Why you should take a crack at this humble nut hero
Here’s a really good way to not lose weight: Use artificial sweeteners.
And according to the latest findings, that’s also an excellent way to pack on the pounds, too!
While it’s certainly logical to believe that using something that has no calories won’t be contributing to weight gain, in reality, that’s not the case.
A new study out of Canada has again confirmed what we’ve been hearing about these fakes for some time now — they have the exact opposite effect of what you would think.
But that’s not the whole story. Not by a long shot.
Anything but healthy
Here’s something you won’t see on a can of Diet Coke — the “long-term health impact” of using artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame, “is uncertain.”
But that’s exactly what a group of researchers from the University of Manitoba wrote at the beginning of their new study.
Of course, these sweet chemical fakes have become so widely used that most people simply accept that they’re safe because they’ve been around for so long. And nothing could be farther from the truth.
What these Canadian researchers discovered by analyzing the data on over 400,000 people who regularly used artificial sweeteners is two-fold:
- Using them for long periods of time will cause you to gain weight and up your risk of obesity, stroke, and high blood pressure.
- Even just trying them out for a few months to drop some pounds quickly, say, for a wedding or class reunion, doesn’t work.
So, what in the world are these no-cal sweeteners good for?
How about increasing your risk of cancer?
A study that came out last year from a nonprofit watchdog group based in Italy called the Ramazzini Institute, found that sucralose (a.k.a. Splenda) can cause leukemia and other blood cancers in lab mice.
Then there’s heart disease.
Research that tracked close to 60,000 women found that those who consumed as few as two diet drinks a day had a much higher risk of dying from heart disease than those who rarely or never did.
And along with cancer and heart disease, they can put you on a fast track to diabetes.
Three years ago, an Israeli study found that artificial sweetener use was likely contributing to “obesity-related metabolic conditions,” like type 2 diabetes, by disrupting our gut bacteria’s ability to regulate blood sugar.
The researchers found that the three most commonly used artificial sweeteners — aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose — affected mice and humans the same way, creating glucose intolerance and raising blood sugar levels in both.
But for the Big Kahuna of possible health effects, look no further than aspartame.
Over the years, it’s been linked to migraines, vision problems, blackouts, seizures, and deadly brain tumors.
And yet, aspartame, which first hit the market under the brand name NutraSweet, is still being added to more products than you can count.
Oh, and it won’t help you lose weight, either.
A study done last year by researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital found that the chemical messes with a gut enzyme in our body that can prevent us from packing on the pounds. Those findings led the lead author of the study to say that aspartame products “don’t work very well and may actually make things worse.”
The bottom line is that none of these artificial sweeteners will do a thing to help you drop weight. And they can be disastrous for your health in the long run.
And since they’re not just in sodas anymore, but loads of products, even “healthy” ones like yogurt, you’ve got to be on the lookout to avoid them when you go shopping. You especially need to watch out for anything that claims to be “diet” or “low-cal.”
And always check the ingredients in OTC drugs, too — especially ones marketed to taste good enough for kids to take, such as cough and cold syrups and gummy vitamins.
“Walnuts may promote health by changing gut bacteria” Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, July 28, 2017, ScienceDaily, sciencedaily.com
