Are artificial sweeteners healthy? It is very easy to spot the most popular artificial sweetners being used in our favourite diet foods. Some of these include Splenda, sucralose, aspartame, acesulfame potassium, and that is only to name a few. They are used in diet pop drinks, cereal bars, coffees, chocolate, and in almost every food item labeled “reduced-sugar” or “sugar-free”.
So what is Splenda?
Splenda is advertised as being made from real sugar, but it is really an artificial substance, chemically modified, where chlorine is added to the chemical structure.
Before sucralose was formally approved, research showed that it caused shrunken thymus glands (up to 40% shrinkage) and enlarged liver and kidneys.
Research conducted since then documents numbness of male rats’ hind legs, as well as negative effects on the livers, spleens and kidneys of laboratory animals.
Many families are trying to be healthy and are introducing these harmful chemical into their homes without knowing their effects. These products are so falsely advertisied that an uneducated consumer can easily cause harm to their bodies while thinking they are consuming a healthier alternative to sugar.
Recent research has also showed that artificial sweetners can trigger appetite and raise insulin levels, which is a problem for people trying to save the calories by using these sweetners.
Did you know that splenda was rejected by the FDA 7 times before it was even approved because it wasn’t safe? Now why would we want to put those harmful chemicals in our bodies?
About a year ago, it was my new years resolution to clear myself free of artificial sweetners. I can’t say I’ve always succeeded since they are so widely available and so easy accessibly, but I definitely made an improvement. You must be thinking I turned to sugar instead, or gave up sweets all together, but that’s far from reality!
I’ve discovered a NATURAL sweetner called Stevia. It is recommended by naturopaths and health professionals, and has been used in many countries for years. It is even mentioned as a healthy alternative to sugar and splenda in the famous book Skinny Bitch.
Stevia is a natural non-caloric herb that’s been used for thousands of years in some parts of the world. It is a South American herb and when dried into a powder, has a sweetness about 200-300 times stronger than sugar. If you are wondering, it has a glycemic index of 0.
Stevia is slightly more expensive than Splenda and is harder to find in your local stores, but the benefits really outweight the disadvantages. You could easily find stevia in a local health food store or organic food store.
If you weren’t interested in trying Stevia but still wanted to make a healthier choice than an artificial sweetener, you could try using honey, brown sugar, or brown rice syrup.
