Artificial Sweeteners: The Good & The Bad of Sugar Alternatives

Article At a Glance:

• Sugar is one of the worst food additives and creates a variety of health concerns
  
• Alternatives to sugar exist; some are just as harmful as sugar itself, while some are safer substitutes to improve taste and enhance sweetness

Sugar is one of the worst things we can put in our bodies, as it can wreak havoc on the gut and lead to a host of other health problems. And as the negative effects of sugar have begun to be talked about more in recent years, we’ve seen a rise in alternatives as food manufacturers look for ways to create a sweet taste without the harmful side effects of sugar itself.

As we’ve mentioned before, closely reading food labels is crucial to understand what you’re putting in your body. But when it comes to sugar alternatives, it’s easy to get confused, as there are so many different names out there. Here’s a quick breakdown of sugar alternatives:

First, let’s start with the bad ones:

Sucralose

Sucralose is better known as Splenda, the artificial sweetener often used in coffee. This is one to avoid, as it can disrupt the microbiome and decrease the good gut bacteria by as much as 50%.

Saccharin

Saccharin is what is found in Sweet ‘N Low and was actually once a banned food additive. Unfortunately, it's back on the market even though it's been linked to cancer.

Aspartame

Aspartame truly is the worst of the worst when it comes to sweeteners, and yet it is found in over 6,000 food products worldwide! This dangerous additive has been linked to cancer, alzheimers, depression, and a host of other problems. Just like MSG, it's an excitotoxin, meaning it can cause harm to our children's brains. Stay away from aspartame!

Neotame

Neotame is nearly identical to aspartame and has all the same negative effects (often, these food manufacturers will slightly tweak the ingredients and rebrand with a name change but they are selling the same old toxins).

Thankfully, there are some choices on the market that do not have the detrimental effects of sugar or any of the aforementioned alternatives. Here are some sugar alcohols to use when you need to sweeten up your food a bit: xylitol, erythritol, stevia, monk fruit extract, and raw honey are all things you can use to enhance taste without all the health problems.

*This website is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for the advice provided by a healthcare professional.

References

1. Remove These 4 Unhealthy Foods
2. What's An Unhealthy Gut?
3. How To Read Nutrition Labels
4. Artificial Sweeteners May Change Our Gut Bacteria In Dangerous Ways
5. Are Artificial Sweeteners Really That Bad For You?
6. What is MSG (and why is it so horrifying)?