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Choosing A Healthy And Natural Sugar Substitute
* Softdrinks - 33% * Sugars and Candy - 16% * Cookies and Pies - 12.9% * Fruit drinks - 9.7% * Daily desserts and milk products - 8.6% * other grains - 5.8% Sugar sells and it sells very well so more and more of the food items being sold in a typical American grocery store have added sugar in them. Our bodies crave sugar because it is our body's main source of fuel. When we eat sugar, our bodies transforms it into glucose which in turn is used to sustain our brain and muscle functions. Sugar provides us with a quick burst of energy but the effect temporary. We later experience a "crash" and we start to seek more sweets. Sugar in itself is not the problem. We need sugar to maintain metabolic balance and experience satiety. Avoiding sugar would be unnatural and this will inevitably lead to imbalances and sweet cravings. This is why people have such a hard time giving up sugar; it is almost impossible to get children to stay away from it. We get into trouble when we start to consume too much of if. Most of the time, our bodies do not need all that massive amounts of energy so it is stored as fat. What's worse is over time, the body start to develop insulin resistance which then leads to diabetes. Our unwillingness and incapability to give up our sweets and this gave rise to artificial sweeteners. Most of these artificial sweeteners are mired in controversy because of safety concerns as most contain toxic and harmful chemicals. Saccharin Saccharin was discovered in 1879 by Constantin Fahlberg while working on coal-tar derivatives. No one knows what led him to taste his creation but he found it to be sweet tasting. During World War I and II, sugar was rationed and saccharin offered an excellent alternative. In the mid 1970's, a study was released implicating saccharin as a possible contributor to cancer in rats. The FDA then attempted to put a ban on the sale of saccharin but their efforts failed. Saccharin is still in use today (Sweet n' Low). Aspartame Aspartame (Equal, Nutrasweet) entered the market in 1981 and used Saccharin's bad publicity to become the sweetener of choice in diet softdrinks. Aspartame when consumed, breaks down into aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol which in turn converts to formaldehyde. The FDA knows this but contends that the amount is too small to pose any health concern. The problem is consumption of diet softdrinks that contain aspartame is on ther rise and no one really knows if this formaldehyde starts to accumulate in the body. Formaldehyde is a toxic chemical and is classified by the EPA as a probable human carcinogen if exposed to it long-term. Some experts argue that any amount of formaldehyde present in the body is dangerous to your health. Sucralose Sucralose (Splenda) is the best selling artificial sweetener in the United States. Sucralose, the main ingredient in Splenda, was discovered by accident by 2 scientists who were trying to make pesticide. To make sucralose, chlorine is forced it into an unnatural chemical bond with a sucrose (sugar) molecule. The end result is a sweet product 600 times sweeter than sugar. This chemical bond yields an "organochlorine" (chlorocarbon) which is lethal to all lifeforms but perfect for pesticides - the original intent when it was discovered. When sucralose is ingested, about 15% of the sucralose is absorbed by the body. A massive amount of chemicals are needed to be added to sucralose to keep it from digesting (hopefully) in our bodies. These also toxic chemicals prevent (hopefully) the chlorine molecules from detaching from the sugar molecule inside the digestive system. If you have a very healthy gastrointestinal system and able to break apart the sugar molecule and chlorine, you might be at risk of absorbing those lethal chlorine molecules. Choosing a natural and healthy sugar substitute General consensus seems to be consuming both natural and artificial sugar substitutes in moderation will probably not pose any health risk. The problem with that is that is sugar is everywhere and almost in everything, how can there be moderation? No one wants to eat unsweetened food and for people who want or need to control their blood sugar due to diabetes, going with a sugar substitute is the only choice. Fortunately, there are natural and healthy sugar substitutes. Coconut sugar is an excellent sugar substitute! Coconut sugar is made from the sap of coconut flower buds. It's all natural, has a low glycemic index, loaded with vitamins and minerals and tastes great. No additives or any chemicals are needed in the manufacturing process. As a matter of fact, the only processing needed is boiling the sap which then crystallizes and forms coconut sugar. It is good for both diabetics and non-diabetics alike. Coconut sugar is also classified as a low glycemic index food. A low-GI diet may be useful in preventing and treating a variety of the health problems by helping to maintain lower blood sugar and insulin levels. You can use is a direct 1:1 sugar substitute: use it in your coffee, tea, cooking and baking! Make the healthy choice and switch to coconut sugar today! If you are interested to learn more about this amazing sugar substitute, please visit http://www.sugarcoconut.com. The information provided here is not meant to diagnose, prevent, treat or cure any disease. It is to be taken as suggestions or educational material and not to be considered professional advice. Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com I specialize in promoting coconut sugar as a healthy sugar substitute. If you are interested to learn more about coconut sugar, be sure to check out www.sugarcoconut.com. |
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