Artificial sweeteners are a health risk

Is that cancer or poison you are putting in your tea?

There has been a lot of evidence lately that diet sweeteners are actually contributing to the obesity epidemic. Are you aware that they are also contributing to the cancer epidemic as well? They have even been linked to some of the chronic illnesses such as diabetes and fibromyalgia.

Aspartame is probably the best known artificial sugar on the market. It is the one used in most diet sodas. Aspartame is a known neurotoxin. A neurotoxin is a substance that causes damage or death to nerve and brain cells. It is made from genetically engineered bacteria and contains formaldehyde and methanol. Side effects linked to aspartame include headaches, migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness, rashes, depression, irritability, insomnia, hearing loss, vision problems, vertigo and memory loss.

Processed foods sometimes contain both aspartame and Acesulfame-K. Acesulfame-K is the least studied artificial sweetener on the market, but may be in the most processed foods of all. One of the ingredients in it is methylene chloride. This chemical is known to cause cancer, nausea, headaches, mood problems, liver and kidney damage and even vision problems.

Blue packets at the restaurant contain both aspartame and acesulfame potassium and methanol. acesulfame potassium is known to produce seizures and act as a neurotoxin. Methanol can make you go blind.

Yellow packets at the restaurant contain Sucralose. It has been shown that some of the adverse reactions include stomach problems, seizures, dizziness, blurred vision, increase blood sugar and weight gain. Now it is found that when it is heated it damages DNA and increases the potential for cancer. This is because it releases a substance that is a dioxin. This happens at a relatively low temperature, starting at well below boiling point. Dioxin is one of the components that made Agent Orange so dangerous during the Vietnam War. While it is messing with your DNA and your endocrine system (reproductive health) it is also destroying your gut bacteria, which leads to a whole new set of digestive and immune system problems.

A new one on the market is called Sweetmyx. This is not being considered as a sweetener as much as a ‘flavor enhancer’. It works by tricking the taste buds into thinking the food/beverage is sweet. Another flavor enhancer is MSG, which has been shown to kill brain cells in its efforts to trick you into thinking something tastes better than it does. There have been no studies published as to the safety of Sweetmyx. We went for years before we found out about the dangers of MSG.

Xylitol is considered a healthier alternative to sugar or other artificial sweeteners. It is a sugar alcohol. Because the body can’t digest it many people consider it to be non-caloric. This causes stomach problems such as pain, flatulence and loose stools. These can lead to leaky gut syndrome, which can cause a myriad of other problems. Unfortunately it can be made from healthy sources, or ones that aren’t so healthy. Much of the available xylitol is made from GMO corn, therefor carries all the problems of other GMO foods.

Truvia is advertised as being made from Stevia, but it isn’t really stevia. It is 99.5% erythritol, which is a sugar alcohol and only.5% rebiana, which is an extract from the stevia plant. Studies are showing that Truvia may be an excellent insecticide. This may be a great breakthrough for the organic industry as it would be a possibly truly organic insecticide, as long as the bacteria that forms the erythritol is fed organically grown corn, and not GMO corn.

Any non-calorie sweetener, even a healthy one, has the effect of not triggering your leptin hormone to be released. This hormone signals the body that you have ingested calories and are now full and can stop eating. This has the effect of deactivating your appestat, so you keep on eating when you don’t need to.