Sweetener or Sweet Killer?

I must admit I have an overpowering sweet tooth. I love the taste of sugar and anything sweet from baked goods to chocolate, after all I am human. On average most people consume around 2 to 3 pounds of sugar each week. 2 to 3 pounds? Now you are probably thinking I don’t use sugar on anything. It’s not what you are adding it’s what is in so many foods such as bread, breakfast cereal, mayonnaise, peanut butter, ketchup, spaghetti sauce, and microwave meals.

The "glycemic index" is a measure of how each food affects our blood-glucose levels, with each food getting a numbered rating. A high rating on the glycemic index means that our blood glucose levels increase quickly causing the pancreas to secrete insulin to drop blood sugar levels. These quick fluctuations of our blood sugar levels are very unhealthy for us because of the stress it places on our body. The lower the rating, the slower the absorption and digestion process, which provides a more gradual, healthier mix of sugars into the bloodstream. One of sugar's major drawbacks is that it raises the insulin level, which inhibits the release of growth hormones, which in turn depresses the immune system. This is not something you want to take place if you want to avoid disease.

Influx of sugar into the bloodstream upsets the body's blood-sugar balance, triggering the release of insulin, which the body uses to keep blood-sugar at a constant and safe level. Insulin also promotes the storage of fat, so that when you eat sweets high in sugar, you're making way for rapid weight gain and elevated triglyceride levels, both of which have been linked to cardiovascular disease. Complex carbohydrates tend to be absorbed more slowly, lessening the impact on blood-sugar levels.

So let me get to what I want to talk about today and that is artificial sweeteners. When it comes to the “artificial” sweeteners the only one you should be using is Stevia. Stevia is used as a no-calorie, low-carb, herbal sweetener that is up to one hundred times sweeter than table sugar – an alternative to sugar and artificial chemical sweeteners such as aspartame. Used around the world for centuries with no adverse reactions, stevia is also said to be a great, healthful alternative for diabetics.

Stevia (also called sweet leaf, sweet leaf or sugar leaf) is a genus of about 150 species of herbs and shrubs belonging to the Asteraceae (sunflower) family, native to subtropical and tropical South America and Central America (north to Mexico). The species are found in the wild in semi-arid habitats ranging from grassland to mountain terrain. Stevia does produce seeds, but only a small percentage of them germinate. Planting cloned stevia is a much more effective way of reproduction. (Wikipedia)

Let’s take Splenda or sucralose as an alternative. The background on sucralose is that it was discovered while trying to create a new insecticide. The claim that it is made from sugar is a misconception about the final product. The chemical sucralose, marketed as "Splenda", has replaced aspartame as the #1 artificial sweetener in foods and beverages. Aspartame has been forced out by increasing public awareness that it is both a neurotoxin and an underlying cause of chronic illness worldwide.

So let’s skip all the scientific terms here and just say that splenda/sucralose is simply chlorinated sugar. Chlorine is mother natures vicious attack dog, a highly excitable, ruthless atomic element used as a biocide in disinfectants, cleaners such as bleach, insecticide and WWI poison gas and hydrochloric acid.

Sucralose is a chemically manipulated molecule of sugar where three hydroxyl groups (hydrogen + oxygen) are replaced with three chlorine atoms. Natural sugar is a hydrocarbon built around 12 carbon atoms. Not being able to excrete this from the body can cause serious damage to the processes of human metabolism and, eventually, our internal organs. The liver is a detoxification organ which deals with ingested poisons. These chemicals or chlorocarbons enter the liver's metabolic cells, and destroy them.

Splenda can produce swollen livers, calcified kidneys, damage to the brain and nervous system and affect our genetics and our immune system. Thus, chlorocarbon poisoning can cause cancer, birth defects, and immune system destruction. Sucralose has also been found to shrink the thymus gland which is critical to our immune systems.

All of theses “fake” chemical sweeteners are as a rule of thumb unsafe for our consumption. The toxin known as sucralose was given this name as a play on the technical name of sugar or sucrose. Please remember one is not the other, one is food the other is a toxin.

So next time you are in the grocery store and you are looking for a healthy alternative to sugar look for the only good sweetener called Stevia. For all who are asking where to get it? I have found it at Whole Foods, Loblaws, sometimes Metro and most recently Wallmart in the pharmacy section with all the vitamins. Splenda is a great tasting alternative to sugar and is a hell of a lot sweeter then you would expect.

Be Safe and Feed that Sweet tooth, but keep it healthy.
JJ Confalone