Is this the End of Diet Soda? Huge Study links Aspartame to Major Problems, Sales Drop...

As concerns about health epidemics plague the nation, demand and sales of diet soda have plunged as consumers try to make better choices. As we reported yesterday, aspartame–the main sweetener for diet soda–is one of the most dangerous ingredients used in our food supply, causing seizures and a host of other health issues.

In a new study done over ten years and sampling 60,000 women, it was shown that women who drink two or more diet drinks a day have much higher cardiovascular disease rates and are more likely to die from the disease.

30 percent more likely to have a heart problems...

In the largest study done of it’s kind, The University of Iowa concluded:

“…[C]ompared to women who never or only rarely consume diet drinks, those who consume two or more a day are 30 percent more likely to have a cardiovascular event [heart attack or stroke] and 50 percent more likely to die from related disease.

‘This is one of the largest studies on this topic, and our findings are consistent with some previous data, especially those linking diet drinks to the metabolic syndrome,’ says Dr. Ankur Vyas… the lead investigator of the study.

…The association persisted even after researchers adjusted the data to account for demographic characteristics and other cardiovascular risk factors, including body mass index, smoking, hormone therapy use, physical activity, energy intake, salt intake, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and sugar-sweetened beverage intake.

On average, women who consumed two or more diet drinks a day were younger, more likely to be smokers, and had a higher prevalence of diabetes, high blood pressure, and higher body mass index.”

Soda sales slipping...

Thankfully this study comes on the heels of reports of already slipping sales of diet soda, one of the largest aspartame markets.

According to Time Magazine:

“One reason for the decline could be a growing awareness of the obesity epidemic in the US and growing health concerns surrounding sugar-sweetened beverages. According to Reuters, industry experts say the beverage industry is shrinking under the scrutiny. Even diet-branded drinks have suffered a loss of sales with concerns over artificial sweeteners.”

Whatever the reason for the decline, this new study should only add fuel to the movement away from artificial sweeteners. There are plenty of natural sweeteners that people can choose that are much healthier than aspartame. Click here for a practical guide to natural sweeteners.

Another important note is that the overall sales of soda going down also means that less people are being exposed to (mostly GM) high fructose corn syrup which carries a whole host of health risks as well.

Via wesupportorganic.com

http://eatlocalgrown.com/article/12974-is-this-the-end-of-diet-soda.html

The 7 Deadly Truths Of Sugar

by Gina Trimarchi-Martin

Ahhh, sugar and sugary sweets. They just taste so good. But as most of us know, it is not always worth the indulgence. (OK, maybe sometimes it is. Chocolate anyone)? But seriously, the complications of sugar can simply wreak havoc on your well-being. Read below to find out more.

These are Called Seven Deadly Truths of Sugar:

1. By nature, sugar is duplicitous.

Let’s first define sugar. Typically when we talk about “sugar,” we are referring to table sugar, primarily derived from sugarcane or beets. Table sugar is also called sucrose. Sucrose is made up of 50% glucose and 50% fructose. Glucose and fructose are important to differentiate because the two get processed very differently in the body, which as you’ll find out, has seriously different ramifications on our health.

2. Fructose = Fat.

Glucose is the sugar that gets processed in our guts during digestion and can ultimately be used by every cell in our body. Fructose, the sister carbohydrate in sucrose, bypasses the gut completely and goes straight to our livers. Some of it gets stored as glycogen, but some of it also gets turned into triglycerides, which is a fancy term for fat. Yes, fructose = fat. This wouldn’t be a big deal, but food these days is loaded with sugars—including fructose, which in its purest form, happens to be 70% sweeter than table sugar, making it more addictive.
3. Sugar is addictive.

Sugar alters our biochemical pathways in our brain and we end up needing a greater doses of sugar. That’s why out of the 600,000 food products in America today, 80% are laced with some form of sugar, and more specifically fructose, because it’s cheap and keeps us addicted.

4. Fructose is a chronic liver toxin.

Eating too much food with fructose is now correlated to a number of chronic diseases. This includes, slower metabolism, higher cholesterol, heart disease, fatty-liver disease or cirrhosis, hypertension, obesity, hepatic insulin resistance and even gout due to the overproduction of uric acid in the body. Fructose also can cause leptin resistance, which is the hormone that tells your body whether you are hungry or full. If you break that switch, then chances are you’re going to be on a one way road to fat town.
5. Stripping fiber from food leads to increased sugar to our system.
Normally plants with fructose are equipped with fiber. Fiber, something we’re not consuming enough of, acts as a safeguard. It not only fills us up and slows digestion, but it also helps slow down the absorption of fructose into our bodies. However, nowadays with juicing and smoothie crazes (which destroy fiber), the stripping of fiber from foods (think white rice, puffed wheat and white bread), and the breeding of fruits for more sweetness and longer shelf life) we’re ruining our chances for healthier bodies.

6. “Natural” sugar is misleading.

Fructose may be naturally occurring, meaning that it is present in whole fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds — but that doesn’t mean that it’s good for you. (Just ask Socrates who was sentenced to death by drinking hemlock.) When we futilely discuss about which sugar is better than another, we rarely ever look at fructose levels. Here’s a short list of nine “natural” sweeteners to give you an idea of what percentage of fructose is commonly found in each; variations in levels are often due to different brands and how sugar is processed:
Agave nectar = 56-97%
High fructose corn syrup = 42-90%
Tapioca syrup = 55%
Table sugar / cane sugar / beet sugar = 50%
Honey = 38-50%
Coconut sugar = 38-48.5%
Yacon syrup = 35%
Maple syrup = 30%-45%
Molasses = 23%

7. Just because sugar has a low glycemic index (GI), it doesn’t mean it’s good for you.
The GI is misleading for a couple reasons. The scale was created to see how high your blood glucose rises after ingesting 50 grams of carbs of a specific food. Firstly, fifty grams of carbs is quite a lot. A common example I see thrown around is carrots. They are high on the GI, but to get 50 grams of carbs from carrots, you have to eat 1.3 lb! You have to look at glycemic load, which tells you how much food you need to eat to obtain those 50 grams of carbohydrates. But as you have just found out, sugar is oftentimes more than just glucose. In most cases, it also consists of fructose. So GI and glycemic load aren’t useful tools for measuring fructose levels in the body. That’s why calories of sugar, to a certain extent, don’t matter. All sugars weren’t created equally; they are metabolized very differently in the body, each having their own ramifications if eaten too liberally.
I have always had a sweet tooth, and love sugar in almost anything. It has been a hard habit to break. Knowledge is power, so knowing the above truths about sugar does make it easier for me to avoid it – most of the time. I stick to dark chocolate (85%) when I need my chocolate fix and use maple syrup and coconut sugar when I bake for my kids.

Source: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-17122/the-7-deadly-truths-of-sugar.html
Featured Image: http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2013/020/2/a/sugar_lips_fruit_by_rosshi-d5s3foq.jpg