Artificial versus Natural sweeteners

The difference between Articial and natural sweetener.

What are artificial sweeteners ?

psychologytoday

Almost any « sugar-free» products  are sweetened by artificial sweetener.  Below are artificial sweeteners that we heard about.

Aspartame – (Nutra-Sweet)a large number of chewing gums contain aspartame, also fisherman’s friend. A lot more that I can’t mention here but for you to check when you are in the store.

Sucralose -  (Splenda), This is tricky thing, people believe you will lose weight. But it works the other way. It will trick the body to desire for more so you eat more and consume more calories instead. Not to mention other negative effects  of the artificial sweeteners. If you keep on feeding your system with different “ sugar-free” products, then sooner or later, your body will start to show signs and symptoms, that you may or may not be able to register. Example of this is the unexplainable tiredness. I know of one who keeps on falling asleep day in and day out. She is tired though, not understanding why she is tired. She is very fond of sweets… She said they are “ sugar-free” so no worry! L

The worst reported side effects.

Saccharin: possible link to cancer
Aspartame: headaches, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, insomnia, vision problems, hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus, memory loss and joint pain.
Sucralose: bloating, nausea, diarrhea, headache, anxiety and skin rash.
Tagalose (Naturlose): flatulence, bloating, nausea, diarrhea.
Acesulfame-K (Sweet One, Sunett): not adequately tested.
Sugar alcohols (sorbitol, xylitol, mannitol, maltitol): appear to have less negative effects although bloating, gas and diarrhea have been reported.

On a special category is

-       Xylitol – it has some positive effects. --- GOOD TO HEAR !

Natural sweeteners.

foodnetwork.ca

Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) Better choices for calorie free sweeteners include Stevia  is a plant native to Paraguay and Brazil, although it grows easily in many areas of the world. It has been used for its sweet taste for centuries and is a traditional medicinal herb for obesity and blood sugar disorders.

Stevia is 200 to 300 times sweeter than table sugar, It is considered safe to use for diabetics.  Myself – I am using Stevia. It is very, very sweet tasting so you be very careful with it when you prepare your dessert. Read the instruction or the label before using Stevia.

In Japan, stevia has been the sugar-free sweetener of choice, over saccharin, aspartame and other artificial sweeteners, in soft drinks and foods since 1977.

It has been enjoyed by millions of people worldwide with no reports of toxic effects in adults or children.

SCANDAL AROUND STEVIA.

Stevia has an interesting political history in the United States. In 1996, right around the same time that the artificial sweetener aspartame was proposed for FDA approval, the FDA indicated that stevia could not be used as a sweetener, calling it an "unsafe food additive." This was an unusual move by the FDA, because under FDA guidelines natural substances used before 1958 with no reports of adverse effects are considered to be generally recognized as safe (GRAS). There were also dramatic reports of FDA personnel raiding warehouses containing stevia and confiscating it, and even threatening to burn books that were about how to use it as a sweetener! Shortly after stevia was banned as a sweetener, several FDA board members left for higher-paying positions with Monsanto, the company that promoted Nutrasweet (aspartame) as the sugar-free sweetener of choice in the U.S. market.

(Source: Ellen Kamhi, PhD, RN, "The Natural Nurse")