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NATURAL ALTERNATIVES
TO ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS
Article by herbalist
Dave
Hawkins, MH, CNC
I
have been wanting to write about
the negative effects of artificial sweeteners for some time
now. With so many people concerned about weight, they have
turned to no-calorie sweeteners like aspartame (the
technical name for Nutri
Sweet), Equal, Spoonful, and Equal Measure. This article
will deal mainly with aspartame and the current research
that has been surfacing since its inception in the mid
seventies. We will also discuss reasonable alternatives to
artificial sweeteners that have been used for centuries
without side effects.
Aspartame was discovered by
accident in 1965 when a chemist for G. D. Searle, a
pharmaceutical company, was testing an anti-ulcer drug. It
was approved for dry good use in 1981 after having been
denied approval in 1974 due to objections by neuroscientist
Dr. John W. Olney who voiced concerns to the FDA.
Let’s look at what might
have initiated these concerns. Aspartame accounts for over
75% of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to
the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). Many of these
reactions are serious and have caused seizures and death
according to a report in 1994 by the Department of Health
and Human Services.
The report noted that the
following
symptoms were related to aspartame consumption:
Headaches/migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness,
muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue,
irritability, rapid heart beat, insomnia, vision problems,
hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties,
anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus,
vertigo, memory loss, and joint pain.
According to researchers and
physicians studying the adverse effects of aspartame, the
following illnesses can be triggered or worsened by
ingesting this substance: Brain tumors, multiple sclerosis,
epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, Parkinson’s disease,
Alzheimer’s, lymphoma, birth defects,
Fibromyalgia, thyroid dysfunction and diabetes.
Have you ever read the fine
print that appears on foods that contain aspartame? It
specifically states not to be used by pregnant mothers,
young children and the elderly. Also it states not to be
used by people suffering from PKU, a disorder where the
amino acid phenylalanine is not metabolized.
Did you ever
wonder why?
Let’s look at the chemical
makeup of this substance. Aspartame is
made of three chemicals: Aspartic acid (40%), phenylalanine (50%), and
methanol (10%). Aspartic acid and phenylalanine are natural
occurring proteins; however, they can have negative effects
on the body.
Aspartic acid acts as a neurotransmitter in
the brain by aiding the transmission of information from
nerve cell to nerve cell. Excessive amounts can over-excite
the nerves and cause damage and ultimately death to these
cells. This is especially of concern in elderly, infants,
pregnant mothers and those suffering neurological
disorders, according to the Federation of American
Societies For Experimental
Biology.
Phenylalanine in normally found in the brain and works with
the amino acid tyrosine for neurotransmitter production.
It has been shown that ingesting aspartame along with
carbohydrates can lead to an excess of this amino acid.
This excess has been the cause of decreased levels of the
neurotransmitter serotonin,
which regulates mood, sleep,
appetite, cardiovascular and
immune functions. Decreased levels have been responsible
for depression, autism, eating disorders, sleep
disturbances and chronic pain.
Think
about how many people are on Prozac for depression. Do you
think there might be a link?
Methanol (better known as
wood alcohol) is a deadly poison. It is a
neuro-toxin that breaks down
into formic acid and formaldehyde in the body. The
recommended limit of consumption is 7.8 mg daily. A one-litre
aspartame sweetened beverage contains 56 mg of methanol.
Heavy pop drinkers can get as much as 250 mg per day;
32
times the limit set by the EPA (Environmental Protection
Agency).
Methanol poisoning exhibits the following
symptoms: Headaches, dizziness, nausea, chills, weakness,
memory lapse, numbness, shooting pains, and behavioral
disturbances to mention a few. The results of aspartame
consumption can have immediate effects; and in some,
these
effects take place over a longer period of time.
The most recent addition to
the list of artificial sweeteners in
sucralose, sold under the trade name
Splenda.
Splenda has taken the market by
storm with promises of tasting like sugar
because it is
made from sugar.
What they haven’t told
you is that Splenda is not
natural and is closer in chemical composition to DDT,
a
deadly pesticide, than to sugar.
Sucralose is a synthetic
chemical which in a five step process adds chlorine
molecules to sucrose. But, if the FDA
approved it, it’s ok, right? Well, the
FDA approved aspartame, too. As of
2005, only six human trials had been conducted on
Splenda – with a grand total of
36 human subjects. And, in one year,
Splenda sales topped 117
million dollars. If you are eating
Splenda, you are acting as a
guinea pig since NO ONE knows what the long-term effects of
Splenda will be.
Let’s look at some
reasonable alternatives to artificial sweeteners.
Why do
people want something without calories?
Most people are
trying to lose weight and think that restricting calories
is the way to go. Let’s take a closer look at how the body
handles these sweets.
When you eat something sweet the
sweet taste is registered by the receptors on the tongue
and a message is sent to the brain to prepare the body for
carbohydrate metabolism. With an artificial sweet, the
taste is there and the body gets ready for food-containing
carbohydrates. The digestive functions get ready as do the
pancreas, the liver, etc. When the food doesn’t come, the
body has to readjust itself. In this process metabolic
functions are decreased and the appetite is activated.
Does this sound like a way to lose weight? So what
are the alternatives?
The most versatile of the natural sweeteners
is xylitol, a sugar alcohol
discovered in 1891.
Xylitol has been well
researched and is backed by 1500 published studies over 25
years. With a crystalline consistency
that looks and tastes like sugar,
xylitol is appropriate to use in place of sugar in
similar quantities. Xylitol,
which is absorbed very slowly by the body, is safe for
everyone, including children and diabetics.
It also has some amazing health benefits including
reduction of tooth decay, improved bone density, and
prevention of ear and upper respiratory infections.
An herb that has been in use
for centuries all over the world is a plant called
Stevia or Sweet Leaf. It is
indigenous to South America
and has been in use since the sixteenth century. It is a
member of the aster family and there are over 200 varieties
of the plant.
The one used as a sweetener with the highest
sweetness is Stevia
Rebaudiana, and it is
considered to be between 50 to 400 times sweeter than cane
sugar. One nice thing about Stevia
is that it has no calories and no toxicity. It is available
in individual packet, liquid form and the whole leaf.
I like using Stevia as
it only takes a few drops to sweeten a glass of tea. It can
be used in baking, but one will need to experiment with the
quantity. It is safe for diabetics and those with other
sugar disorders. There are cookbooks available to aid those
who want to get away from artificial sweeteners.
I urge you to do more research into the
aspartame issue. There are some good books on the topic.
Excitotoxins: The
Taste That Kills by Blaylock, Russell: Aspartame, Is
It Safe? by H.J. Roberts:
The Bitter Truth About Artificial Sweeteners by The
Aspartame Consumer Safety Network.
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