Are you avoiding processed sugars?

Maybe you’re watching your waistline?

Perhaps you or someone you love has diabetes?

Are you reaching for drinks and foods labeled:

“Sugar-Free”
“No sugar added”

Or how about the “diet” drinks that claim to be better for your health?

These “diet” and “no sugar added” foods and drinks have a dangerous secret…

Almost every single one contains some form of Artificial Sweetener.

We all know processed sugar is bad for us, but do you know the truth about artificial sweeteners?

They are made from chemicals, created in a laboratory, Not Mother Nature! And they negatively change how your body functions.

Symptoms Caused by Fake Sweeteners

  • Headaches & dizziness
  • Insomnia & fatigue
  • Depression & mood changes
  • Nausea & digestive distress
  • Weight gain
  • Memory and neurological issues
  • Even Cancer…..

Did you know that artificial sweeteners have been linked to more than 90 documented health concerns?!

Some people have reactions to processed foods but did you realize that a whopping 76% of those symptoms are linked to artificial sweeteners?

So why do the most commonly used fake sweeteners – aspartame, sucralose, and sugar alcohols – make us feel so terrible?

Let’s take them one at a time.

1. Aspartame-It contains nasty chemicals like methanol, phenylalanine, and aspartic acid. Both aspartic acid and phenylalanine directly affect the brain and nervous system, often leading to neurological issues. *Methanol is perhaps even worse because when it breaks down in the body, it turns into formaldehyde; you know the chemical they pump into corpses to keep them preserved longer for funeral viewings. This is appropriate for the frog in your high school biology class dissection, not your living body!

2. Sucralose… backed by clever marketing that convinced millions of people that it is a safe and healthy alternative to regular sugar. More lies!

Sucralose starts out as sucrose, table sugar, but then takes a turn for the worse. In order to get sucralose from sucrose, chemists must substitute chlorine atoms in place of some of the hydrogen-oxygen groups within sugar molecules.

And would you ever drink or eat chlorine?

I hope not because it’s a known toxin and carcinogen.

You know I’m a Gut Health Queen, remember I wrote Holistic Keto for Gut Health; A Program for Resetting Your Metabolism.

Well, some studies have shown that sucralose negatively alters gut bacteria, therefore upsetting the delicate balance between the good and bad guys in your gut, and compromising your microbiome (the good garden of bacteria in your gut).

And your gut is the throne of your immune system. If that is weakened, then you’re susceptible to many health issues such as allergies, autoimmune diseases, and cancer.

That’s not all. Similar studies also revealed that sucralose could lead to “glucose intolerance” – a dangerous precursor to diabetes.

3. Saccharin – a popular sugar alcohol…It’s been around for over 100 years, and like many artificial sweeteners, it was actually invented by a chemist.

Please be an informed consumer….. you may be interested to know that this chemist happened upon his discovery by accident.

He was working with coal tar, and for some reason, he decided to taste it and found it was sweet.

Not that coal tar is healthy, but nowadays, saccharin is made from dangerous chemicals like nitrous acid, chlorine, ammonia, anthranilic acid, and sulfur dioxide.

Here’s what the media isn’t telling you:

In the 1900s, the director of chemistry at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) said saccharin was “extremely injurious to health” – later, the FDA attempted to ban it but failed.

And so, it continues to contaminate tables in restaurants and homes around the world.

There are several “alcohol sugars” that are being widely used and touted as “healthy”, but they aren’t great for you. One common sweetener is Erythritol.

I’m a gut health gal, so when I personally felt how my gut did with Erythritol, I was ready to chuck it to the curb and tell my patients to do the same!

It’s true some people don’t experience abdominal symptoms with it, but far too many do, and this is a sign. It’s often added to “diabetic friendly” foods, and even monk fruit, because it’s cheaper than using pure monk fruit.

People often experience diarrhea, gas, and bloating from these alcohol sugars. No poopy pants for me!

The other issue is that our taste buds have been poorly trained to crave super-sweet things. Our brain is conditioned to crave super sweet, and these artificial sweeteners are Way sweeter than anything we’d find in nature.

We have been “programmed” to go for the sweet stuff, like super sweet, even artificially super duper sweet and it can take a week or two to wean off these chemicals. It’s so worth it!

The sad thing is this isn’t even a complete list of all the fake garbage hidden in our foods. There are other artificial sweeteners like neotame and acesulfame potassium poisoning the foods we eat daily.

Which all begs the question…

How on earth are we allowed – and even encouraged – to eat such toxic products?

I’ve come to the conclusion that when it comes to our health, the responsibility to foster it begins and ends with us!

Don’t let yourself fall victim to shady marketing and false claims.

Be an Informed Consumer!

I understand the allure of low-calorie and sugar-free. I remember the good ole days of being a competitive bodybuilding and barely surviving on a very low-calorie diet fueled by diet soda and little cans of tuna.

But when you consider the cost of consuming these toxic chemicals is ill health — It’s not worth it.

I know it’s tedious, but please become a label reader, every single label. It’s an act of self-love and self-care.

Begin looking for big chemical words that are difficult to pronounce and avoid those foods. Next, look for snacks naturally sweetened with fruit.

A few other natural sweeteners to consider:

  • Monk fruit (without erythritol, you can find it online, just look for “pure monk fruit”)
  • Maple syrup
  • Honey
  • Coconut sugar
  • Bochasweet (made from the bocha squash, zero sugar, zero calorie, zero glycemic index)
  • Yucon syrup
  • Lacuma
  • Stevia

Consider organic turkey sticks for a quick snack. Or choose one of my nut bars or chocolate nut balls to make at home, freeze for when you need them, or the kids want a healthy snack.

Nature knows best, these artificial sweeteners just aren’t good for you, in fact, evidence shows they cause harm. Protect yourself and your family by reading labels and getting off the fake sweeteners and onto natural options.

Blessings of Vibrant Health,
Kristin Grayce