Weight loss is a multi-billion dollar industry. As part of that industry, artificial sweeteners play a huge role when it comes to flavoring our foods, reducing calorie content, and creating diet plans that provide a positive amount of nutrition with minimal calories.
The main problem with the entire equation is the hype that surrounds them. They are not all they are made out to be when it comes to benefits. If the truth is told, the drawbacks of their use far outweigh their benefits.
The effects on the body can be misleading. It’s very true that they have almost no calories, but the reaction they cause in the brain actually causes you to eat sooner and in larger amounts than if regular sugar was used.
Artificial Sweeteners and the Weight Loss Myth
Manufacturers have started putting artificial sweeteners in a wide variety of products. Not only are they including them in diet products, the sweeteners are gradually being introduced into non-diet foods as well under the guise of flavorings and preservatives.
These sweeteners are so destructive because it artificially speeds up the cycle of our brain initiating feelings of hunger. If you consume foods that contain artificial sweeteners, the goal is to trick the mind into believing your body has consumed what it needs. While we are getting the nutrients, there aren’t enough calories in diet foods to allow the body to maintain homeostasis. When a person has finished eating, signals are sent to the brain that calories are on the way. When they don’t arrive, the signal to eat again is initiated. This results in eating more often. As the cycle is repeatedly perpetuated, the body begins to store more and more fat cells.
Toxic Cocktails
When artificial sweeteners are broken down into their main components, the results look more like a toxic cocktail that something you would want to put into your body to lose weight. The sad thing is that many of the components are natural. Aspartame is known to contain methanol, which when broken down by the body turns into formaldehyde. Splenda is not sugar, but chlorinated compound that is formulated to look and taste like sugar. Even though saccharin was thought to cause cancer in humans, it hasn’t been proven.
Each of these three artificial sweeteners is used throughout the food industry to improve the taste of foods and beverages. In most cases, they are included in the list of ingredients. Due to the backlash of the media coverage concerning many of their side effects, however, manufacturers have been quick to find ways to include them as ingredients but not list them on the label.
Can Finances Influence Hide the Truth?
Many scientists and health professionals believe that the only reason many of these toxic substances and artificial sweeteners have been approved by the FDA is because the manufacturers have financially influenced their decision. One fact that supports this claim is the introduction of Aspartame in the early 80’s. Most products must go through at least seven years of testing before being considered for approval. Aspartame, on the other hand, was approved for sale to the public in less than seven months. Was money a determining factor?
More than likely, it was the only factor. With weight loss now being considered a cash cow when it comes to food manufacturing, almost every brand name has one or more foods on their list that contain some form of artificial sweetener. The goal is to target anyone who is trying to lose weight quickly without compromising flavor.
Between the weight loss industry and individuals who have been diagnosed with diabetes who are forced to use many of these toxic products, artificial sweeteners are consumed in large amounts all over the country. Manufacturers have become so adept at hiding ingredients or creating new ways of listing them, that many people have no idea what they are consuming.
By finding loopholes in the FDA guidelines, these companies are doing whatever they can to keep artificial sweeteners in the mainstream when it comes to food and beverage products. The rise in obesity, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses over the last 20 years is proof positive that artificial sweeteners are not doing what they claim. The only truth they have in their advertising is that these sweeteners improve the taste of the foods that contain them. On the other side, the degree of damage to a person’s overall health that is caused by the artificial sweeteners is becoming more and more apparent.
~ Health Scams Exposed
