Answer to Suzie’s Question

Posted by: Janet on: April 10th, 2008  »  1 comment

This is a response to Suzie’s question tied to my last blog about sugar. She was puzzled to hear that artificial sweeteners can make you gain weight. Yup, sure surprises a lot of people! It seems that fake sugars might be helping us pack on the pounds! Recent studies show that artificial sweeteners can spur our appetites and boost insulin, the nasty fat-storage hormone (just like real sugar does). Who’da thunk? Studies are also finding that people who habitually turn to artificial sweeteners might actually develop more cravings for real sugar, leading them to pig out on pails of Ben & Jerry’s later. Plus, regular use of sugar substitutes can change your perception of what’s sweet, making you crave more and more sugar in order to be satisfied. Some weight-loss aid, huh? Even worse, preliminary studies at Purdue University show that consistently munching on sugar-free “diet foods” could inhibit the brain’s ability to regulate calorie intake. That means you could turn into a mean, not-so-lean, non-stop eating machine. Yikes! Can you say “love handles?”

So what’s the answer, you ask? Well, your best bet, actually, is to develop less of a taste for sweets in general, and view them as occasional, special treats. Personally, sugar makes me ravenous soon after I eat it. Half an hour later I could knaw off my left arm, I’m so hungry! The more I eat sugar, the more I definitely crave it. But what really got me to get a grip on my mega-sweet tooth and yank it was all of the reports from leading dermatologists documenting how sugar contributes to pre-mature aging. The more sugar you eat, the faster you age! Eeeek! It’s a free-radical free-for-all when you overdose on the white stuff, which many people do on a daily basis. And it seems that artificial sweeteners keep us locked into those sweet nothin’s that are making us older than our years. No thanks!

Personally, I think there are too many dark clouds surrounding artificial sweeteners. Are they safe? What are the long-term implications of having this weird stuff in our bodies? There are so many controversies and so many different opinions about the topic, it can make your head spin. And billions and billions of dollars are involved. Even if it’s found to cause cancer and cause you to grow a third eye, ear and nose, it ain’t goin’ nowhere with that much corporate profit tied into it. I’ve decided that I don’t want to be a guinea pig while science waits to see what’s good and what’s not good. (The two sugar substitutes that seem to be getting the big okay from the community of natural health experts are xylitol and stevia. You can google either one and get loads of info to help you decide if they’re right for you.)

Simply put, it’s all about moderation, moderation, moderation. When it comes to sweets—real or artificial—just remember the famous saying by Confucius: He who have too much sweet, have too much seat!

Comments (1)

  1. Reply

    Sacred Suzie | April 11, 2008 at 6:57 am →

    Thank you so much for writing this! I had no idea that this could happen. The only reason or cause in my opinion for these sweetners is for diabetics so they don’t go entirely without a little treat here and there, but you’re right, we really should focus on cutting our sugary cravings entirely. If we’re going to gain weight from artificial sweetners and we don’t have diabetes, what the heck’s the point? Thanks Janet, Queen of Nutrition!

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