What about Artificial Sweeteners?

I recommend avoiding artificial sweeteners in virtually all situations because I believe fake sugars can have an adverse effect on your health. Some say the research is still not clear on this issue. But I say why wait when there’s enough information about it? Artificial sweeteners are used in many food items: diet soda, chewing gum, ice cream, iced-tea mixes and many other products. If you want to avoid them you must read the labels.

While substances such as saccharin are not recommended for children or pregnant women, and aspartame has been related to an increased incidence of migraine headaches and allergic reactions, another fact has been ignored: The use of artificial sweeteners is most often accompanied by increased consumption of food. In other words, if you use artificial sweeteners, studies show you often end up eating more food, usually sweets. What’s worse is that you may store more fat as well. Researchers are unclear why this happens, but certain factors seem to be implicated. It may be a learned process by the body. The tasting of sweet substances may cause the body to store, rather than burn, fat. Or, it may be related to the dehydration that accompanies consumption of artificial sweeteners. This may trigger the brain to increase the appetite and food intake as a means of restoring water balance. Eating low-calorie substances will lower the body’s metabolism. This will not only cause the body to store more fat but also activate the need to eat more food.

Some people argue that artificial sweeteners reduce calories. You may be fooled into believing that you are buying a more-healthful,low-calorie food when you choose a product made with fake sugar.

But you’re avoiding only 15 calories per teaspoon when using an artificial sweetener. This is not a significant caloric factor. Not only that, counting calories, as discussed elsewhere, is unhealthy.

Clearly if you want to be healthy and continually improve human performance, you need to understand how carbohydrates can affect overall health, especially in relation to your particular needs. In general, refined carbohydrates are best eliminated. The best choices are fruits, legumes and whole grains if tolerated, with small amounts of honey as a sweetener. As you begin to choose your carbohydrate foods more wisely, you will notice that you feel better. This is part of becoming more intuitive about your diet and individual needs. In addition to making wise choices about carbohydrate foods, you need to do the same when it comes to eating fat, which is discussed in the following chapters.