commentary by Dawn Parker

In my last article I discussed the negatives of consuming a lot of sugar. So, you may wonder, what about using artificial sweeteners instead of sugar? Many diet foods, or foods aimed at the calorie conscious, replace sugar with artificial sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose, etc.

Despite being promoted for weight loss and having a star role in many diet foods and drinks, artificial sweeteners have not been shown to help with weight loss. As a matter of fact, some studies actually find artificial sweeteners promote weight gain. One reason for this is that they can cause increased hunger and cravings for carbohydrates and sweet foods.

Many side effects are also associated with artificial sweeteners. According to mercola.com, aspartame accounts for more than 75 percent of side effects reported to the FDA for all food additives. The complaints are widely varied and there are more than 90 different side effects listed. Entire documentaries report on the dangers of aspartame – if you’d like to learn more, Sweet Deception and Sweet Misery are two I recommend.

One common use of aspartame is in diet soda. I believe everyone knows at this point that soda is not a health food. But what many people don’t realize is that diet soda is no better than regular soda and may actually be worse. Diet soda doesn’t have the 10 teaspoons or more of sugar found in regular soda, but it can increase cravings for carbs and sugar and has been shown to increase the risk of obesity, diabetes and other health issues. Of course, this doesn’t even take into account those 90 reported side effects I mentioned earlier.

Another common place aspartame (and other artificial sweeteners like acesulfame potassium, sucralose and others) lurks is in sugar-free gum. My suggestion would be to give up gum, but if you really want gum in your life, choose one with a different sweeter like non-GMO xylitol (which has conveniently been shown to help prevent cavities).

In my final article in this three-part series, I will discuss sweeteners that are better than plain refined sugar and artificial sweeteners. Plus I’ll share which ones I use and recommend to clients trying to improve their nutrition.

Dawn Parker is an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach. She can be reached by visiting dawnjparker.com or facebook.com/dawnjparkerhealthcoach.


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