Thursday, July 2, 2009

Soccer Moms Unite! Say No to Artificial Sweeteners

(image from The National Expositor)
One lump or two? How about none!
I've been reading about artificial sweeteners lately and there are just too many red flags.
So please, please read about it and choose natural sweeteners.
Of course you can always find articles supporting the artificial sweetener industry but there's a recent press release on the National Cancer Institute site linking formaldehyde exposure and cancers. In my opinion this new study validates links between Aspartame and cancer.
and....It's not just aspartame! There are red flags concerning all of the artificial sweeteners.

The following excerpt from an article by Ob/Gyn Marcella Pick sums up concerns regarding sugar substitutes - (The NCI article concerning Aspartame is even scarier than the awful side effects mentioned below)


"Aspartame, the main ingredient in Equal and NutraSweet, is responsible for the most serious cases of poisoning, because the body actually digests it. Aspartame should be avoided by most women, but particularly in those with neuropsychiatric concerns. Recent studies in Europe show that aspartame use can result in an accumulation of formaldehyde in the brain, which can damage your central nervous system and immune system and cause genetic trauma. The FDA admits this is true, but claims the amount is low enough in most that it shouldn’t raise concern. I think any amount of formaldehyde in your brain is too much.

Uh, yeah...

Aspartame has had the most complaints of any food additive available to the public. It’s been linked with MS, lupus, fibromyalgia and other central nervous disorders. Possible side effects of aspartame include headaches, migraines, panic attacks, dizziness, irritability, nausea, intestinal discomfort, skin rash, and nervousness. Some researchers have linked aspartame with depression and manic episodes. It may also contribute to male infertility."

Splenda
So, is Splenda safe? The truth is we just don’t know yet. There are no long-term studies of the side effects of Splenda in humans. The manufacturer’s own short-term studies showed that very high doses of sucralose (far beyond what would be expected in an ordinary diet) caused shrunken thymus glands, enlarged livers, and kidney disorders in rodents. (A more recent study also shows that Splenda significantly decreases beneficial gut flora.) But in this case, the FDA decided that because these studies weren’t based on human test animals, they were not conclusive. Of course, rats had been chosen for the testing specifically because they metabolize sucralose more like humans than any other animal used for testing. In other words, the FDA has tried to have it both ways — they accepted the manufacturer’s studies on rats because the manufacturer had shown that rats and humans metabolize the sweetener in similar ways, but shrugged off the safety concerns on the grounds that rats and humans are different. In our view, determining that something is safe (or not) in laboratory rats isn’t a definitive answer, as we’ve seen countless examples of foods and drugs that have proved dangerous to humans that were first found to be safe in laboratory rats, both in short- and long-term studies.

Saccharin
Remember those carcinogen warnings on the side of products that contained saccharin? They no longer appear because industry testing showed that saccharin only caused bladder cancer in rats. Most researchers agree that in sufficient doses, saccharin is carcinogenic in humans. The question is, how do you know how much artificial sweeteners your individual body can tolerate?

You can read the entire article from Marcella Pick here

read the NCI press release linking formaldehyde here


and... if you think artificial sweeteners are part of a weight loss plan read...
"The skinny on artificial sweeteners" here.

also, from The Economist read "The battle to replace sugar intensifies" here
So, SOCCER MOMS UNITE! Read up, choose natural, and vote with your purchases! Don't drink this stuff, don't give it to your kids, and go buy some stevia or honey. We're the ones out there doing most of the shopping and we're a powerful force. Make sure to read those labels. Many products hide these ingredients in the small print. No wonder our kids sometimes drive us crazy! They're jacked up on all this junk! nervous, irritable?


I've just started seeing commercials for the latest artificial sweetener "Truvia". Check out Green Luvin' blog here (she's done some digging into Truvia and it seems there's a Monsanto connection. Ah, very interesting).

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ok, I'm going to weigh in regarding Splenda(sucralose). If you choose to avoid it (and I do, like the plague) be sure to scour the ingredient lists of all foods you buy. I've found sucralose buried in the ingredient lists on products ranging from cereal to tortillas. Be especially vigilant on products that claim to be "lite" or "low-carb." Know how they lower the carbs? Yep, by adding sucralose. And apparently there's no law requring that that information appear on the label. It's even in products marketed directly toward children. Shameful!! Scour those labels, ladies! Lisa

Anonymous said...

Ok, it's me again....Here's what I found out about Truvia and PureVia (which, by the way, were developed by Coca Cola Co. and PepsiCo).

Per Dr. Mercola, a well-respected MD within the alternative medicine community (www.mercola.com):

"These sweeteners are Stevia-based -- NOT the entire plant, which has been used as a natural sweetener for more than 1,500 years.

The fact that Stevia has such an extraordinarily long history as a natural sweetener is a major clue and testament to its safety. Remember, usually it’s the synergistic effect of all the agents in the plant that provide the overall health effect, which oftentimes includes “built-in protection” against potentially damaging effects.

But what happens if you take only one or two of these agents, and discard the rest?

Will it affect your body the same way?

Probably not."

Dr. Mercola recomments using Stevia made from the whole plant.

Lisa

Anonymous said...

Splenda (sucralose) is also found in mouth washes, and even infant gas relief drops (little tummies I believe). Probiotics are best remedy for intestinal discomfort with infants...not chemicals.

Another great natural sweetener that is drawing a lot of attention these days is...yacon syrup...it is even low glycemic...PERFECT!