sweeteners...
and our children’s health
Recent articles have discussed the growing
use of artificial sweeteners among
children in the US. It seems, with the
increased understanding of how harmful sugar is
to our health, especially in youth, a trend towards
artificial sweeteners has begun. But is it safe?
Artificial sweeteners include an array of chemical
concoctions including products like aspartame,
acesulfame, neotame, saccharin, advantame,
and sucralose, among others. The most common
plant based option is stevia.
What makes these artificial sweeteners so attractive,
not surprisingly, is that they increase
the sweetness of a food without the added carbs
and calories. To many parents, this seems like an
ideal alternative to real sugar, especially given all
the advertisements about how these no- and lowcalorie
sweeteners help people lose weight and
balance blood glucose levels. In some cases, the
switch isn’t even known to parents. Many prodartificial
ucts tout lower sugar and calories while failing
to point out the swap from real to fake sugars.
Unfortunately, there are many problems with the
use of artificial sweeteners in children. If you are
a parent, it is imperative that you know this information.
Artificial sweeteners are far from safe
and may even cause lasting damage to a child’s
health. Let’s run through the main concerns so
you can make an educated choice on how these
sweeteners are used, or not, in your family.
On taste: Artificial sweeteners, when used
frequently, train a child to expect very sweet
foods. On the whole, artificial sweeteners can
be anywhere from 180 to 20,000 times sweeter
than regular table sugar! If not used in low doses,
a child can easily become conditioned to overly
sweet foods. Instead of decreasing sugary foods,
it may only increase them later in life when they
start making food choices for themselves outside
of the home.
On weight: In research we see few beneficial effects
of artificial sweeteners on weight. Kids, in
general, are very attuned to their caloric needs. A
decrease in one area usually leads to an increase
in another. There are a whole host of other foods
included at meals and snacks, and just cutting
calories from soda or candy will not make up for
a consistently unhealthy diet and lack of physical
activity. Touting these lower kcal junk foods is not
the answer to our obesity epidemic.
On blood sugar: Artificially sweetened products
are often promoted for their beneficial effect on
blood sugar. By replacing the sugar, the theory is
we should be able to keep our blood sugar more
stable and prevent those spikes that can lead to
weight gain and obesity. When consumed in small
quantities and with a variety of other foods at a
meal, the effects might be somewhat positive
34 WomanToWomanMagazine.com
/WomanToWomanMagazine.com
