Sugar substitutes - friends or foes?

In the last period, sugar became a controversial subject in food and health topics.
I don't declare myself as beeing totally against sugar, but there are obviously some founded reasons for recommending a balanced approach when it comes to it.
Excessive sugar intake can determine:

1. Gaining weight/obesity, as it contains many calories.
2. Insulin resistance, wich occurs in diabetes.
3. Lowering the immune function, wich can determine allergies.
4. Destroying gut microbiome, resulting in digestive disorders.
5. Vitamin malabsorption.
6. Acidosis (acidosis of saliva - tooth carries, acidosis of body fluids - inflamation, infections, candida)
7. Addiction - consumed in large amounts, it acts on opioid receptors in the same way drugs do.
   

In trying to avoid disadvantages of gaining weight and favoring diabetes, sugar is currently replaced with other sweeteners, some of them far more toxic to our body.
Here are the most popular ones:

1. Saccharin - it's a highly refined artificial sweetener. It is sweeter than sugar and doesn't contain calories. Its potential carcinogenic risk hasn't been clarified yet. Personally, i avoid saccharin tablets because of the hight amount of sodium they contain.

2. Aspartame - high intensity artificial sweetener, largely used both in food industry and pharmaceutical industry, with glycemic index 0.
   After ingestion it decomposes in aspartic acid and phenylalanine. Aspartic acid is a nervous stimulent responsible for neuronal damage, attention deficiencies and nervous hiperactivity.
   Phenylalanine must be avoided by the persons suffering from a genetic disorder named phenylketonuria, in wich the organism can't metabolize this aminoacid. The results of ingestion consist of seizures, anxiety and brain damage.

3. Acesulfame potassium (acesulfame K) - artificial sweetener with glycemic index 0. It is usually combined with other sweeteners like aspartame or sucralose, because of it's bitter taste. It has carcinogenic properties.

4. Xylitol - sweetener that contains 0 calories, naturally found in berries, plums, birch bark or mushrooms. In industry it is obtained by the hydrogenation of xylose, in the presence of a nichel catalyst.
   Although it has many benefits such as being cariogenic free, antibacterial and anti-carcinogenic, big intakes of xylitol can cause liver toxicity, irritable bowel sindrom, malabsorption of fats and carbohydrates. It is also lethal to pets.

5. Sucralose - high intensity sweetener with glycemic index 0. It is chemically obtained from chlorine and sugar, in the presence of cathalysts as benzene, formaldehyde and methanol. Its use negatively impacts the gut microbiome and causes malabsorption of nutrients and even medicine.

6. Sorbitol - sugar substituent with glycemic index 4. It has a lower sweetening power and excessive intake can cause intestinal disorders.

7. Stevia - natural sugar with glycemic index 0. It is obtained from Stevia rebaudiana plant and it's sweeter than sucrose (sugar). Another benefit of stevia is the presence of polyphenols and amino-acids; it also has the properties of boosting the immune system, lowering blood pressure and antimicrobial effects.

Sugar provides the energy our body needs to function, plus it gives one of the greatest sensation when it comes to taste.
I hope this article will help you to make the right choice when it comes to sugar and other sweeteners.
For more information regarding this topic you can consult the sources: www.mercola.com
www.eatthis.com

Stay healthy!