The yuletide season is here and, as usual, it’s party time everywhere. This is also the season we must watch what we eat or drink and be conscious of the amount of artificial sweeteners, sugary drinks and sodas consumed. Artificial sweeteners are natural sugar substitute that are added in foods, drinks or ingredients to make up for the sugar that was removed. Today, these artificial sweeteners and other sugar substitutes in foods and beverages are marketed as “sugar-free” or “diet,” including soft drinks, sodas, diary products, ice cream, yogurt, chewing gum, baked foods, biscuits, some drugs, toothpaste, canned foods, candy/sweets, fruit juice, beverages, and so on.
So many people erroneously believe that as long as you are drinking fruit juice, or “diet” sodas, it’s a healthy choice but this is a misleading belief that encourages the rising rates of weight gain, obesity, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease. In 2009, the American Heart Association (AHA) issued a scientific statement about sugar intake and heart health, pointing out that there is evidence for a relationship between the two. According to the abstract: “High intake of dietary sugars in the setting of a worldwide pandemic of obesity and cardiovascular disease have heightened concerns about the adverse effects of excessive consumption of sugars”. Excessive consumption of sugars has therefore, been linked with several metabolic abnormalities and adverse health conditions, as well as shortfalls of essential nutrients.
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