by Dr. Oler, ND | Mar 7, 2019 | Eating Naturally, Naturopathic Health, Neurotransmitter, Neurotransmitter Function, Neurotransmitter Imbalances, Nutrition
Aspartame is a widely used artificial sweetener. Since its discovery in 1965, it has been used in thousands of food products as a non-caloric sweetener. Aspartame is about 200 times sweeter than sucrose (table sugar). However, aspartame is not the only artificial sweetener found in foods; others include saccharin, neotame, acesulfame potassium, and sucralose. More than 6000 new products that contain artificial sweeteners were launched in the United States between 1999 and 2004, including soft drinks, baby food, Pedialyte, frozen foods, chewing gum and many (many) foods aimed at weight loss and blood sugar management (see other posts on the effects of artificial sweeteners and blood sugar and weight gain). (more…)
by Dr. Oler, ND | May 17, 2018 | Areas of Weight Loss Resistance, Blood Sugar, Gut Dysbiosis, insulin resistance
It has long been known that consuming too much sugar leads to metabolic changes that result in diabetes, weight gain, obesity and cardiovascular disease. In an attempt to allow people to ‘have their cake and eat it too’ food-stuff manufacturers introduced and heavily marketed artificial sweeteners as a “healthy” alternative to sugar. However, research over the past decade has shown that consuming artificial sweeteners leads to metabolic derangements that actually promote the very things they are marketed to help, namely blood sugar dysregulation, diabetes, weight gain and cardiovascular disease. A new study has begun to show us how. (more…)
by Dr. Oler, ND | Feb 22, 2018 | Areas of Weight Loss Resistance, Blood Sugar, insulin resistance, Natural Weight Loss, Underlying Metabolic Imbalances
Researchers have been studying the health effects of artificial sweeteners for years; unfortunately, most of the findings show that they are very detrimental to human health. One of the most interesting findings is that artificial sweeteners can actually increase our desire to eat, increase cravings and lead to weight gain; this flies in the face of why most people consume artificial sweeteners, that is, to lose weight. Many studies have shown this to be true, and at least one of the mechanisms thought to cause this weight gain is dysregulation of the how our body controls blood sugar. Now, new research is showing artificial sweeteners can have even more far reaching detrimental effects on our health. (more…)
by Dr. Oler, ND | Jan 4, 2018 | Amino Acid Therapy, Areas of Weight Loss Resistance, Blood Sugar, Eating Naturally, insulin resistance, Natural Weight Loss, Underlying Metabolic Imbalances, Weight Loss
There have now been studies on over 100,000 people (!) that show that the consumption of artificial sweeteners leads to weight gain. Researchers have been investigating this counter-intuitive phenomena for decades with some very interesting results. However, one of the newer discoveries has to do with how artificial sweeteners affect brain signaling. As it turns out, these effects can have a dramatic impact on our appetite. (more…)
by Dr. Oler, ND | Oct 12, 2017 | Amino Acid Therapy, Areas of Weight Loss Resistance, Blood Sugar, insulin resistance, Neurotransmitter Imbalances
In a previous post, we highlighted research that showed that those that consumed non-caloric artificial sweeteners (NAS) experienced higher blood sugar levels and gained more weight than those that did not. This baffled researchers at the time, as NAS had been assumed to be helpful to those trying to lose weight and are often marketed to those with blood sugar imbalances, including diabetes. New research is uncovering why NAS have such detrimental effects. (more…)
