Dangers of artificial sweeteners
A poster at Camp Pendleton’s 21-Area Health Promotion Center describes the effects of junk food that many Marines and sailors consume.
A new study is suggesting that the junk food that various diabetics and obese people tend to rely on is dangerous:
Many people feel that using artificial sweeteners instead of sugar is the healthier choice. But, researchers are now saying the opposite may be true.
The American Heart Association suggests that people should avoid added sugars, which are sugars and syrups put in foods during preparation, processing or right before consumption. Sugar intake has been linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, which includes risk factors for heat disease and stroke.
The AHA and American Diabetes Association said in July 2012 that artificial or non-nutritive sweeteners could be a good option to help people reduce calories and added sugars from their diets. In turn, you may even lose some pounds with these kinds of sweeteners — as long as you weren’t making up for it later in the day by eating more sweets, which some studies have showed.
However, an opinion article published on July 10 in Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism reveals that artificial sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose and saccharin may not be as good for you as you might have thought.
“It is not uncommon for people to be given messages that artificially-sweetened products are healthy, will help them lose weight or will help prevent weight gain,” author Susan E. Swithers, a professor of behavioral neuroscience at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., said in a press release. “The data to support those claims are not very strong, and although it seems like common sense that diet sodas would not be as problematic as regular sodas, common sense is not always right.”…
The study, which reviewed recent research papers, revealed that artificial sweeteners were linked to an increased risk of obesity, Type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease. Just drinking one diet a drink a day was enough to create a significantly heightened chance of developing one of these disorders, the researchers found.
Artificial sweeteners were also shown to activate different patterns in the brain’s pleasure centers that normally correspond to sweet tastes. This may mean that these products do not satisfy our sweet tooth as much as natural sugar. One study found non-caloric sweeteners made animals eat increased amounts of calorie-rich sweet tasting food. In the end, the animals exposed to artificial sweeteners gained more weight.
Other evidence showed that consuming artificial sweeteners often leads to weight gain. The authors believed the artificial products confused the body’s ability to regulate calories based on tasting something sweet.
Another study revealed a link between diet soda drinking and weight gain over time. For each diet drink the subjects consumed per day, they were 65 percent more likely to become overweight during the next seven to eight years. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57593133/artificial-sweeteners-could-lead-to-obesity-diabetes/
Background information from the research shows that people who regularly consume artificial sweetners show abnormal activation patterns in the pleasure centers of the brain in response to sweet taste. This suggests that these products may not satisfy desires related to sweet cravings. Animal studies previously conducted also showed that mice and rats given non-caloric sweetners have dampened psyiological responses to sweet taste. This desensitization can cause rodents to overindulge in calorie-rich, sweet-tasting food and gain weight.
Recent findings even suggest that artificial sweetners increase the risk for health problems to an extent similar to sugar products and may exacerbate the negative effects of sugar.
“These studies suggest that telling people to drink diet sodas could backfire as a public health message,” said Swithers, according to the release. “So the current public health message to limit the intake of sugars needs to be expanded to limit intake of all sweeteners, not just sugars.” http://www.scienceworldreport.com/articles/8065/20130710/artificial-sweeteners-really-healthier-sugar.htm
It has been my experience that artificial sweeteners are not healthy. The more people eat of them, generally speaking, the less they tend to eat real foods such as fruits and vegetables.
Oddly, years ago, the USA banned cyclamates (a type of sweetener) because it was considered carcinogenic (could cause cancer), but allowed saccharin (another artificial sweetener). About the same time, Canada banned saccharin as a carcinogen, but allowed cyclamates.
The Bible warns about obesity, getting fat, and excessive eating.
But it also warns about eating things that are not really food:
2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good (Isaiah 55:2).
Refined processed “breads,” artificial sweeteners, chemical additives, and some other items commonly associated with junk foods could be consistent with that warning.
People should try to eat real, not artificial, foods.
Some prophetic articles of possibly related interest may include:
GMOs and Bible Prophecy What are GMOs? Since they were not in the food supply until 1994, how could they possibly relate to Bible prophecy? Do GMOs put the USA and others at risk? Here is a related YouTube video GMO Risks and the Bible.
Obesity and Prophecy Does the Bible warn about the consequences of being obese? Is overeating dangerous? Is gluttony condemned?
Ten Simple Rules that Lead to Health Herbert Armstrong gives his opinions on this.
Does God Heal Today? What does the Bible teach? Herbert Armstrong tries to explain this.
UK Study Supports Daniel Diet Daniel and his companions looked better eating more vegetables and avoiding strange meats. Has modern science confirmed this?
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, British, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first?
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