If you suffer from diabetes, you know the daily struggle of balancing the foods you want to eat with the effect they will have on your blood sugar. In fact, according to scientific studies, just one of these drinks a day may be enough to significantly increase your risk for a number of health problems.
Artificial sweetener dangers
Let’s take a look at the damage artificialsweeteners can do to your body:
Weight Gain- The intake of artificially-sweetened beverages was associated with the increased body mass index and increased body fat percentage in males and females at a two-year follow-up.
Hypertension and Cardiovascular Disease- Consuming at least one artificially-sweetened beverage daily significantly elevated the risk for hypertension for women in a number of studies.
Metabolic Syndrome-Metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions including increased blood pressure, a high blood sugar level, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol levels increase your risk of stroke, heart disease, and other diseases. Recent studies suggest that those who drink artificially-sweetened beverages may have double the risk of metabolic syndrome, compared with non-consumers.
Diabetes- You may be surprised to hear that those artificial sweeteners you’ve been using to try to control your blood sugar have also been linked to the development of diabetes, the very condition you’re trying to control.
Here are a few good options for choosing safe sweeteners:
Sugar – Think that just because you have diabetes you have to avoid sugar completely? Think again. You can have small amounts of the sweet stuff. Just be sure to only use a little.
Stevia – Stevia is the best choice of sweetener which is natural and has little to no impact on your blood sugar.
Sugar Alcohols – Sugar alcohols, or polyols, are derived from the natural fibers in fruits and vegetable for examples xylitol, sorbitol, and mannitol. They do have some effect on your blood glucose and may have a laxative effect and cause indigestion, bloat, diarrhea, and headaches in some people.
Fruit – Fresh fruits are a great way to sweeten your food while getting more vitamins and fiber in your diet. Try berries or dates with your oatmeal, unsweetened applesauce in plain Greek yogurt or frozen bananas blended with cocoa powder to replace ice cream.
Don’t let diabetes steal the sweetness from your life. Use the naturalsweeteners above to safely enjoy your simple pleasures.
