ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS VS SUGAR

Medscape Today News reported, “The American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association have issued a joint scientific statement giving a cautious recommendation to the use of nonnutritive (that is, zero calorie) sweeteners to help people maintain a healthy body weight and for diabetics to aid glucose control.”

“Better Than Sugar But Not Optimal Diet”, says Dr Walter Willett, of the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA.  

Dr. Willet goes on to say “We should consider these products to be like a nicotine patch; they are appreciably better than the real product (sugar), but not part of an optimal diet.”

Artificial sweeteners are seen as the lesser of two evils and safer than downing large amounts of sugar!

There is no question that sugar causes much suffering in the form of chronic diseases such as obesity, Type ll diabetes, cardiovascular disease and gout.

To put it in concrete terms, that innocent looking white stuff causes disability, loss of income due to illness and medical expenses, and can lead to serious complications of diabetes such as amputations and blindness.

It also affects those who don’t eat sugar, in the form of higher health insurance premiums. One estimate is that the epidemic of chronic disease adds an average $1000 to an individual policy.

Substituting artificial sweeteners for sugar definitely reduces the risk of chronic diseases.  Their use is approved by the FDA.

However, they simply haven’t been around long enough to be conclusively proven safe. Many products once on the approved list were later found to be dangerous.

For now, there is no perfect solution for folks with a sweet tooth. The good news is you CAN  change your cravings.

One pleasant side effect of my detoxification program is a healthy way to retrain your palate. You will enjoy the subtle natural sweetness and flavor in whole foods.