Sweetener

Aren't those little yellow, pink, and blue packages on your table at restaurants cute? They remind me of something innocent and sweet, no pun intended. I think, however, that they should be black with a skull and crossbones on them. They should say "Caution: do not consume unless you want to poison your body."

This may seem drastic to you, but one of them has been shown to cause cancer in mice...cancer in one of the most genetically similar animals to us. One of them is made from chlorine, a toxic substance to our body. The other major one has so many different side effects, I cannot list them all here. And the more you consume, the worse they are for you.

This is where our kids come in. These artificial sweeteners are so prolific that they are in almost every variety of food that kids love...juice, yogurt, bread, cereal, ice cream, peanut butter, pudding, syrup, jelly, granola bars, sodas, cakes, and cookies. The scarier thing is that manufacturers of these foods are not required to indicate that they are present except in the ingredient list. Many times the product will be labeled as "diet" or "light", so consumers think they are making a healthy choice.

Please do not be fooled; artificial sweeteners are chemical additives used to replace sugar, honey, maple syrup or another natural sweetener. They are created in a lab by chemists and are actually the cheapest sweetener of all. Money talks, so they are becoming a popular choice for food manufacturers.

You may be wondering why the FDA has approved these artificial sweeteners if they are so harmful. Why does the FDA approve medications with so many harmful side effects that most pharmaceutical commercials are spent listing them? I truly do not know the answer to this question except for consumer power. The consumer buys these products in great quantities, and the consumer wants an alternative to sugar. Also, there is an obesity problem in this country, and we think that the answer is in these little pastel packets.

It is tragic that in our desperation to consume sweet foods, we have replaced a natural substance that our body can handle (if we don't consume too much) with an artificial substance that our bodies cannot handle. I don't want to use any scare tactics on you, but I want you to start researching this yourself. In my research for this topic, I came across a list of disorders connected with artificial sweeteners that alarmed me. I knew they were not good for us, but I had no idea how dangerous they are.

Watch the following video on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvFRLIjOLOU. I don't know when the news report aired, but besides the health issues related to aspartame (Nutra-sweet), I think it does a good job of describing the politics involved in getting a food (or drug, for that matter, but that is a topic for another day) approved by the FDA. Food manufacturers have a vested interest in selling their product: money. However, we, the consumers, have more power. We can ban these products from our homes, and choose not to buy them or support their production in any way.

My recommendation is to reduce the amount of sweet things in your diet. Consume fruit or a single piece of dark chocolate if you have sugar cravings. I believe sugar cravings are like a reaction to an addiction. Your body craves whatever it is given. If you eat many sugary foods, your body will crave them. Start reducing this amount and choose alternatives to cookies, cakes, donuts, and other sweets.

Eat more vegetables and whole grains; they will fill you up and most have a natural sweetness to them. Look at the ingredient lists though. If you don't recognize the ingredient, it is probably an artificial additive. We have to use our common sense to know that if an ingredient is artificial, that food is probably not the best choice.

I have said it before, and I will say it again, fresh is best. Try to avoid processed foods. Make your own sweet things occasionally, and limit the amount of sweets that your children eat. I may sound like a broken record, but all of this bears repeating for the health of our children.