Research is showing that sugar-free gum, sweets and soft drinks can damage teeth and cause gastric problems. What’s more, they are unlikely even to promote weight loss.
A review of studies found that sugar-free foods and drinks contain acidic additives that can erode the enamel on your teeth. A commonly used group of sugar substitutes, called sugar alcohols or polyols, can cause such mouth acidity and dental decay.
According to the Guardian:
“The review raises the wider question of what health-related claims made on behalf of products can be trusted … ‘Sugar-free may seem to indicate that a sweet or other product is tooth friendly, but this is not automatically the case’”.
Aspartame, also known as Nutrasweet, is an artificial sweetener used in more than 6,000 products. Experiments conducted on rats have already shown that it is a carcinogenic agent in multiple sites, and that its effects are increased when exposure starts prenatally.
A new study in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine treated six groups of mice with aspartame from before their birth until their deaths. At death, each animal underwent complete necropsy, and all tissues and organs of all animals in the experiment were microscopically examined.
According to the study:
“The results of the present study confirm that [aspartame] is a carcinogenic agent in multiple sites in rodents, and that this effect is induced in two species, rats (males and females) and mice (males).”
In early studies of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), it was shown to be most prevalent in countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States and those in northern Europe. However, studies in recent years have suddenly found that Canada has become the country with the highest incidence of IBD.
A paper published in the Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology theorized that the cause of the increase could be impaired inactivation of digestive proteases due to the inhibition of gut bacteria by dietary chemicals, such as saccharin. However, saccharin fails to provide an explanation for the recent high incidence of IBD in Canada, which adopted stringent standards for the use of saccharin in 1977 — but this is not the case for sucralose (Splenda).
According to the article, as reprinted on the website Green Med Info:
“If not saccharin, then what caused the remarkable increase of IBD in Canada? … [S]ucralose may be the culprit … In 1991, Canada was the first country to approve the use of sucralose, and it was allowed to be used as a tabletop sweetener in breakfast cereals, beverages, desserts, toppings, fillings, chewing gum, breath mints, fruit spreads, salad dressings, confectionary, bakery products, processed fruits and vegetables, alcoholic beverages, puddings and table syrups.”
In early studies of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), it was shown to be most prevalent in countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States and those in northern Europe. However, studies in recent years have suddenly found that Canada has become the country with the highest incidence of IBD.
A paper published in the Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology theorized that the cause of the increase could be impaired inactivation of digestive proteases due to the inhibition of gut bacteria by dietary chemicals, such as saccharin. However, saccharin fails to provide an explanation for the recent high incidence of IBD in Canada, which adopted stringent standards for the use of saccharin in 1977 — but this is not the case for sucralose (Splenda).
According to the article, as reprinted on the website Green Med Info:
“If not saccharin, then what caused the remarkable increase of IBD in Canada? … [S]ucralose may be the culprit … In 1991, Canada was the first country to approve the use of sucralose, and it was allowed to be used as a tabletop sweetener in breakfast cereals, beverages, desserts, toppings, fillings, chewing gum, breath mints, fruit spreads, salad dressings, confectionary, bakery products, processed fruits and vegetables, alcoholic beverages, puddings and table syrups.”
If you use sweeteners for any reason, you probably know that some are better than others. MSN Health has assembled a list of the best and the worst for your health.
The Worst:
Aspartame — Some people report headaches or generally feeling unwell after ingesting anything containing the chemical. One harmful breakdown product of aspartame is formaldehyde.
Agave — Many agave nectars consist of 70 to 80 percent fructose — more than what’s found in high-fructose corn syrup!
Sucralose — Splenda, may originate with sugar, the end product is anything but natural. It’s processed using chlorine.
The Best:
Stevia — People tend to overuse powders, in which the sweetness is really concentrated, so if you’ve tried powders in the past and didn’t like them, try liquid forms.
Sugar alcohols — These contain fewer calories than sweeteners like pure sugar and honey, but more than stevia.
Organic, raw local honey — Honey does boast higher fructose levels, but it also contains cancer-fighting antioxidants.
Blackstrap molasses — Although heavy on calorie content, blackstrap is rich in iron, potassium, and calcium.
For more information, you can click on the link below.
The artificial sweetener sucralose (Splenda) has been shown to be a widespread of contaminant of waste water, surface water and ground water. In a recent test, water samples from 19 U.S. drinking water treatment plants serving more than 28 million people were analyzed for sucralose.
Sucralose was found to be present in the source water of 15 out of 19 of plants tested, in the finished water of 13 out of 17, and in the distribution system water of 8 out of 12.
According to the study, as linked by Green Med Info:
“Further, in the subset of [drinking water treatment plants] with distribution system water sampled, the compound was found to persist regardless of the presence of residual chlorine or chloramines … The results of this study confirm that sucralose [is] an indicator compound … for the presence of other recalcitrant compounds in finished drinking water”.
Are you someone who can’t bear the thought of trading your diet soda for a non-fizzy drink? Or have you mulled around the idea of giving up artificial sweetener in your coffee or tea, but just can’t seem to do it? If so, you may be interested in a study that showed that it’s possible your inability to give up artificial sweeteners is more than just lack of willpower. In this study, scientists gave rats the choice between water sweetened with artificial sweetener and cocaine, and discovered that 94 percent preferred the sweet taste of the sweetener over the cocaine! The scientists said:
Our findings clearly demonstrate that intense sweetness can surpass cocaine reward, even in drug-sensitized and -addicted individuals. We speculate that the addictive potential of intense sweetness results from an inborn hypersensitivity to sweet tastants.
If you’re not convinced yet to give up that soda pop you’re about to reach for, this graphic may help you understand how that fizzy stuff damages your health and contributes to overall health care costs. And it’s not just the old it-harms-tooth-enamel mantra that we’re talking about: from heart disease to kidney issues to asthma, soft drinks contribute to many major health problems. For example, did you know that soft drink cans are coated with a resin that contains BPA (bisphenyl-A) that is the same cancer-causing chemical found in plastic bottles?
A widely used sweetener in foods and medications is commonly used as an alternative to high-energy supplements in diabetics, and a new study shows that this sweetener, xylitol, may be beneficial in preventing the development of obesity and metabolic abnormalities in rats with diet-induced obesity. But is it really an acceptable sugar substitute?
With long-running corporate sponsorships like Disney’s Tomorrowland behind them, food giant Monsanto has managed to saturate the earth with five products that have changed both our health and the way we manage Earth’s resources. The sponsorships make this company look good – but the list that TakePart.com has assembled of Monsanto’s product achievements is dubious at best. TakePart.com’s run-down includes:
Saccharin – slapped with a warning label in the ’70s when it was found to cause cancer in lab rats
Polystyrene – a disaster that breaks off into tiny pieces and releases cancer-causing benzene
Agent Orange – first developed as a defoliant, this herbicide is responsible for 400,000 deaths and disfigurements and 500,000 babies born with birth defects
Bovine Growth Hormone (BGH) – Why is the U.S. the only developed country that allows this cancer-causing hormone in milk?
Genetically Modified Seeds – With scare tactics and massive advertising campaigns, Monsanto has managed to corner the market on seeds – and possibly is sowing disaster in places that need food help most.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which includes both ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, emerged in the past century and have exhibited a sharp rise since the 1950s. But despite extensive research, the cause of IBD remains unknown.
In a letter published in the journal Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, Dr. Xiaofa Qin reveals how a series of findings led him to suspect that the artificial sweetener saccharin may have played a causative role in IBD. However, this failed to provide an explanation for the recently reported record high incidence of IBD in Canada, which has adopted a more strict use of saccharin than most other Western countries. But continued examination led Dr. Qin to evidence suggesting that the high incidence of IBD in Canada was probably caused by sucralose (Splenda), through the same mechanism as saccharine.
According to Dr. Qin:
“Here I would like to provide more evidence I gathered recently suggesting a possible link between sucralose consumption and IBD in other countries. For instance, Australia approved sucralose use in 1993, while the study by Hanigan and Radford-Smith found an accelerated increase of IBD in north Brisbane since 1994 … The European Union approved sucralose use in 2004, while a series of studies by Perminow et al found that the incidences of pediatric IBD in southeastern Norway were 4.7 during 1990-1993 … and 10.6 during 2005-2007.”
Two new studies have linked diet soda to poorer health.
In one study, people who drank two or more diet sodas a day experienced waist size increases that were six times greater than those of people who didn’t drink diet soda. A second study that found that aspartame (NutraSweet) raised blood sugar levels in diabetes-prone mice.
According to The Week:
“… [R]esearchers speculate that the artificial sweeteners warp appetite, leaving diet soda drinkers hungry for unhealthy treats … The results were the same for all diet soda drinkers, even after factors such as exercise, social class, education, and smoking were taken into account.”
Two new studies have linked diet soda to poorer health.
In one study, people who drank two or more diet sodas a day experienced waist size increases that were six times greater than those of people who didn’t drink diet soda. A second study that found that aspartame (NutraSweet) raised blood sugar levels in diabetes-prone mice.
According to MSNBC:
“Diet soft drink drinkers, as a group, experienced 70 percent greater increases in waist circumference compared with those who don’t drink diet soda. Abdominal fat is a major risk factor for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and other chronic conditions”.
Two new studies have linked diet soda to poorer health.
In one study, people who drank two or more diet sodas a day experienced waist size increases that were six times greater than those of people who didn’t drink diet soda. A second study that found that aspartame (NutraSweet) raised blood sugar levels in diabetes-prone mice.
According to MSNBC:
“Diet soft drink drinkers, as a group, experienced 70 percent greater increases in waist circumference compared with those who don’t drink diet soda. Abdominal fat is a major risk factor for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and other chronic conditions”.
Two new studies have linked diet soda to poorer health.
In one study, people who drank two or more diet sodas a day experienced waist size increases that were six times greater than those of people who didn’t drink diet soda. A second study that found that aspartame (NutraSweet) raised blood sugar levels in diabetes-prone mice.
According to MSNBC:
“Diet soft drink drinkers, as a group, experienced 70 percent greater increases in waist circumference compared with those who don’t drink diet soda. Abdominal fat is a major risk factor for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and other chronic conditions”.
Aspartame, the artificial sweetener used in Diet Coke and many other products, will soon undergo an urgent safety review in the European Union. The sweetener has been the subject of a number of studies that appear to show harmful effects on human health. One recent study linked diet drinks containing aspartame to premature births. Another study suggested that aspartame could cause cancer.
Aspartame contains methanol, a nerve toxin which can be metabolized in your body to form two more nerve toxins — formic acid and formaldehyde.
The Daily Mail reports:
“A study last year of 60,000 mothers-to be found a correlation between the amount of diet drink consumed and an early birth … Previously, the Independent Ramazzini Foundation in Italy has published research suggesting aspartame caused several types of cancer in rats at doses very close to the current acceptable daily intake for humans.”
Many foods that are advertised as being healthy are actually not healthy at all. MSNBC has collected a few examples:
Splenda (and other artificial sweeteners)
Artificial sweeteners may actually make people more prone to overindulge and crave sweet foods. They can also cause damage to beneficial bacteria in your gut.
Diet soda
Similarly, researchers found that with each can of diet soda consumed, an individual’s risk for being overweight increased by 41 percent.
Veggie chips
Often, these aren’t much healthier than regular potato chips. Most varieties of veggie chips contain mostly corn flour or potato.
To see the rest of their list, click on the link below.
A study of more than 2500 people showed a significant correlation between diet soda consumption and stroke risk.
Researchers divided people into seven groups, ranging from those who drank less than one soda of any type per month to those who regularly consumed both diet soda and regular soda. The scientists accounted for age, ethnicity, gender, exercise habits, smoking status, alcohol consumption, and caloric intake.
Planet Green reports:
“After considering all the other factors studied, researchers concluded that regular diet soda drinkers had a 48 percent increased chance of having a stroke, while those who drank diet soda every day had a 61 percent increased risk of stroke over those who drank other types of soda.”
Sugar-sweetened soft drinks have been linked to a number of adverse health outcomes — but artificial sweeteners come with their own health and safety issues. A new study examined the association between intakes of sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened soft drinks and preterm delivery.
Researchers looked at data from close to 60,000 women. Their soft drink intake was assessed in midpregnancy with a questionnaire.
According to the study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition:
“There was an association between intake of artificially sweetened carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks and an increased risk of preterm delivery … Daily intake of artificially sweetened soft drinks may increase the risk of preterm delivery.”
Researchers recently investigated sucralose (Splenda) to see if it could reduce hunger and keep blood sugar steady. They found that it could not.
The researchers were hopeful that they would find that sucralose could cause the intestine it produced a hormone that reduces blood sugar and decreases appetite, which prior study had indicated might be a possibility. But the effect did not occur when it was ingested orally — hunger remained the same and the blood sugar remained the same.
According to FYI Living:
“Worse, other research has shown that artificial sweeteners might contribute to weight gain … [the] sweet taste is not accompanied by the calories (energy) our brain expects it to be, the complex systems our bodies have to regulate energy balance may be thrown off kilter. The result is that a diet high in artificial sweeteners may possibly, over time, cause people to seek out more calories from other sources”.
What’s the first thing you need to know about reading food labels? Too often, people with the best of intentions don’t realize that unless you read the entire label, you’re not going to get a true idea of the food’s ingredients. Even then, you have to know how to interpret what the label says to be absolutely certain that you’re getting what you want.
“When it comes to processed foods, if it says it’s natural, ignore the claim,” says Organic Lifestyle Magazine. “It means nothing. If it says it’s organic, it doesn’t have to be 100 percent organic unless it says it is. Remember processed foods can be labeled organic if only 80 percent of the ingredients are organic. And organic junk food is still junk food.”
The best advice is to simply not eat any processed foods at all. But if you must, a short list of ingredients and phrases to avoid includes artificial colors, artificial flavorings, artificial sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup, sodium nitrates or nitrites, and others.
Surveys have found that people who drink diet beverages average more than 26 ounces per day, and some drink far more. About 3 percent of diet-soda drinkers have at least four daily. Some may be addicted to caffeine, but that doesn’t explain those who prefer caffeine-free varieties.
Experts say that people can become both psychologically and physically dependent on it. They may get addicted to diet soda because they associate it with a certain activity or behavior. And research also suggests that the artificial sweeteners in diet soda may prompt people to drink more, because they aren’t as satisfying.
CNN reports:
“In other words, artificial sweeteners may spur drinkers — or their brains — to keep chasing a ‘high’ that diet soda keeps forever just out of reach … Whether you feel dependent or not, drinking too much diet soda might be risky in the long run. In recent years, habitual diet-soda consumption has been linked to an increased risk of low bone mineral density in women, type 2 diabetes, and stroke. What’s more, a growing body of research suggests that excessive diet soda intake may actually encourage weight gain.”
Kraft Foods is rolling out MiO, a “liquid water enhancer”. It is a no-calorie line of concentrated liquid flavorings. This will be Kraft’s first new food or beverage category in more than 15 years.
According to USA Today:
“Kraft officials say that in an era of personalization, it’s all about dripping as many drops of flavor as you want into your water.”
Of course, it should come as no surprise to anyone that “MiO” is loaded with artificial colors, artificial sweeteners and preservatives.
Americans drink more soda than anyone else on the planet — well over 700 eight-ounce servings each year, on average, and an increasing amount of it is diet soda.
They might be more reluctant to do so if they knew about the safety questions still surrounding aspartame. A number of scientists responding expressed major concerns about aspartame’s safety at the time of its approval, and even more indicated areas where they believed more research is needed on aspartame to resolve their concerns — research on areas such as neurological functions, brain tumors, seizures, headaches, and adverse effects on children and pregnant women.
Grist reports:
“In a 1996 survey, Ralph G. Walton … looked at 166 peer-reviewed studies on aspartame undertaken between 1980 and 1985. He found that all 74 of the studies funded by the industry found no adverse effects from aspartame, while 84 of the 92 independently funded articles did find bad effects.”
A new study concludes that there could negative consequences associated with artificial sugar substitutes — including a much higher risk of strokes.
The study is somewhat controversial; some critics have argued that since the participants voluntarily reported how much diet soda they consumed, the results do not come from a rigorously controlled setting.
According to the Seattle Post Intelligencer:
“Researchers used voluntary participants to examine factors related to stroke and heart attacks. About 900 participants at said they drank no diet soda, and about 160 said they consumed more than one diet soda every day.”
A new study concludes that there could negative consequences associated with artificial sugar substitutes — including a much higher risk of strokes.
The study is somewhat controversial; some critics have argued that since the participants voluntarily reported how much diet soda they consumed, the results do not come from a rigorously controlled setting.
According to the Seattle Post Intelligencer:
“Researchers used voluntary participants to examine factors related to stroke and heart attacks. About 900 participants at said they drank no diet soda, and about 160 said they consumed more than one diet soda every day.”
If people knew how aspartame (NutraSweet) was made, they might be a lot more reluctant to eat it. It doesn’t sound like any “food” you’ve ever heard of.
According to Made How, once the basic amino acids used to make it are produced (by bacteria!), phenylalanine mixed with methanol to create a compound called L-phenylalanine methyl ester. Aspartic acid is at the same time mixed with substances that result in added benzyl rings. These compounds are pumped into a reactor tank, and then they are mixed with acetic acid in a large tank filled with an aqueous acid solution, a palladium metal catalyst, and hydrogen.
The metal catalyst is removed by filtration, and the solvent is distilled. The residue is then purified by dissolving it in an aqueous ethanol solution and recrystallizing.
Artificial sweeteners such as sucralose (Splenda) may not increase levels of satiety inducing hormones. This suggests that eating common dietary doses of sucralose does not affect subjective feelings of appetite or energy intake at later meals.
Specifically, research shows that the sweetener does not increase plasma levels of the satiety inducing gut hormones glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) and peptide YY (PYY).
According to the study:
“… [O]ral ingestion of sucralose does not increase plasma GLP-1 or PYY concentrations and hence, does not reduce appetite in healthy subjects. Oral stimulation with sucralose had no effect on GLP-1, insulin or appetite.”
Rates of learning disabilities, autism and related conditions are on the rise. In response, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is preparing a list of the pollutants likely to contribute to these or other neurological disorders.
Some of the compounds on the EPA’s list are found everywhere — in household products, drinking water, medicine, and within the environment. They include cadmium, which is used to etch cartoons onto children’s glasses, and the flame retardants used to fireproof upholstered furniture.
According to Politics Daily:
“Other chemicals on the draft roster include: Aspartame, an artificial sweetener found in sodas, and in other foods and drinks; Bisphenol A, a chemical widely used in consumer goods, including the resin lining of most food and beverage cans; products made from polycarbonate plastics … Pesticides and insect repellents, including aldicarb, DEET, lindane, (used for lice and scabies), maneb, and paraquat; Trichloroethylene, formerly used in dry cleaning but still available as a cleaning and degreasing agent and a contaminant in drinking water.”