The Dangers of Artificial Sweeteners

The dangers of artificial sweeteners have been known for a number of years, but are just now coming to the awareness of the general public who consumes them.

Equal®, an artificial sweetener (aspartame), and Splenda® (or sucralose) the other popular artificial sweetener currently on the market, have been the solution to many people who are trying to lose weight, cut down on their sugar consumption, or have diabetes (like I do!).

Indeed, both of these artificial sweeteners have been heavily marketed over the past decade as safe alternatives to sugar and can both be found as ingredients in a multitude of "low calorie" and "sugar free" products. The use of these artificial sweeteners is widespread and the dangers of these artificial sweeteners is contributing to epidemic health problems here in the United States as well as in other developed countries. I will explain!

So what are the dangers of artificial sweeteners? First and foremost, they are what is known as "neurotoxins." A neurotoxin is a poison that acts on the nervous system. For example, lead and lead products were found to be neurotoxins and extremely harmful to the entire body. Lead paint was banned in U.S. residential paint in 1978. (It was banned in France and many other countries prior to 1920.) Another example of a neurotoxin is snake venom. Aspartame and sucralose have the same effects on the body as lead paint and snake venom.

Needless to say, a neurotoxin can cause any number of health problems. Although the body is constantly at work removing toxins and waste products from the body through cleansing and detoxification processes, consuming artificial sweeteners on a regular basis can create a build-up of these poisons in the body that is difficult to eliminate.

Another health danger of artificial sweeteners is that they create an acidic body pH. A healthy pH range for the body is slightly alkaline. The body performs its multitude of biochemical functions properly when the pH of the body cells and tissues is in a healthy range. Unbalanced body pH (primarily too acidic) occurs as a result of poor nutritional habits and creates an unhealthy environment that fosters illness, including cancer.

Although artificial sweeteners are promoted to help with reducing calories and weight loss, the facts do not support this. High on the list of the dangers of artificial sweeteners is that they are chemical compounds that are not natural. They are not recognized by the body as food and cannot be metabolized and interfere with normal metabolism. And we thought artificial sweeteners were helping us, in actual fact they're messing up our health!

Now that you're aware of some of the dangers of artificial sweeteners, how can you solve the problem of cutting down on sugar but with a healthy solution?? You can check out stevia sweetener, a natural sweetener that comes from a South American plant. When I first discovered stevia several years ago, it wasn't super easy to find. But now it's very popular and readily available as the demand for healthy alternatives to artificial sweeteners has grown.

I'll end off this article by providing you with a couple of links to videos that will give you more data on the dangers of artificial sweeteners:

Splenda Exposed

Dr. Russell Blaylock, a neurosurgeon on aspartame

Cheers,
BB

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