Artificial sweeteners are popular as a food ingredient, mainly because most individuals naturally have a sweet tooth. Food manufacturers play on people’s desire to avoid sugar and add artificial sweeteners to foods. In many cases these are sweeteners with little or no energy content such as aspartame, acesulfame K or sucralose. Some evidence suggests that certain artificial sweeteners can be toxic, and this is most commonly associated with aspartame because it can cause neuronal over stimulation. However, there are more problems with sweeteners other than their alleged toxicity. Another major problem with artificial sweeteners is that they tend to be added to junk food and this encourages its overconsumption. In relation to this, artificial sweeteners also negatively affect insulin levels, and as a result can increase the risk of weight gain, despite being energy free. Minimising artificial sweetener intake can be achieved by eating a high quality diet centred on plant foods and high quality meat with high intakes of antioxidants and fibre.
Eat Well, Stay Healthy, Protect Yourself
RdB
