Artificial Sweeteners Increase Risk of Alzheimer’s and Stroke

Recent headline news reported on a new study from The American Heart Association’s journal Stroke, which concluded artificial sweeteners are harmful to your brain. There was a clear association observed between test subjects that drank artificial sweetened beverages and an increased risk of ischemic stroke, all-cause dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease dementia. There was no increased risk observed in those that drank sugar-sweetened beverages. This information adds to the growing body of information showing the dangers of artificial sweeteners and confirms the poisonous impact these chemicals have on the brain.

If we look at the diet soda industry, we understand the huge bind this information puts those companies in. If they acknowledge the link to brain issues, they lose a huge market of people that are using diet soda to maintain their soda habit without getting the calories sugar provides. What people fail to realize is diet soda doesn’t help people lose weight. If anything, they cause an increase in BMI (Body Mass Index) and incidence of diabetes. In fact, headline news a couple years back exposed significant evidence that artificial sweeteners are connected to an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. This means that consuming diet soda, not only can cause long-term dementia, but also can wreck your metabolic systems.

If you think Stevia and Monk Fruit are better options just because they are natural, think again. A recent study comparing weight loss efforts of test subjects given Stevia, Monk Fruit, sugar and aspartame sweetened beverages concluded all had nearly identical daily caloric intake regardless of the sweetener they were given. Plus, non-nutritive sweeteners had no positive effects on glucose and insulin levels compared to sugar. One possible reason why sugar substitutes aren’t the answer to your weight problems has to do with leptin receptors on your tongue. Over time, those leptin receptors will become numb to sweet taste and you will need to eat more and more sweets to satisfy your sweet tooth. The bad news is artificial sweeteners and Stevia are many more times sweet than table sugar, which primes you for sugar cravings and overeating later.

Too many Americans are addicted to sweet taste and have an adversely altered taste perception. On the flip side of this coin is a more neutral reaction to bitter-tasting vegetables. Research in children shows that those with an increased aversion to bitter taste are six times more likely to become obese later in life.

It’s imperative to your health that if you have sugar cravings, you overcome them. You can use bitter herbs inula racemosa and gymnema sylvestre to help retrain your taste buds. These herbs are known as "sugar-busters" because they help reduce the desire for sweet tasting food by bringing the taste system back to natural balance.

Many people crave sugar when they are under stress. Stress elevates cortisol and adrenaline, in turn promoting the liver to produce sugar to use for energy to meet the demands of stress. Inula racemosa fights these stress cravings for sugar by helping the liver modulate the response to stress and helping to keep blood sugar stable.

There is no such thing as a magic bullet for weight loss. While over consuming sugar certainly isn’t recommended for weight loss, switching out sugar for a non-nutritive sweetener is not going to magically make you thin. Research continues to expose artificial sweeteners as duds for weight loss and helping us lower our blood sugar. Plus, they have serious health consequences to our brains, including increasing our risk of developing Alzheimer’s later in life. Natural sugar-alternatives won’t help you either. If your goal is to lose weight, there is no secret “diet” food that will help you. You simply have to stick it to that sweet tooth. Retrain your brain not to crave the sweet taste with the help of nutrition, beat those sugar cravings, and finally reach your goal weight!