Sweeteners

Sweeteners

What to use:

What is the healthiest sweetener?

Honey

Raw organic honey lowers weight, blood sugar, & diabetes.  It also helps sleep & reduces coughing. Topically it appears to speed healing of wounds, acne, eczema & psoriasis & helps stop bacterial infections in the body like UTIs.  Local organic raw honey can reduce pollen sensitivity.   Honey is the healthiest sweetener by far.  Processed honey has been heated & filtered & may not have the benefits of unfiltered & unheated honey.

medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317662

livestrong.com/article/273425-how-to-use-honey-for-weight-loss/

health.harvard.edu/blog/could-artificial-sweeteners-be-bad-for-your-brain-2017060711849

Honey and Diabetes: The Importance of Natural Simple Sugars in Diet for Preventing and Treating Different Type of Diabetes Das, Bobiş, Otilia, Dezmirean, Daniel S., Moise, Adela Ramona Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity 2018/02/04
4757893 1942-0900  doi.org/10.1155/2018/4757893 10.1155/2018/4757893 Academic editor Undurti N.,   Hindawi

Honey can be made from sugar & flavoring so it is best if it is raw & organic to be real.

To get real honey from bees:

Look for organic, raw, local

Rub between fingers- if absorb is real, if sticky is sugar

Microwave or cooktop-carmelize if honey, foam/bubble if sugar

Put on paper-sugar water will soak through

Ants avoid honey, flock to sugar

In water honey lumps & goes to bottom, water melts

Honey causes tingling on toungue

Honey makes bread hard

Honey crystalizes over time

healthyfoodhouse.com/studies-show-fake-honey-is-everywhere-heres-how-to-know-the-

Cinnamon

Cinnamon (Ceylon may be best) reduces blood sugar, blood pressure, free radicals, oxidation, inflammation, osteoporosis, ulcers, liver damage, pain, Alzheimer’s & bacterial & parasitic infection & speeds up wound healing & is often paired with honey for weight loss.

Ranasinghe, P., Pigera, S., Premakumara, G.S. et al. Medicinal properties of ‘true’ cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum): a systematic review. BMC Complement Altern Med 13, 275 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6882-13-275

Apple cider vinegar & honey

Using apple cider vinegar with honey in meals with vegetables may also help weight loss as the vinegar appears to reduce the amount of carbs digested.

Stevia, erythritol, allulose and monk fruit (lo han)

Stevia & monk fruit are natural sweeteners coming from plants that have no calories and have been used for centuries with no reported side effects in humans.  Stevia’s best tasting form may be the white powder concentrate.  The brown leafy form tastes more earthy.

Stevia does not appear to cause the same neurological problems of aspartame/Nutrasweet or sucralose/Splenda.  Stevia does not increase blood sugar or triglycerides or blood pressure over time, nor cause weight gain in studies.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center:

https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/stevia#msk_professional

https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/stevia-side-effects#benefits

Monk fruit

Monk fruit has been used for centuries safely but only recently as a concentrated sweetener.  It is usually used in combination with stevia & allulose.

healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/monk-fruit-health-benefits#health-benefits

theepochtimes.com/health/a-natural-sweetener-that-could-combat-covid-diabetes-and-cancer-5279772?src_src=Health&src_cmp=health-2023-09-09&est=gi2b3dNpEQj3xx7qPgj3TkNVZcSKBSm0H%2F8ovhDKVx33qGx4P4ifc6XSTiMrGWJNA4b4

Erythritol

Erythritol is a sugar alcohol (fermented sugar) with no calories that has little of the laxative or stomach cramping side effects in limited amounts that the other sugar alcohols like sorbitol, mannitol, & xylitol have in lower amounts.  It has the volume of sugar, preserves like sugar, and tastes like sugar, but is 30% less sweet.  It appears to increase digestive hormones associated with satiety (stopping eating) & cause no increase in blood sugar. It appears to kill bacteria that cause tooth decay.

A new study associates erythritol with increased blood clotting, heart attacks & strokes, but it appears to be most likely they found an increase in the amount of erythritol the body makes, not the amount eaten, when it has artery blockage or other risk factors.  Followup studies on people who ingest a lot of erythritol will help clarify.

reason.com/2023/03/02/be-skeptical-of-the-new-artificial-sweetener-scare/

tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1028415X.2021.1965787?src=recsys

Allulose

Allulose is a sugar from fruits with little calories that at low to moderate doses has little gastrointestinal problems at lower amounts.  Like the sugar alcohols it has the fullness of taste of sucrose but is not as sweet as sugar so needs stevia & monk fruit in combination to be sweeter than sugar.  It appears to reduce blood glucose levels.

Allulose for the attenuation of postprandial blood glucose levels in healthy humans: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Tani Yuma ,Masaaki Tokuda,Naoki Nishimoto,Hideto Yokoi,Ken Izumori
Published: April 6, 2023
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0281150

peterattiamd.com/replacing-sugar-with-allulose/

Combination

Stevia, monk fruit, allulose (erythritol needs further testing) are often blended together to make them even sweeter.  The combination of all has been said to be sweeter than sugar.

Unfortunately sometimes the sweeteners are mixed with dextrose, corn sugar, to add bulk- which is usually GMO.  Fortunately they can be found without GMO additives.

naturalnews.com/048909_stevia_natural_anti-inflammatory_anti-cancer.html

Kobus-Moryson M, and Gramza-Micha?owska A. Directions on the use of stevia leaves (Stevia Rebauidana) as an additive in food products. Acta Sci Pol Technol Aliment. 2015 Jan;14 (1), 5-13 DOI: 10.17306/J.AFS.2015.1.1

Salvador RR, Sotelo MH, Paucar LM. Study of Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni) ad a natural sweetener and its use in health benefit. Scientia Agricultural. 2014 Sep;5(3):157-163. ISSN: 2077-9917

Chatsudthipong V, and Muanprasat C. Stevioside and related compounds: therapeutic benefits beyond sweetness. Pharmacology & Therapeutics. 2009 Jan;121(1):41-54. PMID: 19000919

Anton SD, Martin CK, Han H, et al. Effects of stevia, aspartame, and sucrose on food intake, satiety, and postprandial glucose and insulin levels. Appetite2010;55(1):37-43. PMCID: 2900484

Holvoet P, et al. Stevia-derived compounds attenuate the toxic effects of ectopic lipid accumulation in the liver of obese mice: A transcriptomic and metabolomics study. Food Chem Toxicol. 2015 Mar;77:22-33. PMID: 25554529

Switching from sugar

The way to get used to any new sweetener is to eat a couple bites of food unsweetened before every meal.  It will immediately resensitize taste to the new amount & type of sweetener used as the freshest memory will be of the contrast between the unsweetened food and the new sweetener, not between the old sweetener & the new sweetener.

What to avoid:

Artificial sweeteners appear to increase weight & diabetes

www.who.int/news/item/15-05-2023-who-advises-not-to-use-non-sugar-sweeteners-for-weight-control-in-newly-released-guideline

Aspartame (Nutrasweet/Equal)

Aspartame is a sweetener in many diet pops & foods.  The chemicals  that make it up- phenylalanine- brain damage, & seizures, aspartic acid- brain damage, methyl alcohol (methanol)-brain damage & blindness & death & the chemical it metabolizes into- formaldehyde- for a lot of people appear to cause brain damage, brain cancer, blindness, epilepsy, anger, aggression, insomnia, depression, anxiety, behavior problems, diabetes, migraines, tinnitus, motion sickness/dizzyness & other neurological diseases.

More than 50% of reports by doctors to the FDA’s Adverse Reaction Monitoring System (ARMS) since it has come on the market in the 1990s have reportedly been on aspartame/Nutrasweet/Equal sweetener out of the hundreds of thousands of food additives introduced.

wnho.net/aspartame_tinnitus_connection.htm

globalhealing.com/6-dangerous-excitotoxins/#references

Sara K. Jones, Deirdre M. McCarthy, Cynthia Vied, Gregg D. Stanwood, Chris Schatschneider, Pradeep G. Bhide. Transgenerational transmission of aspartame-induced anxiety and changes in glutamate-GABA signaling and gene expression in the amygdala. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2022; 119 (49) DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2213120119

nature.com/articles/1602866

swankin-turner.com/lawof.html#CDC

laleva.it/food/aspartame_factsheet.html

marystod.blogspot.com/2022/07/aspartame-consumer-safety-network-fact.html

facebook.com/marystod/posts/aspartame-consumer-safety-network-fact-sheet-history-of-fda-approval-of-artifici/1691092264415855/

swankin-turner.com/hospital.html#to%20do

Monsanto bought the company who owned aspartame & worked with their chairman (yes, that Donald Rumsfeld) to get it approved despite it previously being banned for a 1980 board of inquiry of three independent scientists for brain cancer concerns.  Ronald Reagan’s brand new head of the FDA in 1981 approved it.  He left the FDA under allegations of impropriety and went to work for Monsanto.

rense.com/general33/legal.htm

medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322266#health-risks

magnesiumandhealth.com/aspartame-dangers/

mercola.fileburst.com/PDF/ExpertInterviewTranscripts/Interview-Victoria-Innes-Brown.pdf

mpwhi.com/

web.archive.org/web/20050702015408/http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/100.html

Aspartame appears to cause a high incidence of cancer

Aspartame & brain cancer

In 1996, the FDA’s own toxicologist told Congress that aspartame (Nutrasweet) can cause brain cancer.

huffingtonpost.com/robbie-gennet/donald-rumsfeld-and-the-s_b_805581.html

3x strokes, 3x dementia

health.harvard.edu/blog/could-artificial-sweeteners-be-bad-for-your-brain-2017060711849

My experience

I stopped using it after getting nausea & motion sickness on a repeated basis.  It only came back once in the last 15 years, and when I called the company making my new food, I found it had aspartame as an unlisted ingredient.

Diabetes & obesity

Nutrasweet (aspartame), Splenda (sucralose), and Sweet N Low (saccharin) appear to alter the gut microbiome & increase type II diabetes by making people less sensitive to insulin & increasing blood sugar levels & doubling obesity.  By contrast organic raw honey lowers blood sugar, diabetes, & weight & is very effective against infections.

Suez, Jotham & Korem, Tal & Zeevi, David & Zilberman-Schapira, Gili & A Thaiss, Christoph & Maza, Ori & Israeli, David & Zmora, Niv & Gilad, Shlomit & Weinberger, Adina & Kuperman, Yael & Harmelin, Alon & Kolodkin-Gal, Ilana & Shapiro, Hagit & Halpern, Zamir & Segal, Eran & Elinav, Eran. (2014). Artificial Sweeteners Induce Glucose Intolerance by Altering the Gut Microbiota. Nature. 70. 10.1038/nature13793.

A Bitter Aftertaste: Unintended Effects of Artificial Sweeteners on the Gut Microbiome

Bokulich, Nicholas A. et al.

Cell Metabolism , Volume 20 , Issue 5 , 701 – 703

Sucralose may cause DNA damage, epigenetic effects, autoimmune problems, thymus shrinkage, liver & kidney enlargement, kidney calcification, migraines, and at high doses anemia, male infertility, miscarriages, increased mortality, and a number of unwanted physical symptoms.

Sucralose metabolites are fat soluble & may persist for weeks in the body.

Some medications may contain sucralose unlabeled.

24 references

New Splenda Studies Confirm Its Dangers  September 05, 2018 by Dr. Joseph Mercola

articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2018/09/05/artificial-sweetener-splenda.aspx

Sucralose (Splenda)

Sucralose (Splenda) may reduce good bacteria in our gut, reducing insulin sensitivity, increasing blood sugar & type II diabetes, weight, seizures, and interfere with the metabolism of many drugs.

Splenda alters gut microflora and increases intestinal p-glycoprotein and cytochrome p-450 in male rats.J Toxicol Environ Health A. 2008;71(21):1415-29. doi: 10.1080/15287390802328630

Acesulfame potassium (Ace K)

A main chemical appears to cause liver & kidney damage, cancer, mood problems & cancer & possibly autism.

Saccharin

Saccharin may cause nausea, cancer, sun sensitivity, heart tachycardia, & gastrointestinal issues.

Zylitol, mannitol, sorbitol

The sugar alcohols can cause gastrointestinal issues & laxative effects even at low doses.

draxe.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/WorstArtificalSweeteners.jpg

draxe.com/nutrition/artificial-sweeteners

High fructose corn syrup & sugar

High fructose corn syrup appears in multiple studies to cause increased weight gain, obesity, diabetes, liver failure and cancer much greater than other caloric sweeteners, in part from it’s high mercury content, deadly glyphosate/Roundup, & genetic modification (as does white wheat, white rice, refined oils and FD&C food colorings- yellow#, red#, blue# that also has lead).

Agave syrup has a high amount of fructose that can increase diabetes.

Regular sugar is almost always GMO beet sugar which often causes allergic reactions & other sensitivities.

Cane sugar is highly processed & not handled well by the body but is better than (beet) sugar.

Sucanat is as healthy as & contains the nutrients in raw sugar & sugarcane juice.

Brown sugar has molasses added to it.

Molasses is sweet & has a lot of nutrients in it.

draxe.com/nutrition/high-fructose-corn-syrup-dangers