Ban Aspartame

The Cancer Prevention Coalition is calling on the FDA to ban aspartame, according to this article by the Organic Consumers Association. Aspartame is used in food, sodas, and gum--but it's been shown to cause cancer in lab rats. The article gives a brief history of how this dangerous artificial sweetener was even approved in the first place. If you're drinking diet sodas or chewing sugarless gum -- or worse giving it to your kids, please read this article.

Stevia-sweetened diet soda

For those of you familiar with my blog and writing, I don't recommend the use of artificial sweeteners (more info here). Well, for those of you who really want a diet soda, Virgils has just come out with a stevia-sweetened diet cola. It has 6 calories and no artifical sweeteners. I tried it and it tastes pretty much like the diet soda I remember from my soda drinking days.

artificial sweeteners again linked to weight gain

Foods and beverages containing artificial sweeteners seem to ruin your ability to control food intake and body weight, according to new research by psychologists at Purdue University’s Ingestive Behavior Research Center.In their study, when compared with rats that ate yogurt sweetened with glucose (a simple sugar), rats that ate yogurt sweetened with the zero-calorie artificial sweetener saccharin:

- Consumed more calories (and didn’t make up for it by cutting back later)
- Gained more weight
- Put on more body fat

It seems that consuming artificial sweeteners doesn't trigger the same biological response as food with sugar leading the rats (and humans) to overeat.

Find more info at http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/2/26/artificial-sweeteners-once-again-linked-to-weight-gain.aspx

Safety of Aspartame

If you're eating foods containing the artificial sweetener aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal, diet drinks, etc.), you need to watch the documentary "Sweet Misery." Aspartame was approved for widespread use in the U.S. in July of 1983. Within six months, brain tumor rates climbed 10%, diabetes went up 30% and brain lymphoma tumors skyrocketed 60%. Learn how this toxic chemical was scandalously approved by the FDA and is now one of the most widespread food additives in the U.S.

The video can be downloaded at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-566922170441334340&q=aspartame+duration%3Along&total=23&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

Safety of Splenda

I am frequently asked about the safety of the articial sweetener Splenda. After all, they claim it's made from sugar so what could be the harm. Well . . . . .

They are now being sued in federal court. The accusation is that Splenda, a Johnson & Johnson company, is falsely advertising to consumers with its marketing slogan "Made from sugar so it tastes like sugar". Splenda is the synthetic compound sucralose, discovered in 1976 by scientists in Britain seeking a new pesticide formulation. The artificial sweetener is made by replacing hydroxyl groups in the sugar molecule with chlorine. So, no sucralose or Splenda is not the same as sugar at all.

There are no long-term studies of the side effects of Splenda in humans. The manufacturer's own short-term studies showed that sucralose caused shrunken thymus glands and enlarged livers and kidneys in rodents. But the FDA (always looking out for our best interests) decided that because these studies weren't based on human test animals, they were not conclusive. I wonder why given these results, further tests weren't made? Hm . . .

I recommend against using artifiical sweeters. No study has ever shown that using articifical sweeteners helps weight loss - in fact, the opposite has been found. Drinking diet soda can actually double your obesity risks (http://www.mercola.com/2005/jun/30/diet_sodas.htm).

Artificial sweeteners acutally can:

- Stimulate your appetite
- Increase carbohydrate cravings
- Stimulate fat storage and weight gain

Not to mention the possible risks to your health.

So what's safe to drink and good for you too????

WATER! (though not in plastic bottles - but that's another post.)