Why Sugar-Free Health Products Are Deceiving You
Another type of deceiving “healthy” food label is “sugar free.” These foods are marketed as healthier options because they don’t contain sugar, however many of them are filled with ingredients that are much more harmful than sugar.
Don’t misunderstand me, because sugar should be minimized as much as possible. It decreases the effectiveness of the immune system, is high on the glycemic index (so your body has to work hard to digest it), it’s addictive, and there are numerous other problems that can result when sugar is eaten.
However, many of the sugar substitute ingredients are even WORSE than sugar! For example, aspartame is a popular sugar substitute, and many people have reported side effects such as neurological problems (seizures, depression, anxiety, headaches, etc), autoimmune problems (such as lupus) blindness, multiple sclerosis, and birth defects (just to name a few).
And to make matters worse, these products are marketed as calorie free and beneficial because they don’t spike the glycemic levels in the body. But, recent studies are showing that the glycemic levels are still affected by non-sugar sweeteners… which means that they can still cause you to gain weight.
Many of the products with sugar substitutes also contain other harmful ingredients that should be avoided, such as: preservatives, chemicals, artificial food coloring, etc.
If you are going to choose an unhealthy treat, you are probably better to go with a product that has real sugar instead of chemical based artificial sweeteners. Although, the sweet treats should be kept to a minimum.
Better alternatives to satisfy your sweet tooth include raw fruits such as strawberries, apples, bananas, oranges, raspberries, mango, pineapple, etc. You may also use sweeteners at home such as: stevia which is an herbal based sweetener that is 10x sweeter than sugar, calorie free, and doesn’t spike the glycemic levels; or agave which is a sweetener similar to honey which has a lower glycemic load than most sugars.
Photo credit: ladybugbkt
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Filed under: Junk Food • Processed Food • Sugar
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