Double Your Risk of Obesity!

The prevalence of obesity has reached epidemic proportions and many Americans are making efforts to side-step extra calories. They are turning to diet soft drinks -- Diet Coke, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper and Sprite -- as their beverage of choice.
But is this a wise health choice?

Perhaps not, for according to a study by researchers at the University of Texas San Antonio, middle-aged adults who drink diet soft drinks may be drastically increasing their risks of gaining weight later on.

Diet Soda Discovery
The study monitored the weight and soda-drinking habits of more than 600 normal-weight patients aged 25-64. When researchers followed up on the patients some eight years later, they discovered:

Participants were 65 percent more likely to be overweight if they consumed one diet soda a day compared to if they drank none.
Two or more low- or no-calorie soft drinks raised the odds of becoming obese or overweight even higher.
Those who drank diet soda had a greater chance of becoming overweight than participants who drank regular soda.

Finding Clarity
By itself, diet soda cannot be blamed for weight gain; however, various contributing factors may play a role.
For example, a person who drinks a diet soda may feel it's acceptable to make up for those calories with another high-calorie food. And while the tongue is temporarily satisfied by the sweet taste of diet soda, the brain isn't similarly fooled and still craves calories for energy. Other studies have suggested people who drink an artificially sweetened beverage before a meal will eat more high-calorie foods than those who do not.
Therefore, with diet soft drinks and sugar-sweetened beverages (even fruit juices) linked to weight gain and obesity, many people are left wondering, "What is safe to drink?" The answer, of course, is water.
San Antonio Express-News July 6, 2005

Remember when I said how I was drinking diet Dr. Pepper because I was concerned about weight gain...yeah well as you can now see the case with artificial sweeteners is not what we think it to be. A decade ago studies were already showing that artificial sweeteners even though having few calories did not help the population maintain a healthy weight or reach their weight loss goals. Instead they are linked to:

Stimulate your appetite.
Increase carbohydrate cravings.
Stimulate fat storage and weight gain.

Now many people say that they have to use these artificial sweeteners due to health issues, maintaining their insulin levels. They have diabetes. Is this true? Do artificial sweeteners actually help regulate this or prevent shock to the system?

Even though everyone needs to be aware of their sugar intake and keep sugar to a minimum in their diets in general, this is one case where I strong support the use of sugar over ANY artificial man made sweetener. At least with sugar, it is natural (even the table sugar most people use is better then these pseudo sugars)and all you have to be concerned with leptin and insulin regulation. This is not the case when you look deeper into sucralose, aspartame or others.

"When using artificial sweeteners, you not only have the same insulin and leptin issues but you now must contend with the toxic effects of these artificial chemicals.
Artificial sweeteners like aspartame (NutraSweet®) and sucralose (Splenda®) can contribute to a host of additional side effects.
Sucralose, the sweetening agent in Splenda®, is in fact made from sugar (sucrose). However, what the ads don't go on to say is that chemists then add three chlorine molecules to these sugar molecules to create the final product.

Animal studies have revealed that sucralose can cause:

Shrunken thymus glands (up to 40 percent shrinkage)
Enlarged liver and kidneys
Atrophy of lymph follicles in the spleen and thymus
Reduced growth rate
Decreased red blood cell count
Diarrhea

If these findings concern you, read on, because aspartame may be even worse.
Results of multiple studies, complaints and testimonies have revealed that aspartame can trigger or worsen the following diseases:

Brain tumors
Multiple sclerosis
Epilepsy
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Parkinson's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Mental retardation
Lymphoma
Birth defects
Fibromyalgia
Diabetes "

---Mercola

These are dangerous poisons that we are drinking in our sodas, fruit juices, creamers and even alcoholic beverages. They can be found in our condiments, lunch meats, fast foods, cereals, fiber bars, sauces, deserts and more!

Fortunately there are great resources available to help break the addiction to these excito-toxins. Some are listed through out this blog and a quick google search will pull up many.