Sugar VS Artificial Sweeteners VS Natural Sweeteners!
We are not going to start this three way brawl with preaching to you the science of the horrors behind sugar. There are plenty of articles on that, lamenting the trials that your body goes through to break down fructose and dextrose and blah... blah... blah. What I will do however is link you to a few of my favourite articles on the subject, that way you guys have a bit of science behind what I'm talking about (and you don't have to go googling it on your own.)
And if you really want to terrify yourself and read the flat out facts of sugar, this one is excellent for that cause: 141 Reasons Sugar Ruins Your Health
The problem with sugar is that there are so many forms of it, and in so many things we consume with it in them. Even in unexpected places, like Top Ramen (as if that stuff wasn't lethal enough on it's own right?) In the years leading up to present day from the 1700's, the amount of sugar that we've consumed a day has risen by 98%. Yes. Ninety. Eight. Percent. A day!!! Where we used to only eat four pounds (Almost kilos) of sugar a year, everyday people consume half a pound (Quarter of a Kilo) of sugar a day! That is a huge difference! You want to know how much sugar you more than likely consume in a year now? 180 pounds (78 Kilos). I hope that really puts it into perspective for you. And before you go saying: "Not me! I don't eat sugary things!" think carefully about the foods you often eat. Look at the ingredients label. If it contains corn syrup, then I'm afraid my friend that yes; yes you bloody do.
Soda, Frozen and processed foods, take away, juice, everything you buy nowadays almost has HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) which is a sugar alternative that is used in almost everything as a sugar replacement since it's cheaper and easier to use. And if you're trying to lose weight, unfortunately eating a ton of fruit doesn't actually help as it has many types of natural sugars.
So. Let's talk about why it's bad. But we are going to set aside all the scientific jargon about it, and just go straight for the basics. Dumb it down to laymens terms persay so that you are not bored to absolute tears trying to get through this blog post. THEN we will talk about sweeteners. And natural sugars.
1. Sugar = Fructose = bad in large doses.
Sugar itself not an actual enemy. It's actually fructose that is the enemy. Well, at least for the weight loss advocate. Fructose is an "instant energy" substance. It's great for that mid-day pick me up that most of us need for that arvo-slump. However, it's highly addictive. And if we over indulge in those afternoon candy bars and cinnamon buns, we naturally become addicted to it, and we ride a tidal wave of sugar-highs and sugar-lows. If we binge too much, we can cause auto-immune diseases over time and effect our ability to function without it. Oh, and that depression, anxiety, and fatigue that some of you suffer a surplus amount of? It could be a major contributing factor - think about it! Do you eat a lot of sugar? Account for even the "healthy" or "natural" sugars that you're digesting throughout the day - look at the labels next time you pick up your daily snacks. If it says "Corn Syrup" or has a lot of sugars on the nutritional label, put it back down!
2. I'm full! At least... I think am?
Did you know that everything we eat triggers an appetite hormone in our body? When we've had enough to eat, those hormones tell our brain the following instructions: "Okay, cool! That's enough thanks. Tummy is full, and we're nourished." That's right! Everything we eat...except fructose. Weird huh? Well, that's because in the days of caves, and grunt talk, we didn't have farms, or factories to make the sweet sticky substance known as corn syrup or sugar. The only sugar that was around was the occasional lucky find of berries. And back then we needed it since fructose stored instantly as fat (yes, fructose in sugar, even natural sugars that come from berries and other fruit stores immediately as FAT) it was a luxurious necessity that helped our ancestors keep on the weight they would need for the times they couldn't find food. Think about it, it wasn't until the 1700's that sugar was a big deal. When corn syrup was made, it was game over for the nations, and in came the weight problems that weren't naturally caused.
3. Fructose...(AKA: Sugar) is the best tasting poison you'll ever eat.
It makes us sick. From mood disorders, infertility, weakening immune systems, mineral deterioration and vitamin mal-absorbtion, more rapid physical aging, dementia, hyper-tension, anxiety, and even some forms of cancer... there are countless things that over digesting fructose contributes too. And I didn't even mention the obvious diabetes and other insulin-resistance health issues, like fatty liver disease and what not.
Ever watch a movie from time eras way back in the day, and the story has a really old person whose the wise elder of awesome advice, and think to yourself: "Bullcrap. Most old people can't move, or can't remember their own names. They've probably had 3 strokes by the age of 90, (if they live that long) or Alzheimer's." Well my friends. Welcome to the world of HFCS ingredients in food. Seriously, Gandalf and Yoda weren't eating processed foods with HFCS. And neither were our ancestors. Sure they were't as tall, and maybe their life span was cut short by the plague or something, but if their medical field had been as advanced as it was today, more than likely we'd have seen people living until 150 or longer with absolutely no problems with their minds or bodies.
So...what do we do?
Giving up pre-packaged and processed foods for some families is unrealistic. Because as nice as it is, buying raw foods and veggies is just... stupidly expensive in some places. Especially if you have 5 mouths to feed in one home. I get that. And let's be real here, because I'm admitting fault as well: Coffee, Tea, and the occasional sweet (my guilty pleasure is the after dinner coffee and chocolate square) are little necessities of the modern world. It's never good to deprive yourself of simple pleasures, and sometimes that chocolate is just the thing to pick you up out of a bad day or even just to add bliss to a good one.
So, companies recognized this issue that some people were having, and thus have designed lots of amazing sugar substitutes. And thus, our sweeteners come into play. Sweet-n-Low, Equal, Splenda, etc... they're fructose free! Yay! Its certainly an option.
What are artificial sweeteners anyway?
Well... they are a sugar substitute that are derived from herbs, chemicals, or even sometimes from sugar itself. They are often found in 'diet' foods and drinks (by the way, just between us... Just because it says 'diet', doesn't mean that soda is any more healthy for you! Just letting you know!)or low calorie count foods. They don't contribute to tooth decay or cavities. And it's an option that isn't going to put the gluten-sensitive over the edge, and that diabetic with the sweet tooth can make things as sweet as they want without having to worry about their insulin-resistant disease! And great! They don't make you gain weight (artificial sweetener companies make a killing off of diet fanatics, and diet food companies). I mean, it sounds really great right?
Yes. Those are all pros to artificial sweeteners. But these little tablets of sweet heaven have a very dark side. Kind of like the moon. Or... hell. You choose after you're done reading this.
If you look at most food labels, you'll see they are required by law to put the ingredients list on the packages. Sweeteners, for the most part, are not a part of that requirement. While they are regulated by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), they don't have to be approved for sale individually if companies use GRAS items to make them. What does GRAS mean? Well.. it means "Generally Regarded as Safe." Generally.
Excuse me FDA. You have a very strange concept as to what is generally safe to be consumed. I bet you're all wondering why I'm shaking my fist at this. I mean, if the Government says it's safe, it's probably safe right? I know, most of you are raising your eyebrows at that statement, because who actually believes the Government on anything nowadays? Still. I'm going to tell you some of the things that those little yellow, pink and sky blue packages don't tell you.
Things like when you pick up that Splenda packet and spoon it onto your healthy snack of berries and yogurt, you're actually eating Sucralose. Ohh, sounds fancy right? What is it?
Sweetened pool chlorine my friends. That is what Sucralose is. That is what your Splenda is. Sweetened. Pool. Chlorine. Awesome right?
But don't turn to Equal or Nutra-Sweet, because those two are made of Aspartame. Another fancy, cool sounding and yet terrifying word. If anything, this one is even worse because well... it's a biochemical warfare agent. And Sweet-n-low is concentrated Saacharin, which has inconclusive tests that say it's a cancer causing substance (But everything causes cancer nowadays right? Well duh. It's because it's all made of crap we're not supposed to be eating!)
Do you know whats in your artificial sweetener? I bet, after reading all of that you really don't want to know right? I don't blame you. I used to be a huge Splenda fan. Then I looked it up after a brief debate, then moved happily right along with my life, turning my back on my old sweet friend.
What do the experts suggest?
To be honest, most experts who aren't trying to make a profit off of a certain diet program will suggest that you just don't eat anything sweet! And...well that would make life very crappy. And sometimes we actually do need those little tidbits of sugar.
So what does a health food obsessed person suggest?
Oh. NOW you want my advice? Just kidding! Since I've come this far in bashing all things that bring joy to life, I'll tell you what you can do to avoid all of these scary things that I've mentioned.
- Avoid sodas and processed foods as much as possible! Buy raw if you can!
- Make your own stuff! Nothing is better than freshly squeezed orange juice straight from the little round bright ball of fleshy orange goodness anyway.
- Moderation. Keep those slices of cake and those pick me up chocolates to a minimum! Don't give into every urge you have to munch on something sweet and heavenly.
- Use natural sweeteners. Coconut Sugar is a huge improvement, and it will not absolutely crush a diabetics soul as thoroughly as regular sugar because it has a lower Glycemic index. I personally use Stevia (NatVia), which is a naturally derived processed sweetener with a fair less amount of all that dangerous stuff, like amazing tasting pool chlorine or biochemical warfare agents.
- Keep your fruits to "a few a day." And eat them in the morning, or early afternoon.
- Read the ingredients to everything you buy, and try to track down where your biggest source of HFCS /Sugar is coming from and try to replace it with other, more healthy alternatives - or just something with less sugar.
Its pretty simple right? It really is! I hope this helped you guys, and didn't bore you to absolute tears. At the end of the day, I hope this has been educational without the boredom of learning, and beneficial! Thanks again guys!
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