Why Artificial Sweeteners Are Just Plain Nasty

Posted: February 15th, 2010 | Author: Dr. Bill | No Comments »

A couple of moons back, I wrote about why I stopped drinking diet soda. Diet Coke was my beverage of choice, and in those days, I thought I was doing myself a favor, keeping the calories off, and the flabola at bay. It turns out that I was wrong on both counts, and that didn’t even factor in the more serious elements for getting artificial sweeteners out of your diet.

Recently a British supermarket chain called Asda decided to go the wholesome route, by ridding its shelves of all storebrand products containing unhealthy fats and additives (Whole Foods says it is going to do the same thing here). Asda publicized the fact by placing labels on healthy products that said: “No hidden nasties–no artificial colors, or flavours, no aspartame and no hydrogenated fats.”

That’s it. Not exactly like taking out a full page ad in the NY Times, or buying millions of dollars of television advertising.

But they really pissed off a Japanese company, Ajinomoto Sweeteners, which holds a 45% share of the aspartame market in Europe. Ajinomoto sued Asda on the grounds that calling aspartame “nasty” might contribute to the impression that the sweetener is actually unhealthy. An Ajinomoto spokesman said, “The words of the packaging…would have been understood to mean that aspartame is an especially harmful or unhealthy, or potentially harmful or unhealthy, sweetener and is one that consumers concerned for their own health would do well to avoid.”

They went further, asserting that given the obesity problem and aspartame’s usefulness as a sugar substitute, “it’s unconscionable that Asda would try and vilify a safe and beneficial food ingredient.”

The case went all the way to the High Court of London, where the judge ruled against Ajinomoto.

The judge said that the word “nasty” does not necessarily imply that aspartame is unhealthy and the message gives shoppers a choice if they are worried about aspartame.

The supermarket is delighted.

At a glance, this lawsuit may seem frivolous. But hundreds of studies have found that aspartame is indeed “nasty.” And the word “nasty doesn’t begin to do aspartame justice.

Aspartame has been implicated in over 90 health issues. A 2007 study found that the sweetener causes lymphoma, luekemia, and breast cancer in rats but the FDA concluded that humans don’t consume enough to make it a worry. On the other hand, 75% of all food additive problems reported to the FDA are caused by aspartame (this is government health care at work).

Health issues tied to aspartame include temors, blindness, Hodgkin’s disease, seizures, insomnia, brain damage, ulcers, mood disorders, and many, many more. Last year, a study found that artificial sweeteners do not lead to weight loss at all and in fact, may do just the opposite (ie., make you FAT!).

The British don’t get a leg up on us very often and I’d almost bet Ajinomoto might have won their case in the United States. But “Cheers” to the Brits on this one.

There are sweeteners on the market that are not harmful, such as stevia, and xylitol. You can find them in Whole Foods, or most health stores.

But it’s much easier to eat some watermelon, or a peach.

That reminds me, folks who are carrying too much flabola often suffer from insomnia (among other things). Artificial sweeteners often play a big part in their diet and so, they can’t sleep. Not getting proper sleep is a terrible thing for someone who needs to lose weight. No matter if you’re consuming only 1200 calories in a day, if you can’t sleep, no weight is coming off.

First, get off the diet soda, and any and all low cal, no cal, low fat, no fat food. It’s junk, pure and simple.

Then, if you still can’t sleep, try my new Dr. Bill’s  Slip Into Sleep Formula, a 100% natural sleep aid that helps you relax, reduces your fatigue, and allows you to wake up feeling refreshed. It’s gentle on your stomach, and also gives you more energy during the day.

And I guarantee you won’t need to worry about “sleep” driving heavy machinery in the middle of the night, like those folks in the television commercials.

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