Do you eat sugar-free diet foods in your quest to lose weight? How effective has it been for you? You might be surprised to find out that most people do NOT lose weight with sugar-free diets foods. They may even gain weight. In addition, foods that are sugar-free almost always have artificial sweeteners added, and this is bad news. Manufacturers have gone to great lengths to convince you of the safety of their sugar substitutes, but many studies and many reports by consumers tell another story.
Artificial Sweeteners Cause Increased Intake of Calories
\"Sugar Free Diet\"
Artificial sweeteners found in almost all sugar-free diet foods seem to give you MORE of a sweet tooth, not less, and tend to make people eat more in general, not less! This is especially true of beverages like diet sodas, but also true of other sugar-free items. A study that was released to the American Diabetes Association in 2005 showed that the chance of being overweight actually rises 65% with each diet soda you consume every day! Did you know that?
Diet Sodas Contain Artificial Sweeteners and More Toxic Ingredients
1 out of every 2 adults drink diet soda today, in spite of its list of ingredients that include artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, saccharin or sucralose, artificial color and preservatives, phosphoric acid and natural flavors, which invariably include MSG. Are you perhaps still a diet soda drinker? Did you know that preservatives such as sodium benzoate are often carcinogenic, phosphoric acid may cause osteoporosis and higher rates of bone fractures in girls, and natural flavors that contain MSG are known neurotoxins?
Artificial Sweeteners May Cause Brain Tumors, Mood Disorders and More
In addition, aspartame (NutraSweet® and Equal®) has been implicated by some scientists and medical professionals in possibly causing serious diseases like brain tumors and lesions. It has also been blamed for all sorts of neurotoxic side effects, such as seizures, headaches, dizziness, mood disorders, anxiety and more. Saccharin and sodium benzoate are carcinogenic. Sucralose, the new artificial sweetener for diet sodas and many other foods, has not been studied extensively on humans, and concerns have been raised about the possible adverse effects of its use on the thymus gland, an organ that helps the immune system function properly. Sucralose has also been accused of causing drug-like feelings of disorientation and confusion, depression and anxiety, diarrhea, fatigue, headaches and more.
Aspartame Stimulates Appetite & May Cause Weight Gain
Many articles and studies have shown that aspartame in diet sodas and other sugar-free diet foods actually stimulates the appetite and causes carbohydrate cravings. The American Cancer Society has documented that people who use artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose actually gain more weight than those who do not use them. So if you are using diet soda or other sugar-free diet foods, you are probably endangering your long-term health, and NOT losing weight anyways! So, stop using sugar-free diet foods today!
Small Amounts of Natural Sugars in Diet Better than Artificial Sweeteners
If you are diabetic, you really want to stay away from all concentrated sugars until you get better (and yes, type II diabetes can actually go away if you do the right things health wise, like getting enough sleep, reducing stress, exercising, eating right and getting enough vitamins and minerals). If you are not diabetic, small amounts of natural sweetenters like evaporated cane juice (found in Rapadura and Succanat), maple syrup and raw honey from bees NOT fed corn syrup are far better for you to include in your diet than artificial sweeteners, in my opinion. If you have a hard time staying away from sugar, you may need to make a bigger diet change. Many people find that when they start eating real foods, make up for vitamin and mineral deficiencies with those foods and sometimes with whole-food supplements, and make sure they get enough natural proteins and fats, including virgin coconut oil, in their diets, that their sugar cravings gradually disappear.
Copyright 2008 Karen Pijuan. This article may be copied only in its entirety and only if all links, including those in the resource box or the about-the-author section, remain intact.
Sugar-Free Diet Foods Seem to Cause Adverse Health Problems and Weight Gain
Karen Pijuan is the owner of several health-related websites and has written numerous articles about nutrition, vitamins, healthy living, whole food supplements, natural body care and cleaning products, natural weight loss and more. More information on healthy living can be found at her EcoViva website: http://www.EcoViva.com
For more information on vitamins and what to look for in finding truly healthy whole food supplements, go to http://www.HealthyVitaminsRx.com