Are Artificial Sweeteners Healthy?
Well, the FDA approved many of them and they are in all kinds of foods, so they must be healthy, right? I hate to question authority and the norm, but…
Let’s look at this ingredient that many people ingest regularly if not multiple times a day that research and experience indicates causes a variety of health problems. Now, if you currently use artificial sweeteners, just take a deep breath and consider allowing some information to help you change your mind (and your health). I am lumping all artificial sweeteners together, although different ones have different side effects and some newer ones do not have much data available about potential side effects. I personally avoid them all and use small amounts of natural sweeteners like raw honey, turbinado sugar (raw cane), molasses, brown sugar, and even white sugar.
Here are a few commonly reported side effects of regular use of artificial sweeteners which gradually disappear when their use is discontinued:
- headache or migraine
- increase in appetite and cravings for sweets
- slow, steady weight gain and lowered metabolism
- lack of sex drive, decrease in quantity and quality of sperm
- moodiness and depression
- increased instance of cancer
- fatigue and tiredness
- same symptoms as Fibromyalgia and Graves disease
- aching joints
- ringing in the ears
- increase in blood pressure
- loss of hair
- lack of mental clarity and memory recall
There really are too many side effects to name. As of 1995, the FDA had received well over 10,000 aspartame related complaints, more than all other complaints combined. And it is estimated that only 1 out of 100 people having symptoms actually file an official complaint about a food product.
In short, not only are artificial sweeteners not delivering what people want (all the sweet with none of the bad consequences) they are giving people a lot of things nobody wants. There is evidence suggesting that damage from artificial sweeteners is cumulative. So the longer you have used them, the more pronounced symptoms you are likely to have. In fact, one of the terms used by doctors is “aspartame poisoning”.
There is a great resource about artificial sweeteners at 321 Recipes that has hundreds of articles from doctors and nutritionists. You can also do a google search for “side effects of artificial sweeteners” and have thousands of websites to examine. I hope you will consider kicking the sweetener habit and then letting me know the health improvements you experience.
Special thanks for the photo to ruthdeb on Flickr.
