Are Artificial Sweeteners Good for You?
This is my birthday week and I will have a piece of birthday cake.  Yes, the “real thing”.  I am not at all saying we should eat sugar.  No way!  I recommend healthy sweeteners such as honey or maple syrup.  Spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg or cloves are examples of sweetening foods or drinks in a healthy way.I don’t like artificial sweeteners because of what they do to the brain and pancreas.  Personally, some artificial sweeteners can cause a migraine.  

Do you know how toxic sugar is in your body?  It causes inflammation which ages your body in very noticeable ways.  Liver, pancreas, skin and joints.  Let’s focus on healthy aging.  

Check out 2 simple dessert recipes below that are from my 14 Day Clean Eating Reset.  Yummy!

What You Need to Know About Artificial Sweeteners
 
Since the 1970’s, a new food trend came about with the goal to reduce sugar intake in people. This was believed to be a way for people to more easily manage weight, and the idea was that less sugar means less calories, and of course therefore less weight gain, but is that really the case?
After another 30 years of research, science has released many of the findings, and it looks like things aren’t exactly as they appear. 

The Gut Flora

Your gut has a large colony of microorganisms inside of it, and when they eat the things that you eat, there can be good and bad effects that you cause.
One easy example is how acidic foods can tend to cause over populations of unhealthy destructive bacteria, and healthy foods can help keep your gut flora alive and kill off the extra harmful bacteria, but studies have shown that these sweeteners can confuse or make major changes to your gut flora. This could be really bad under most circumstances. After many of these studies, a lot of information suggests that the sweeteners don’t even have much of an effect on weight loss.
  
Kids Have Other Factors

After studying a cross section of children, researchers have concluded that kids who are overweight are generally overweight because of the types of foods that they eat, and the types of quantities that are normal for them on a daily basis.
Diet sodas are only really meant to replace some of the sugar intake, so a child who eats a lot of fast food can drink as much diet soda as they want, but it won’t make them lose weight.
To lose weight, it would have to involve some changes in habits that make overeating easy for them to do, and generally, children who overeat tend to be enabled by parents.

Fooling Your Body Might Be Bad
 
Artificial sweeteners may have unintended consequence for users of the product.
When your brain tastes something sweet, receptors tell your brain that your body is about to receive something to ingest. The brain then tells your pancreas to make insulin to break down the sugar so that it can be used in the body. When these sugars are not received or broken down, it could cause your body to become confused.
In tests of overweight people, many of them showed signs of sustained insulin production. This could be very dangerous for people because this lays the beginning of diabetes. That happens when your body no longer properly responds to sugars entering your blood.

How does your body respond to artificial sweeteners?  What is your opinion?  Next week I will have a link for you to sign up for a FREE webinar on Sugar.  It’s a fun one!  

Now is the time to set your mind at ease.  I’m in your corner and here to help.  Learn how to eat real foods, on the go AND have more healthy energy at every age.
Contact me if you have questions or to get started right away.   peggy@healthcoachmt.com
 
I am here to help you learn what your body needs and what works for you to feel your best and have that Feel Ageless, Be Ageless glow.

 
sugar

Blessings, 
Coach Peggy

pears

 

Baked Pear with Shredded Coconut

Serves 2

2 large pears
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Add pears to a baking pan. Coat with coconut oil and season with cinnamon and ginger.
Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes until soft.
Serve in a bowl topped with shredded coconut.

dates & walnuts

Warm Dates with Tahini & Shredded Coconut

Serves 2

6 pitted dates
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon unsweetened, dried shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

Place the dates on a small baking pan.
Warm the dates for about 5 minutes in the oven.
Remove from the oven, then serve drizzled with tahini and shredded coconut.

These are simple, yummy desserts in my 14 Day Fall Clean Eating Reset.