Sugar-free or reduced-sugar foods and beverages are popular everywhere.
Low calorie sweeteners are referred to as cigar substitutes, and we are acquainted with them as sweeteners.
It is a rage as most celebrities use them and fitness trainers recommend them. This is chiefly because they provide sweetness without calories. All set to lend a hand for obese or diabetic people. However, the real safety of these products is mysterious, which is why they are placed under the GRAS list in the US — generally recognized as safe. This list indicates that we don't have enough evidence to say that they are safe and not enough evidence to say they aren't. Tests are underway to ensure whether they have any long-term effects. They found them to be really harmful if ingested in large quantities daily, about 8-10 packets a day, which is not the amount a typical human would normally ingest. The most popular ones we use are Tropical Slim, Sweet N Low, Splenda, Stevia, Xylitol, Sugarfree, Equal and Nutrasweet.
It is particularly illustrious for cooking and baking. Not just for diabetics but for a healthy lifestyle. We all contain cravings, and no disease can source cessation.
When it comes to cooking, Sweet N Low, Stevia, Sugarfee and Splenda get top billing. Equal and Nutrasweet are unwavering and when heated to high temperatures may lose their sweet zest. They can be used to sweeten baked goods and other sweeteners can be added after cooking as an after effect. Sweet N Low is currently the only brand that offers a brown sugar substitute.
The “artificial sweeteners” that make them possible are among the most striking ingredients of the food supply. Science demonstrates the safety of the five low-calorie sweeteners currently approved for use in foods in the United States — acesulfame K, aspartame, neotame, saccharin, and sucralose. These are a group of sweeteners that consist of matter with a very concentrated and strong sweet taste used in small amounts to replace the sweetness of much larger amounts of sugar. Sweeteners with alitame, cyclamate, and steviol glycosides are not approved as food ingredients in the United States but can be found in countries by sheer negligence. The availability of a variety of safe sweeteners is of benefit to consumers because it permits producers to devise a variety of good-tasting delightful foods and beverages that are sweet and safe. The “sugar replacers” are the other type substitutes, both the physical bulk and sweetness of sugar with its core ingredients. Sucralose has zero calories, and because it is not considered a carbohydrate by our body, it has no effect on blood sugar levels. Used in Splenda it is 600 times sweeter than sugar. Saccharin, used in Sweet N Low, is 300 times sweeter than sugar; it is an organic molecule made from petroleum. Aspartame is used in NutraSweet and Equal amongst other sweeteners.
It is a combination of two amino acids: phenylalanine and aspartic acid, combined with methanol. It is 180-200 times sweeter than sugar. Up to 70 percent of our aspartame intake is from sodas.
Polyols and added bulk sweeteners are used in foodstuff in which the volume and texture of sugar, as well as its sweetness, are critical. The most common “diabetic foods” are popular as sugar-free candies, cookies and chewing gum.
Yes, but how safe are these sodas and sweeter than usual ‘no sugar chocolate fudge brownies’. No really. Sugar is sugar and junk is junk. There is no invariable. Yes, psychologically I feel I sacrificed 500 calories but did I really lose weight that way?
The other problem with sweeteners is the scientific debate on what they do. Sweeteners are a sweet sensation. But is that the end of it. You can't fool your body; it knows what it wants. When ingested, our body tastes the sweetness and expects calories out of the “sugar” it should be getting paid. When it doesn't receive the calories it tries to get it elsewhere. Like Diet Coke, there may not be any calories there but you end up consuming more food to provide calories your body contemplated it was going to get. Rumors that Diet Coke results in mental disorders because of aspartame sweetener were foul and distasteful. This is true only for people who have a medical condition called PKU, which can be diagnosed at an early age.
A lot of sugar is obviously bad, for weight reasons especially for those who consume over the limit can put themselves at risk for diabetes because that results in insulin resistance and the body stops breaking it down. If sugar is consumed in moderate quantities a day; six tablespoons a day, then you are sweet to go. Moderation is key. Too much sugar and too much sweeteners are not good. Prefer staying away from sugar and using natural foods like regular or even brown sugar, add honey or agave nectar to your tea and use natural organic jam not the sweetened variety. Stick and enjoy the bounty of natural sweetness, such as blueberries, apples and papaya. Sweeteners give diabetics a chance to relish sweets without disturbing their sugar levels and medical conditions. It also is a way to supreme satisfaction for those on the heavy and obese scale.
Dr. Ala Alwan, the assistant director general for non-communicable diseases and mental health at the World Health Organization, said, “There is absolutely no doubt that diabetes is one of the major problems our region is dealing with; we have extremely high rates and continuously rising trends. This all leads to low productivity, loss of household income and a rise in health care costs. Now we have clear evidence that such catastrophic expenses can drive families below the poverty line.”
Obesity is on the rise and it was found recently that up to 45 percent women in the Kingdom have the tendency to become obese. So yes, curb your sugar intake, because the rising epidemic of diabetes can be fatal, if not checked and stopped in its track. Insulin injections before or after a meal are not the life you would imagine for yourself.
The International Diabetes Foundation estimates that 26.6 million adults in the Middle East and North Africa currently have diabetes. And if doctors recommend sweeteners for diabetic patients, that’s a lot of money for producers in the sweetened sugar mill. In the Kingdom 54 percent of diabetics show signs of early-stage kidney disease.
Dr. Ghassan Darwiche, head of the Rashid Center for Diabetes and Research at Sheik Khalifa Hospital in Ajman, United Arab Emirates, blamed the lifestyle of the Arab culture and recommends each individual can make a change for themselves. “There is an overrepresentation of cheap fast food in the region, and we need to involve fast food companies in this. Diabetes and obesity are global problems, but the concern is the rapidity of increase in this region, and while we can’t change genetics, we can change lifestyle choices.”
Dr. Alwan points to the lack of physical activity, and that up to 70 percent of women in Saudi Arabia are inactive. Yes, that you may argue is because there is less to do with fewer outlets. That is the key though. Bank on what you have, make the best of it. Physical activity is imperative for the body to function, burn fat and sustains well-being of your system.
The achievement of weight control by artificial sweeteners is a subject of controversy. There have been claims that the use of diet sugars could hamper weight loss efforts by further increasing food intake. Foodstuff manufacturers choose from the existing low-calorie sweeteners based on flavor, stability and cost. In some instances, blends of sweeteners may be used. Cyclamate/Saccharin blend set history when it was first used in the 1960s in diet soft drinks.
Simply switching to sugar-free goods may help you lose weight but it is you who needs to alter the scheme to keep it off. The plan is to live a healthy life by eating right, avoiding overindulgence and exercising. Bring your game to the field, or walk for half an hour everyday.
We can pour our hearts guilt into a cup of alluring hot chocolate with a sachet of Stevia, but we are disillusioned to think that the calories won't catch up. Because they will. So the bottom line is, play and follow moderation. In this sweet walk of life.
