Health updates: Sucralose and bad habits

The following is new information regarding sucralose and a new study on how bad habits can affect the aging of our bodies.

The “other” sweetener that is made from sugar, but is closer to the pesticide DDT

Researchers recently investigated sucralose (Splenda®) to see if it could reduce hunger and keep blood sugar steady. They found that it could not. The researchers hoped to find that sucralose could cause the intestine to produce a hormone that reduces blood sugar and decreases appetite, which prior studies had indicated might be a possibility. But the effect did not occur when it was ingested orally — the hunger and blood sugar levels remained the same.

Unfortunately, the belief that artificial sweeteners give you the best of both worlds is simply not based in reality. It is a carefully orchestrated deception. In reality, “diet” foods and drinks block the body’s ability to count calories, thus boosting the inclination to overindulge. This effect appears to be true for all brands of artificial sweeteners.

According to the website, fyiliving.com: “Worse, other research has shown that artificial sweeteners might contribute to weight gain. … [when the] sweet taste is not accompanied by the calories (energy) our brain expects it to be, the complex systems our bodies have to regulate energy balance may be thrown off kilter. The result is that a diet high in artificial sweeteners may possibly, over time, cause people to seek out more calories from other sources.”

Bad habits can age you 12 years

Smoking, excess drinking, lack of exercise and poor diet can age you by 12 years. The findings come from a study that tracked close to 5,000 British adults for 20 years. Over the course of the study, 29 percent of the people with all four unhealthy behaviors died. Only 8 percent died among the people with none of the four habits.

USA Today notes that: “The findings do not mean that everyone who maintains a healthy lifestyle will live longer than those who do not, but it will increase the odds.”

Sources: FYI Living March 10, 2011, European Journal of Clinical Nutrition April 2011; 65(4):508-13, Green Med Info, USA Today April 26, 2010, Archives of Internal Medicine April 26, 2010;170(8):711-8 and www.mercola.com June 22, 2011.

Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 30, Number 4, Aug/Sept 2011.