ARE SWEETENERS REALLY BAD FOR ME?
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For many years (decades actually) we have used sweeteners because they provide a sweet taste without the calories (and ultra-high-GI calories at that) of sugar. For many of us this has really helped with weight control and healthier living in general since it is really not that hard when compared to many other healthy-lifestyle changes we struggle with! In recent times people have become concerned that sweeteners are unhealthy, cause cancer, create headaches, cause diabetes, etc. The list of evil things attributed to sweeteners includes almost every illness known to us!

I recently became concerned personally because one of my own little “vices” is a great fondness for Coke Zero and I keep being told by my friends “that’s really bad for you” and “surely YOU should know better than to drink that poison, etc.”. In truth I’d never looked into the question and so I am very pleased to have now done so.

Sweeteners are safe. That’s all you really need to know. American and European authorities have conducted huge and repeated investigations into all the main sweeteners in use today (yes, including aspartame) and found no adverse health effects at all. They have even been able to prove that scary many claims were false or “placebo” effects. Here are some good links for balanced reading on the topic:

  • http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150127-are-sweeteners-really-bad-for-us
  • http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/the-truth-about-artificial-sweeteners.aspx
  • http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/artificial-sweeteners/art-20046936

So the answer to the question above is no.