Lately I have been reading several articles indicating that artificial sweeteners have been shown to elevate glucose levels and actually contribute to type 2 Diabetes. What a HOOT! Those of us in days gone by thought we were being smart and making healthy choices by using by using artificial sweeteners and choosing foods labeled (DIET) etc. were actually setting the stage for impaired glucose metabolism and contributing to becoming a diabetic. Does it make you angry? It should.
Take a look:
Almost every restaurant table has a little cup that is filled with Sweet and Low, Splenda, Equal Saccharin etc. etc. Apparently these types of sweeteners are not only unhealthy for you in general, they can be worse than eating the sugar they are marketed as a substitute for.
In a preliminary study published recently in the Journal Nature, artificial sweeteners are being scrutinized. In several experiments involving both mice and a small group of people, researchers from the Weizman Institute of Science in Israel found that artificial sweeteners appear to disrupt the flora of bacteria residing in intestines, leading to a rise in blood sugar levels. Mice fed aspartame, saccharin and Sucralose experienced changes in their gut microbiome and also were placed at a higher risk of developing glucose intolerance, which is a precursor to diabetes.
Even the act of transplanting bacteria found in mice feces into a different group of mice, these mice also developed blood sugar changes even though the animals had never been fed artificial sweeteners.
Another test was done involving seven volunteers who normally abstained from eating any artificial sweeteners and found that when they ate regular doses of saccharin for a week, four of the seven developed elevated blood sugar levels. They also studied but bacteria in 400 people, and found that those who use artificial sweeteners regularly had different gut bacteria that those who didn't consume them.
What type of foods and drinks contain artificial sweeteners? A LOT MORE THAN YOU MIGHT THINK! Here are a few examples:
Darn near everything in your grocery store marked diet, or fat free or sugar free or 1/2 the calories of our regular brand etc. ALL of the diet colas and soft drinks and most carbonated drinks labeled as ZERO calories etc. Beware of many baked goods labeled sugar free as well as they likely contain one form or another of artificial sweetener. Jello sugar free, fat free pudding list one of the ingredients as ASPARTAME.
When I found out about this recently, I instantly thought of all those diet Cokes and Pepsi's I drank during the years I owned my own insurance agency I thought, GEE WHIZ, this has to be better for you than a regular cola with anywhere from 25 to 70 grams of sugar in it.
In some respects I guess it was, but altering one's glucose metabolism and contributing to type 2 diabetes wasn't one of them.
SEE my articles on "Interstitial Fluid" and PH and soft drinks.
Perhaps this is why God intended for us to eat fruits and vegetables and protein and to READ LABELS ON EVERYTHING YOU EAT.
God Bless,
Dan
FURTHER READING:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2014/09/18/artificial-sweeteners-increase-risk-diabetes/F3lgKZR0cA9ntkSPv70qfO/story.html
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