Artificial Sweetners and Cravings

K. D. Lang wrote and performed a song titled "Constant Cravings" that burst onto the music charts in 1992. If you have ever had the privilege of hearing this song you would have heard the perfect hook for artificial sweeteners. A seldom publicized fact is that artificial sweeteners devastate blood sugar levels by causing wild fluctuations. When ingested, artificial sweeteners elevate blood glucose to high levels. Once the body deals with the excess glucose, which is primarily stored as fat, a "crash" ensues causing glucose levels to plummet and once this happens the appetite and sugar cravings increase. This causes a person to either consume more artificial sweeteners, usually through a beverage, or carbohydrates, usually highly refined, both of which inevitably lead to weight gain. That's why it is not uncommon to see or hear of people consuming "diet" beverages or other food products containing artificial sweeteners and then binging on junk food or highly processed carbohydrate foods whether they be diet foods or otherwise.

Artificial sweeteners also trick the body into thinking, through taste, that it is about to receive more glucose than will actually be consumed because it is so much sweeter than regular sugar. This makes the body prepare for more sugar than it is receiving through increased insulin production. The amount of insulin produced will be disproportionately higher to the amount artificial sweetener consumed. The increased insulin causes blood glucose to further decrease causing even more cravings. These cycles described between the two paragraphs can be extremely vicious for some causing further weight gain and setting the body up for diabetes if diabetes is not already an issue. If a person is already diabetic further resistance to insulin is all but certain increasing the likelihood of further diabetic complications.

In future post we will cover the addictive nature of artificial sweeteners and documented side effects of the toxins produced from aspartame metabolism.

Much peace to all!

Source:
http://www.susunweed.com/herbal_ezine/June05/anti-cancer.htm