Well, they say ignorance is bliss…
Yep, I agree but let's add a twist to it a bit....ignorance is bliss till you're reaping the consequences of lack of knowledge on that subject matter🤧
Artificial sweeteners (benefit-risk assessment)
This happened way back and I don't know why I'm just sharing this. I went to buy a certain milk drink (name withheld), and it happened to be the most expensive drink in that shop. I didn't mind though as I was trying to escape having carbonated drinks, so my main focus was just to confirm it hadn't expired and wasn't near its expiry date - if you know me you'll know I'm pretty big on checking the expiry dates of everything and anything that seems to have one (I picked this from my dad).
So, while looking for where the expiry date was located, my eyes caught the drink constituents section. I briefly glanced through it and I didn't see sugar. Ahhhh, how is that possible? The shop guy said it's very sweet and healthy too... I was like ‘Oh wow! So what on mother surface earth is giving you sweetness???’... I didn't find any glucose (or sugar family) in it.....
Well after I confirmed the expiry date, I had a new goal. It had shifted from satisfying my craving for a sweet drink to finding out what was causing its sweetness since sugar wasn't there. Browsing through the ingredients and reading up on it, I found the culprit 'Mr. Aspartame'. So I said, ‘Let me taste it’ - as I had found out what the sweetener was. I kid you not, as I tasted it - let me say drank it because from tasting it I finished it within a couple of minutes- it was diabetic-inducing kind of sweet😂😂...
I had to check up what it contained as I was intrigued as to what made it almost sweeter than 'sugar'. It definitely was too sweet to be a good and healthy option…
So yeah, our guy is a synthetic sweetener made from two amino acids, aspartic acid, and phenylalanine. It is used as a sugar substitute in diet sodas, sugar-free gum, ice creams, and low-calorie desserts (a lot of food products contain and are loaded with it). There are claims to its benefits like it has a very low-calorie count (almost zero actually), doesn't raise blood sugar levels for diabetics, and doesn't also contribute to tooth decay. However, guys, it's a chemical so it has side effects, especially when consciously or unconsciously consumed in excess, such as headache, dizziness, nausea, stomach discomfort, and allergic reactions (rare though).
My interest was piqued more by the long-term adverse effects of consuming it. Research suggests it's linked to cancer – hepatocellular (carcinogenic), neurological disorders e.g. seizures and tremors, and even metabolic disorders. It is also strongly contraindicated in pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and individuals with Phenylketonuria.
Come on!
It's even banned and restricted in certain developed countries like Japan, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, and Italy. Though it is still approved by FDA/EU regulators, it is only the amount per product and not the amount an individual can consume that is monitored. So if you ask me, I’d say it's better to avoid it altogether and instead target better and healthier substitutes.
So the take home is, to make it a habit to check the constituents of consumable products you buy and avoid artificial sweeteners as much as possible. In the long run, it doesn't pay...
_It's too good to be good…_
Let's all lead healthier lives right??
Thanks for reading through🤍
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