How Eliminating Artificial Sweeteners Can Help Reverse Diabetes

Research shows the intake of artificial sweeteners has increased by 54% in adults and 200% in children in recent decades.

Sugar is the most addictive substance in the world, next to hardcore drugs. Next to that are artificial sweeteners, which mimic the effects of sugar without calories. That is inaccurate in recent scientific research; these artificial sweeteners have been shown to cause diabetes, weight gain, dementia, ADD, and ADHD. They are hidden in everything and do not have immediate side effects or symptoms. In today's article, I will explain to you how these artificial sweeteners affect our bodies and can cause long-term health problems. I will give you tips on how to avoid these ingredients and implement healthier sweeteners in your diet.

What are Artificial Sweeteners?

Artificial Sweeteners are substitutes for sugar that contain little to no calories but mimic the taste of natural sugar. You can find these sweeteners in candies, sugar-free products, frozen dinners, and drinks, especially sugar-free or diet sodas, juices, breakfast cereals, and much more. Artificial sweeteners have been shown to be sweeter than sugar, meaning they can use less to achieve the same sweetness as sugar. Many people have thought these sweeteners were a great way to control their blood glucose levels, but it has now been shown that they are no better for your glucose levels or brain.

How do they affect the brain?

Artificial sweeteners have been linked to cognitive problems, such as learning disabilities, ADD, anxiety, depression, brain fog, insomnia, addiction, etc. These sweeteners affect the brain's synthesis and release of dopamine and serotonin. Dopamine and serotonin are the regulators of neurophysiological activity. Sweeteners like aspartame act as a chemical stressor by elevating plasma cortisol levels, increasing the production of free radicals in the brain. Excess cortisol levels and free radicals may increase the brain's vulnerability to oxidative stress, adversely affecting neurobehavioral health.

These sweeteners affect the decision-making part of our brain and act as a placebo for hormones like serotonin and dopamine, making them addictive. When we feel stressed or emotionally vulnerable, we crave dopamine as a distraction. So when we consume something like diet soda, candy, or other processed foods that contain sweeteners, they become the filler to our stress. Unfortunately, making them our go-to for distraction by running to these foods puts us at risk for cognitive decline and metabolic dysfunction.

How do they cause Diabetes& Obesity?

Even though these sweeteners say they do not spike our insulin hormone. Recent research confuses our pancreas during digestion, causing our body to release more insulin due to its sweet nature. When this happens, our insulin hormone becomes overworked, eventually leading to insulin resistance or pre-diabetes.

When we are insulin resistant, our body doesn't know what to do with sugar, so it stores it as fat because our pancreas is exhausted. Over time, this causes our body and brain to reverse their average metabolic rate, causing us to gain unnecessary amounts of weight, leading to obesity.

What Are the Worst Artificial Sweeteners?

There are many artificial sweeteners, but here is a list of some of the worst ones to be on the lookout for while reading ingredient labels;

● Aspartame

● Acesulfame potassium

● Alitame

● Cyclamate

● Dulcin

● Equal

● Glucin

● Kaltame

● Mogrosides

● Neotame

● NutraSweet

● Nutrinova

● Phenylalanine

● Saccharin

● Splenda

● Sorbitol

● Sucralose

● Twinsweet

● Sweet N Low

● Xylitol

What Are The Best Sweeteners To Use?

Some of the best sweeteners are sugar-containing products like all-natural honey and maple syrup. That sounds crazy right? They both contain some amounts of sugar and are extremely sweet, but they also include essential nutrients our body needs. For example, honey contains bee propels, which is a crucial nutrient for our brain and immune system. It has been shown in some studies that it can help with regulating A1C numbers in people with diabetes. In addition, honey contains antioxidants and antibacterial and healing compounds for the internal and external parts of the body.

Maple syrup contains riboflavin, zinc, magnesium, calcium, and potassium minerals. These nutrients can help kill off zombie cells and heal any oxidative damage in the cells.

The Takeaway

The message of this article is to bring awareness to the ingredients in your foods. The more you can get to know your food and where it comes from, the better your relationship with your food and your decisions will be.