Artificial Sweeteners: The Answer To The blood Sugar Rollercoaster'?

Artificial Sweeteners: The Answer To The blood Sugar Rollercoaster'?

By:


Wild fluctuations in blood sugar levels can have profound effects on brain function and that any person dealing with the effects of ADD/ADHD should take proactive steps to avoid the dangerous spike trough cycle and its attendant problems. I also made some specific suggestions on how to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. If you paid attention to these suggestions you would have noticed that there is one that is conspicuous in its absence. This is a strategy that has million dollar marketing budgets behind it and that many people turn to at the slightest hint of blood sugar problems. Yet I chose not to include it and I made this decision based on some very good reasons. The strategy that I am talking about is: Making use of artificial sweeteners.

To many people making use of a sugar substitute to battle a sugar craving is so obvious that it is almost seen as a no-brainer. I am convinced however that a person struggling with the effects of ADD/ADHD should give these products as wide a berth as possible. The reasons behind this recommendation are the following:

Sugar substitutes soothes rather than solves: Artificial sweeteners will certainly not cure your sweet tooth, it will merely provide a (supposedly) healthier way to keep it satisfied. The problem with this is that it does not allow you to take up the challenge of developing truly healthy dietary habits. Taking sweeteners temporarily releases you from the need to work on developing the self control necessary to say no to foods that you know will dump you over the edge. If you then find yourself in a situation when the artificially sweetened version of that favorite treat is not available you will simply succumb. With predictable consequences.

Artificial sweeteners (specifically those in soft drinks) have been positively linked to weight gain: I have a friend who used to that he never drinks diet sodas because he only ever sees overweight people drinking it! It seems that he was not so far off the mark. Recent studies into the effects of diet sodas on the body showed a clear correlation between drinking these products and long term weight gain. The reasons behind this trend are not quite clear yet. Speculation range from psychological (e.g. People think they can eat more since they saved calories on their drink) to physiological (e.g. The drink leads to increased gastric acid secretion in the stomach because the body thinks it is getting food. The fact that the food is not nutritious could perhaps then be responsible for an increase in the hunger reflex). As people dealing with the effects of ADD/ADHD weight gain is perhaps not our primary concern when thinking about dietary issues. You can however rest assured that long term weight gain involves a multitude of blood sugar spikes and troughs. Precisely the kind of events that we should do our best to avoid.

Many artificial sweeteners are chemically suspect: A huge debate is currently raging between the producers of artificial sweeteners and their detractors about the safety of these products. Many respected researchers claim that artificial sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose and saccharine are not only ineffective in halting weight gain but that they are also dangerous to long term human health. This is perhaps not the time and place to try to come to a final answer in this debate. One thing should be clear however: People dealing with the effects are dealing with the effects of ADD/ADHD are extraordinarily sensitive to the effects of chemical compounds on the body and specifically on brain function. One implication of this fact is that we should be extremely careful about what we put into our bodies, avoiding complex and unnatural chemicals as far as possible. Since there is nothing natural or simple about the chemicals contained in artificial sweeteners we should perhaps err on the side of caution and avoid them altogether.

The bottom line when it comes to an ADD/ADHD beating diet is that such a diet should be balanced (Taking in sufficient quantities of calories from all the different food groups), natural (Chemically laden and artificial products should be avoided as far as possible), Low GI (Centred on food that can provide sustained energy for relatively long periods) and targeted (In the sense that it includes specific foods, or vitamins, proven to alleviate the effects of ADD/ADHD). Artificial sweeteners do not fulfil a single one of these criteria. It will therefore certainly not be doing us any good in terms of a long term ADD/ADHD strategy. Worse, many people will argue that it will, in fact, actively harm us. Enough reason perhaps to just say no!

About the Author:
Jimmy Brownen is a leading expert in the field of ADD ADHD and has years of experience in the treatment of it. For more information on the disorder or for alternative means of curing ADHD, please visit his site.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


Tags: , , , ,

|

Loading...
Related....
Videos...

Recent Health Articles

Comments

Still can't find what you are looking for? Search for it!

Loading

Site Navigation:

Copyright 2005-2011 ArticleSnatch, LLC - All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Service.