Dear all,
I hope this finds you well. There’s a whole new craze nowadays about artificial sweeteners. If you are on a weight loss journey, word out there is you need to switch from sugar to artificial sweeteners. Almost all cafes and coffee shops in Nairobi have this option on the table. Question is, are we all falling in a trap? If you stop sugar all together, is it necessary to use an alternative or are you better off not taking anything at all?
There are many types of artificial sweetener brands out there while a plant based low calorie sweetener available is stevia. For diabetic patients using artificial sweeteners, stevia is preferred as it contains less carbohydrates per gram. Normal artificial sweeteners would have a risk of raising blood sugar in a diabetic patient.
Artificial sweeteners have not been shown to cause cancer yet, this is because studies done have used smaller amounts than that used by a normal person daily. The studies too, are small based trials and cannot give us a better conclusion for the whole population. What is of interest though, an analysis of multiple studies on artificial sweeteners show that these alternative sugar sources have a higher risk of metabolic disease, Type 2 Diabetes and heart disease. Funny considering they were meant to help curb these conditions, right?
Several explanations arise;
1. Artificial sweeteners can change habit, meaning taking a “healthier” sugar might make one make other unhealthy choices. For example, taking diet coke might make one consume chips more than recommended with the assumption that the diet coke is a healthier choice.
2. As we consume these sweeteners, our taste buds are over exposed to the amount of sugar, since these sweeteners taste sweeter per ounce/gram than normal sugar. This therefore makes people take more of it without considering the amount of carbohydrates in foods. This on its own can also cause mood swings.
Several small studies show other side effects of artificial sweeteners such as fatigue, colitis (inflammation of large colon), sleeping problems, nausea & vomiting and migraines to name a few.
Therefore, before you pick up the next sachet of artificial sweetener, ask yourself, do I need it? Or can I adjust to no sugar at all? Remember sugar and salt are acquired tastes and you can train your taste buds to have less
Kind Regards,
Dr. Salwa Shahbal
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