News

Our monthly nutritional news letter with the latest research and thinking.

The dark world of artificial sweeteners

Back at the beginning of March I wrote about the pros and mostly cons of the energy drinks market . One of the major issues that I only mentioned in passing is the use of artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and acesulfame-K. I think the use of these sweeteners in sports and diet products could be one of the tragedies of our time. It really is a murky world of sales and profits over health and fitness.
There are the usual scary facts about aspartame that won’t go away. It’s made by the agrochemical company Monsanto who apparently use genetically modified bacteria that it doesn’t have to declare. The list of disease associated with its use is very long indeed. It includes:

• blindness
• epilepsy
• aggravated low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
• severe PMS
• peptic ulcers
• aspartame addiction and increased craving for sweets
• hyperactivity in children
• severe depression
• aggressive behavior
• suicidal tendencies
• Hypothyroidism
• fibromyalgia
• and a whole lot more

It was introduced onto the market in the early 80s and is now so widespread it’s hard to avoid it. The biggest selling sports drinks in this country contain both aspartame and ace K and their use isn’t just for sporting reasons any more. I have numerous clients that are addicted to Diet soda or sports drinks often drinking up to 3 litres a day.

Aspartame is made up of 3 chemicals: Aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol. I’m not going to go through each of these because this article might then become a tedious science lecture. Lets just take a look at methanol for now. Once the temperature of aspartame reaches 86 degrees F the methanol changes into formaldehyde and formic acid. Consuming this can then lead to methanol poisoning and extremely intensive treatment. Chronic exposure to formaldehyde can cause irreversible neurological damage.
If you remember your chemistry it’s formaldehyde that is used for embalming and reading The Douglas Report recently there is a thought provoking quote that reads. “Chemically speaking it is as if image conscious dieters, in their quest for weight loss, are sucking on the toe of a corpse. ‘Just for the taste of it.’”
What this means to you and me is that you should avoid any aspartame containing foods and drinks especially if they are exposed to heat. I took a stroll round our local Tesco the other morning and found several within seconds of getting in the door. There are even Tesco own brand sweetener cubes and granules based on aspartame that you are encouraged to add to your tea and to use for baking! A steaming cup of embalming fluid for me please barman.
I could continue to write about the health problems associated with these products but I think you all get the general idea and can see where I’m going with this. Stop using them immediately! Stop your kids from using them and share this information with those you care for. And try to make sure your schools, sports coaches and work colleagues know about it.
I’d like to see a complete ban on sports drink vending machines at playing fields that are used by school children in the Bristol area. If any of you have any experience in mounting this sort of campaign then please get in touch. If you have any further questions then feel free to drop me an email.

Case studies

28 year old tri athlete presented with ‘IBS’, bloating, wind, constipation and regular knee/structural pain

• Taking at least 1g ibuprofen per day for a considerable time to manage joint pain
• Training was sporadic due to regular injuries
• Unable to conduct any tests due to financial restraints
• Diet consisted of high calorie carbohydrate rich foods such as pasta, bananas, bread, potatoes and rice. Very little attention to protein, fibre, fats or micronutrients
• Job was stressful
• Upon introduction of high protein and high fibrous vegetable diet along with targeted supplements all digestive issues were considerably better
• Anti inflammatory foods and supplements were introduced and within 4 weeks he was able to stop taking ibuprofen
• Aggressive post raining nutrition was introduced
• At the second meeting we added adrenal glandulars and adaptogenic herbs to support the adrenals and energy production
• Digestive issues are under control but still has issues when away from home
• Body composition changed dramatically loosing 7% body fat and gaining lean muscle
• Is now managing injuries much better and is able to train harder resulting in several PBs

That’s it for now. Happy eating to all of you.

These recommendations are not comprehensive and are not intended to replace the advice of your doctor or pharmacist