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Foods to Avoid
Heart Health
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Recent Articles
Immune Support
Allergies
Thyroid Problems
Home Remedies
Optimize Your Nutrition
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Preventing and Treating Cancer
Artificial Sweeteners
Wendy Taylor
The most popular artificial sweeteners are aspartame (Nutrasweet), sucralose (Splenda), saccharin (currently banned in Canada), and Neotame (also made by Nutrasweet). All of these are marketed as healthy substitutes for sugar, and diabetics are often told to use artificial sweeteners in place of sugar.
It is our opinion that there is no safe dose for artificial sugars or sweeteners. These substances are all excitotoxins and neurotoxins and should be avoided, period. Whatever you have in your house will better serve you to kill the ant colony in the back yard than to sweeten your food. Other sweeteners such as sorbitol or xylitol are derived from natural sources but they still should not be considered 100% safe as there is some evidence that they may also have neurotoxic or carcinogenic properties.
Sucralose
While information on sucrolose is still somewhat limited by its fairly recent invention, there exists a substantial enough body of information on aspartame (NutraSweet TM) to raise the alarm. Upon digestion, aspartame breaks down into its component parts: phenylalanine, aspartic acid and methanol (wood alcohol).
These constituents act primarily on the nervous system:
Phenylalanine has an important role in the body, but excess amounts can overstimulate the body's production of tyrosine, dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine, all compounds with stimulatory effects; and one of its by-products, aspartic acid, is an excitatory chemical. Excess phenylalanine can also cause the pituitary gland to release too much prolactin, disrupting endocrine function.
Aspartame
One of the most controversial food additives in history, Aspartame's approval for use in food was the most contested in FDA(US Food and Drug Administration) history, and the FDA received 4800 complaints regarding aspartame in one year alone. Interstingly, the pentagon once listed aspartame as an agent for biochemical warfare.
Aspartame is considered neurotoxic and is associated with dizziness, visual impairment, severe muscle aches, numbing of extremities, pancreatitis, high blood pressure (HBP), retinal hemorrhaging, seizure, and depression. Aspartame also affects the development of the nervous system in children, resulting in emotional and learning difficulties.
All artificial sweeteners are best avoided. We reccommend using Stevia or Inulin instead.
Stevia is a natural sweetener derived from the Stevia rebaudiana plant and does not cause elevated blood sugar levels. Stevia is not a neurotoxin and has been studied extensively with no reports of adverse side effects.
Inulin, which also has no effect on blood sugar, is a long chain polysaccharide derived from Jerusalem artichoke. Unfortunately Inulin has some reported side effects such as gas, bloating, cramps, or diarrhea.
Moderate amounts of honey are also permissible; approximately 1-2 tablespoons per day.
Often a craving for sugar is the body signaling that it needs rest and whole food, so stop and take time for a proper meal or snack and rest for a while.
Artificial Sweeteners
Wendy Taylor
The most popular artificial sweeteners are aspartame (Nutrasweet), sucralose (Splenda), saccharin (currently banned in Canada), and Neotame (also made by Nutrasweet). All of these are marketed as healthy substitutes for sugar, and diabetics are often told to use artificial sweeteners in place of sugar.
It is our opinion that there is no safe dose for artificial sugars or sweeteners. These substances are all excitotoxins and neurotoxins and should be avoided, period. Whatever you have in your house will better serve you to kill the ant colony in the back yard than to sweeten your food. Other sweeteners such as sorbitol or xylitol are derived from natural sources but they still should not be considered 100% safe as there is some evidence that they may also have neurotoxic or carcinogenic properties.
Sucralose
While information on sucrolose is still somewhat limited by its fairly recent invention, there exists a substantial enough body of information on aspartame (NutraSweet TM) to raise the alarm. Upon digestion, aspartame breaks down into its component parts: phenylalanine, aspartic acid and methanol (wood alcohol).
These constituents act primarily on the nervous system:
Phenylalanine has an important role in the body, but excess amounts can overstimulate the body's production of tyrosine, dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine, all compounds with stimulatory effects; and one of its by-products, aspartic acid, is an excitatory chemical. Excess phenylalanine can also cause the pituitary gland to release too much prolactin, disrupting endocrine function.
Aspartame
One of the most controversial food additives in history, Aspartame's approval for use in food was the most contested in FDA(US Food and Drug Administration) history, and the FDA received 4800 complaints regarding aspartame in one year alone. Interstingly, the pentagon once listed aspartame as an agent for biochemical warfare.
Aspartame is considered neurotoxic and is associated with dizziness, visual impairment, severe muscle aches, numbing of extremities, pancreatitis, high blood pressure (HBP), retinal hemorrhaging, seizure, and depression. Aspartame also affects the development of the nervous system in children, resulting in emotional and learning difficulties.
All artificial sweeteners are best avoided. We reccommend using Stevia or Inulin instead.
Stevia is a natural sweetener derived from the Stevia rebaudiana plant and does not cause elevated blood sugar levels. Stevia is not a neurotoxin and has been studied extensively with no reports of adverse side effects.
Inulin, which also has no effect on blood sugar, is a long chain polysaccharide derived from Jerusalem artichoke. Unfortunately Inulin has some reported side effects such as gas, bloating, cramps, or diarrhea.
Moderate amounts of honey are also permissible; approximately 1-2 tablespoons per day.
Often a craving for sugar is the body signaling that it needs rest and whole food, so stop and take time for a proper meal or snack and rest for a while.
