Also branded as NutraSweet and Equal, aspartame is is used by over 200 million people worldwide and is found in more than 6,000 products (Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, Flintstones Vitamins, Fiber One cereal, Slim Fast, Orbit gum, Red Bull, etc…).
This chemical sugar substitute has been, and remains, controversial since its approval as a food additive by the FDA in 1981. The FDA maintains that aspartame is one of the most thoroughly studied food additives the agency has ever approved and is safe. However, many consumers have reported symptoms ranging from headaches to gastrointestinal problems to even blindness and death from aspartame.
The multi-billion dollar aspartame industry insists that “aspartame kills” is an “urban legend”.
I’m not going to get into the specifics of the “he said, she said” on this debate, but if you have a horse in the race (and if you drink or eat anything that is labeled “diet” or “weight loss” you most likely do), I would urge you to at least take a few minutes on the Google machine and do your research on what’s going into your body. Don’t get caught up in the hype of the packaging, take your time to read ingredients.
In general, my advice is to always KEEP IT REAL. Why put chemicals in your system if you don’t have to? It’s not rocket science – it just makes sense.
Sugar is not bad for you…it’s only bad for you when you eat a carton of ice cream in one sitting. If you feel like a cookie, then pull out your grandmother’s recipe, bake a batch, have one, and give the rest away …rather than gobble up 5 “diet cookies”.
Here’s a short list of some natural sweeteners to consider as substitutes for sugar:
Stevia: A very sweet herb from South America that’s available in powder and liquid form at health-food stores.
Agave Nectar: The agave (uh-gah-vay) plant comes from Mexico. Its fleshy leaves cover the pineapple-shaped heart of the plant, which contains a sweet sticky juice called Agave Nectar.
Honey: Sweet syrupy fluid made by bees from the nectar collected from flowers and stored in nests or hives as food. It is composed of fructose and glucose. Good types include red clover honey, or orange blossom honey.
Fructose: A natural low-glycemic sugar that’s found in fruit. You can also find it in granulated form at health-food stores. Fructose is sweeter than regular table sugar, so you need less.
Hope you’re reading this Deven.
