Unfortunately the media has made us believe that we’re probably all going to die if we consume anything containing artificial sweeteners. Diet coke is going to give us cancer and make us get fat anyway – where’s the justice in that, hey?!
What I’m here to reassure you is that the myths are fuelled by the media who have not done their due diligence with the research, and if they have then they’re lying with what they’re writing. I promise you, we shouldn’t all be worried about growing an extra head when we pop a stevia into our brew.
A lot of the headlines will have you believe they are based around research…they probably are but we need to look at the credibility of said research – something which many never even consider because the claims seem believable, right?! Many scientific research papers, despite seeming to portray good information to the layman would NEVER allow us to draw direct conclusions or causation despite perhaps showing a correlation and therefore cannot be solid and generate low-level, lazy journalism.
So enough of that – I guess you want the good stuff. Can I order a coke zero or not Anna?!
There is NO evidence to suggest that sweeteners cause blood sugar or insulin issues as suggested, low-calorie sweeteners over sugar has actually seen brilliant results in BMI reduction, body fat reduction and measurement reduction around that tum. After all, they reduce overall calorie intake and we know what that means!
IF some of the sketchy claims are true, that’s a big IF then you would need to be consuming an obscene amount of sweetener for a number of years in order to suffer from the effects.
But aren’t they full of chemicals?! I literally will not entertain this one – EVERYTHING is a chemical, fruit is made up of chemicals, chicken breast is made up of chemicals – if you entertained this thought you would eat literally nothing.
So, I think we can safely say, based on current evidence-based practice which, you know, I am big on, the myths around artificial sweeteners are exactly that, myths.
Artificial sweeteners may help to reduce your overall energy intake if you’re looking to lose a little weight.
But don’t knock back 6 litres of diet coke and 50 stevia a day…please.
If artificial sweeteners agree with your digestive system and you’re looking to lose a pound or two then go for it, you aren’t compromising your health popping the occasional sweet hit into your tea.
Peace and love x
