Understanding Food Labels, Part 3: Sugar-Free & Artificial Sweeteners

  

In my last article we talked about how fat doesn’t make you fat and eating lowfat products can contribute to heart disease and other health problems. When fat is removed from a product, more sugar or artificial sweeteners will be added to make up for the loss of flavor.

You may see products advertising: “Light” or “Sugar-free” or “Low Calorie” or “Diet” – these labels should concern you. It’s a good idea to always read and understand the ingredients.

In the United States, six intensely sweet sugar substitutes have been approved for use: Aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal), Sucralose (Splenda), Neotame (NutraSweet), Acesulfame Potassium (Nutrinova), Saccharin (Sweet’N Low) and Stevia (extracts known a Reb-A, Truvia, PureVia). You may also see sugar alcohols such as Xylitol, Malitol and others that end in “ol.”

While these are all approved, they are not without controversy. Dr. Hyman explains in his book “The Blood Sugar Solution” how all sugar substitutes can make you fat.

Tricking your brain into thinking you are getting something sweet plays dirty tricks on your metabolism.  Artificial sweeteners disrupt the normal hormonal and neurological signals that control hunger and satiety (feeling full).  A study of rats that were fed artificially sweetened food found that their metabolism slowed down and they were triggered to consume more calories and gain more weight than rats fed sugar-sweetened food. In another alarming study, rats offered the choice of cocaine or artificial sweeteners always picked the artificial sweetener, even if the rats were previously programmed to be cocaine addicts.

Diet drink consumption has increased 400 percent since 1960.  Those who consume diet drinks regularly have a 200 percent increased risk of weight gain, a 36 percent increased risk of pre-diabetes or metabolic syndrome, and a 67 percent increased risk of diabetes. A study of 400 people found that those who drank two diet sodas a day or more increased their waist size by five times.

Another controversy associated with all artificial sweeteners is that they may cause many other health problems, including cancer. Aspartame for example, can cause tumors and contribute to MS, lupus, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, headaches, memory loss, dizziness, vertigo and fatigue. Sucralose (Splenda) may adversely affect your immune system and may retard placental fetal development in pregnant women. Blurred vision, water retention, hypotension, headaches, bloating, cramping, gas, shortness of breath, hives, rashes, muscle pain, weakness and joint pain have been reported.

Stevia is a tropical plant that has been used as a sweetener and for medicinal purposes for hundreds of years. In 1991, after receiving an anonymous complaint, the FDA labeled stevia as an “unsafe food additive”. Clinical trials showed that stevia can mitigate cancer cell proliferation in laboratory mice, suggesting that it has properties that are anti-mutagenic. This finding was criticized on procedural grounds that the data was mishandled in such a way that even distilled water would appear mutagenic. Supporters of stevia believe the FDA was pressured by the artificial sweetener industry because the stevia plant is natural and cannot be patented. However, extracts from the plant can be patented. Fast forward to 2008, The Coca-Cola Company (Cargill) develops Truvia; PepsiCo and Merisant develop PureVia; and Corn Products International develops Enliten. The FDA gave no objection to these patented extracts. The use of stevia extracts in processed food is growing. These extracts are new to the food industry and some may caution overconsumption of these products. Minimal side effects have been reported – mostly gastro-intestinal (GI) distress and some nausea, but more research is needed. If you have a sugar addiction, consuming stevia may still trick your metabolism and increase your cravings.

 We need to ask ourselves, are diet beverages, gum, dressings, yogurts and other processed foods sweetened with artificial sweeteners worth the risk of weight gain, cancers, headaches and other health problems? Maybe, the question should ultimately be, should products with sugar be consumed instead of products with sugar substitutes? Well, good question! One great example of this question in our everyday lives is the following: Is Coke better than Diet Coke? Did you know that Coke is sweetened with high fructose corn syrup (a sugar), as opposed to Diet Coke which is sweetened with Aspartame (a sugar substitute)? Which is better? At this point one might think sugar is better, but recent studies have shown sugar is just as bad. Who knows? It’s kind of like asking if you want me to break your right leg or your left leg? But this is a question for another day. In fact, we’ll cover that in my next article.


Food Labels:

Understanding Food Labels - Lowfat vs.Full Fat

Understanding Food Labels - Natural Vs. Organic

Understanding Food Labels, Part 2: Lowfat vs. Full Fat

DO NOT EAT A LOW-FAT DIET

Low-fat is a food marketing term that was widely used in the 80’s and 90’s when we were taught all fat was bad. I remember working at McDonalds in high school and opting for McDonalds low-fat vanilla shake and low-fat cookies (made with trans fats) as a meal because at that time, they had the lowest fat grams on the menu.  Counting fat grams never helped me lose weight and I’m pretty sure my cookie and milkshake diet had a negative effect on my health.

Now we know fats play an important and vital role in our health (with the exception of trans fats). We need fats - good fats, even saturated fats are vital for a normal metabolism, heart, bone, liver, lung and brain health. Unfortunately, many people are still highly influenced by low-fat marketing and do not realize selecting a low-fat option over a full fat option may be worse for your health.

There are good fats and bad fats and that’s why so it’s important to read the labels. Saturated fats have a bad rap but are they are not always bad. For example coconut is high in saturated fat but it’s full of healthy benefits because of lauric acid which strengthens the immune system – but those benefits are removed when the fat is removed from coconut.

Trans fats do not exist in nature. It comes from chemically altered oils as hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils. Trans fats are used in some processed foods and low-fat products. They increase the risk of coronary heart disease by raising levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol and lowering “good” HDL cholesterol.

How Food Manufactures are Deceiving You

Some food manufactures have removed trans fats from their products but there are plenty of manufacturers hiding it from you. Some products may have trans fat, even if the label say “0”. How can they do that? If it has .5 grams per serving or less, it will say “0” – this is where it’s important to read the ingredients. For example, a small bag of cookies from the vending machine may have 2-4 servings.  If the label says “0” trans fat, it could have 0.5 grams x 4 servings = 2 grams of trans fat for that little bag! If you didn’t read or understand the label, you would assume you haven’t consumed any trans fat. Research shows that increasing daily trans fat to just 2 grams would increase one’s risk of cardiovascular disease by 30%. The moral of this story is, check the ingredients, and then make sure you don’t see any hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil listed in the ingredients.

In lowfat products food manufactures will increase the sugars or salt to make up from the loss of flavor from removing the fat. This high salt content increases our risk for high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, and kidney disease as well as risk of asthma, kidney stones, osteoporosis and stomach cancer. The increase in sugar can cause spikes of blood sugar levels telling your body to store fat and increasing your risk of type 2 diabetes.

To keep the sugar and calories low, they made add artificial sweeteners such as aspartame or Splenda (sucralose). Aspartame can cause tumors and contribute to MS, lupus, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, headaches, memory loss, dizziness, vertigo and fatigue. Sucralose may adversely affect your immune system and may retard placental fetal development in pregnant women. Also blurred vision, water retention, hypotension, headaches, bloating, cramping, gas, shortness of breath, hives, rashes, muscle pain, weakness and joint pain have been reported.

Another trick food manufactures use to make a product lowfat is to pump the product full of air – this would also make the product lower in calories. A perfect example of this is ice cream. The full fat, more expensive ice creams are rich and creamy. The “light” or low fat versions are usually not as satisfying because you are eating cream mixed with air. As you scoop the ice cream you may notice it compressing or melt and that pint or quart won’t feed as many people as you thought.

Salad dressings are some of the dirtiest foods you can eat. They may be filled with sugar, sodium, artificial sweeteners, MSG and unhealthy oils. If eating out, skip the pre-made dressings opting for lemons, limes or salsa. If you’re at home, whip together olive oil with juice from citrus, vinegars or mustards.

Only use coconut oils for cooking and olive oil for low heat cooking and salads. Nut oils are great for salads too. Avoid vegetable oils and canola which is a GMO oil. There is no such thing as a canola plant. Canola is a GMO variety of the rape seed plant. Corn and soy oils most likely come from GMO corn and soy.

If low-fat products remove the healthy benefits, add sugars, artificial sweeteners and sodium that contribute to disease, then why would you buy the low-fat version of the product? Eating fat doesn’t make you fat, eating too many calories and inflammation foods make you fat.

Toss out all of those old "low-fat" cookbooks. Embrace fats and don’t be deceived – be smart and read the labels! Pretty soon you’ll figure out what foods you can trust.

Next: Understanding Food Labels: Sugar-Free & Artificial Sweeteners
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