| 10 December 2009
Many of us are opting for various diet products and artificial sweeteners because we think that they are a healthier alternative for a snack or treat. It definitely is beneficial to reduce the amount of processed sugar in your diet; however concern is mounting over the side effects from these artificial sweeteners. They may be doing you more harm than good...
Also known as Nutra-Sweet or Equal, aspartame is by far the most popular of all sweeteners and is regarded by many as the most dangerous of additives. Loss of energy, mood swings, memory loss and many other serious side effects have been associated to consumption of aspartame (1).
At the conclusion of one of my patient workshops, Cynthia, a guest of one of my patients, hung around to ask me some questions. She waited until it was just she, her friend and myself left. Cynthia walked up to me with her friend with her head bowed in embarrassment.
"Umm you mentioned something about mood swings and aspartame."
"Yes, that´s right,"
"Well have you heard anything about it causing violence and aggression because my fiancée has been becoming really aggressive to the point of starting to get physical with me?"
"I haven´t heard of studies measuring whether it triggers violence but it makes sense if it affects people´s moods that it may be a factor."
"My fiancée is a wonderful guy and he has been worried about his recent outbursts as well."
"Does he have much aspartame?"
"About 10 cans of diet cola a day."
"Wow. That can´t be good for anyone. It would be a great idea for his health to cut out on the diet drinks and then see if it helps other areas."
As Cynthia left I could tell that she was feeling a sense of relief that possibly there was another solution apart from breaking up.
I received a phone call from Cynthia about 2 weeks later. "You wouldn´t believe the difference in him since he has given up Diet Colas. He is back to his kind and gentle self."
Studies have also shown that artificial sweeteners cause you to actually eat more. This defeats the entire purpose of wanting to consume diet products. Artificial sweeteners inhibit the production of serotonin in your brain that gives you the sense of feeling full. In other words, artificial sweeteners actually inhibit your own capacity to feel full making it easier for you to overeat.
Steer away from artificial sweeteners. They seem to have quite bitter side-effects.
References
1) Maher, T.J., Wurtman, R.J.,´Possible Neurological Effects of Aspartame, a widely used Food Additive´ Environmental health perspectives, vol75, 1987,pp53-7
