Think that diet soda you swill down every day with lunch is a good option? It is time to reconsider. Recent studies illustrate the negative effects of various artificial sweeteners that have been pushed at us for so many years.
For one thing, according to Dr. Andrew Weil, artificial sweeteners have not shown to help anyone lose weight and may be causing way more harm than good in the long run. Aspartame, saccharine and sucrolose may increase the risk of health problems, including obesity, headaches and some cancers.
The whole premise of these substances for weight control may be false because our body does not react as we might expect to something that it would not normally encounter in a natural diet. An article in Harvard Health says that the use of these sweeteners may prevent us from associating sweetness with caloric intake. Plus, they may cause cravings that make us pick empty calories over more nutritious food.
Purdue University researchers found that drinking diet soda may be causing people to pack on the pounds. Dr. Mark Hyman says that artificial sweeteners are at least 100 times sweeter than sugar, increasing our preference for sweets. They trick your metabolism into thinking sugar is coming, so your body releases insulin, which is a fat storage hormone. Then as the insulin levels soar, your body packs on belly fat. They can also slow your metabolic rate so that you need fewer calories each day to maintain your body weight.
There is also evidence that synthetic sweeteners are addictive and may be a contributor to hardening of the arteries and diabetes. A multi-ethnic study of arteriosclerosis determined that regular consumption of diet drinks was linked to a 36 percent increased risk of metabolic syndrome and a 67 percent increased risk of diabetes.
Yet another study showed how sucrolose can alter the body’s reaction to ingesting glucose. Researchers gave each participant a glucose tolerance test and found that people who consumed sucrolose and water before the test had increased insulin levels. Their blood sugar peak that was also much higher than those who drank plain water.
These studies tell us that we are better off learning to drink water with our meals since these artificial ingredients in soft drinks are causing unintended effects. Our bodies are reacting with confusion and this appears to be increasing the risk of developing unhealthy metabolic conditions.
Health Idealist 