{"id":14069,"date":"2020-08-31T01:27:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-31T05:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=14069"},"modified":"2020-09-10T10:15:04","modified_gmt":"2020-09-10T14:15:04","slug":"dangers-of-artificial-sweeteners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dangers-of-artificial-sweeteners\/","title":{"rendered":"What Are the Dangers of Artificial Sweeteners?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What are the dangers of artificial sweeteners? How serious are these threats?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The dangers of artificial sweeteners are based on studies of their impacts. There is some disagreement about the volume of required to see the dangers of artificial sweeteners come true in humans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read on to learn about the dangers of artificial sweeteners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Are the Possible Dangers of <strong>Artificial Sweeteners<\/strong>?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Although you may reach for a diet soda to <em>avoid <\/em>weight gain, the artificial sweeteners it contains actually <em>cause <\/em>you to gain weight. There are dangers of artificial sweeteners, including <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Sucralose (e.g. Splenda)<\/li><li>Saccharine (e.g. Sweet\u2019n Low, Sweet Twin, Necta Sweet)<\/li><li>Aspartame (e.g. Equal and NutraSweet)<\/li><li>Acesulfame K (also in Equal and NutraSweet)<\/li><li>Neotame (used in commercial baking and cooking)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Before supermarkets and mass food distribution made sweet fruit available year-round, humans only ate sweet fruit in the summer. <strong>When your tongue detects anything sweet\u2014whether it\u2019s from sugar, fruit, or sweeteners\u2014your brain concludes it must be summer, which cues your body to store fat for the winter.<\/strong> This has several harmful effects on your body.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Your body not only goes into fat-storing mode, but it also craves <em>more<\/em> sweets. Humans, like many animals, evolved to stock up on fat during summer to prepare for winter, when food is more scarce, so you\u2019re wired to eat as much sweet stuff\u2014and get as many calories\u2014as possible. This is how <strong>sweeteners make you crave sugar and ultimately gain weight<\/strong>.&nbsp;That&#8217;s one of the dangers of artificial sweeteners.<\/li><li>Your brain feels cheated when it realizes you haven\u2019t gotten the calories from the sugar it expected, so it pushes you to eat even more sweets.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Your body\u2019s circadian rhythms are thrown off because your food choices indicate you\u2019re living in an endless summer.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition, sweeteners kill some of the good bacteria in your holobiome, which allows for bad bacteria to run rampant. In fact, a study showed that one Splenda packet destroys half of your natural <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/healthy-gut-bacteria\/\">gut microbes<\/a>. (Shortform note: The study gave rats high doses of Splenda. In order to have substantial negative effects on a human\u2019s microbiome, she would have to consume <a href=\"https:\/\/culinarylore.com\/food-science:does-splenda-sweetener-kill-healthy-intestinal-bacteria\/\">hundreds of Splenda packets<\/a> or over 100 cans of diet soda per day.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sweetener Alternatives<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There are several alternatives you can use to avoid the dangers of artificial sweeteners. But beware: While these are better for your holobiome, any sweet taste will prompt your body\u2019s fat-storage response:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Stevia (e.g. SweetLeaf)<\/li><li>Just Like Sugar&nbsp;<\/li><li>Sugar alcohols xylitol or erythritol (e.g. Swerve)<\/li><li>Yac\u00f3n syrup<\/li><li>Inulin&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember that any time your body detects sweetness (even if it\u2019s fruit or sugar-free artificial sweeteners), it reacts the same way\u2014by storing fat. There are only a few fruits that won\u2019t have this effect:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Unripe bananas<\/li><li>Unripe mangoes<\/li><li>Unripe papayas<\/li><li>Avocados<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Use Supplements Instead of Artificial Sweeteners<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sugar blockers<\/strong>: Even when you cut out sugar and fruits, you\u2019ll still be consuming sugar in the form of carbs and other foods\u2014there\u2019s no avoiding sugar entirely. To help your body handle the sugar, take a combination of these supplements:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Berberine<\/li><li>Chromium<\/li><li>Cinnamon bark extract<\/li><li>Selenium<\/li><li>Turmeric extract (with black pepper extract to help absorption)<\/li><li>Zinc<\/li><li>GundryMD Glucose Defense (created by the author; contains a blend of these.)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Resistant Starches: Alternative Carbs<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>There is a subset of starches called resistant starches\u2014such as yams, taro, and plantains\u2014that don\u2019t have the fattening, disease-inducing effects of corn, rice, wheat, and other starches. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/foods-high-in-resistant-starch\/\">Resistant starches<\/a> don\u2019t get broken down into glucose (blood sugar), but instead pass through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-happens-in-the-small-intestine\/\">the small intestine<\/a> intact.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Since resistant starches don\u2019t become sugar, your body doesn\u2019t release fat-storing insulin.<\/strong> Furthermore, resistant starches nourish and increase the amount of good gut microbes, which has multiple benefits:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Helping digestion and nutrient absorption<\/li><li>Nurturing the mucous layer in your gut, which helps prevent lectins from breaching the intestinal wall<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Resistant starches also help control weight gain by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Reducing calorie intake when you substitute them for wheat flour and other carbs<\/li><li>Helping you feel full longer<\/li><li>Promoting fat burning and minimizing fat storage<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What are the dangers of artificial sweeteners? How serious are these threats? The dangers of artificial sweeteners are based on studies of their impacts. There is some disagreement about the volume of required to see the dangers of artificial sweeteners come true in humans. Read on to learn about the dangers of artificial sweeteners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":14246,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,16,43],"tags":[126],"class_list":["post-14069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","category-health","category-self-improvement","tag-the-plant-paradox","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What Are the Dangers of Artificial Sweeteners? - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you&#039;re avoiding sugar, there are plenty of alternatives without giving up sweets. But you should know the dangers of artificial sweeteners.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dangers-of-artificial-sweeteners\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Are the Dangers of Artificial Sweeteners?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you&#039;re avoiding sugar, there are plenty of alternatives without giving up sweets. But you should know the dangers of artificial sweeteners.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dangers-of-artificial-sweeteners\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-08-31T05:27:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-09-10T14:15:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/the-plant-paradox-sweetener-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rina Shah\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rina Shah\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dangers-of-artificial-sweeteners\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dangers-of-artificial-sweeteners\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Rina Shah\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d07435826f13a8f422d5d333dceac287\"},\"headline\":\"What Are the Dangers of Artificial Sweeteners?\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-08-31T05:27:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-09-10T14:15:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dangers-of-artificial-sweeteners\/\"},\"wordCount\":707,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dangers-of-artificial-sweeteners\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/the-plant-paradox-sweetener-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"The Plant Paradox\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Food\",\"Health\",\"Self-Improvement\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dangers-of-artificial-sweeteners\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dangers-of-artificial-sweeteners\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dangers-of-artificial-sweeteners\/\",\"name\":\"What Are the Dangers of Artificial Sweeteners? - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dangers-of-artificial-sweeteners\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dangers-of-artificial-sweeteners\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/the-plant-paradox-sweetener-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-08-31T05:27:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-09-10T14:15:04+00:00\",\"description\":\"If you're avoiding sugar, there are plenty of alternatives without giving up sweets. 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