4 Reasons Why Should You Avoid Artificial Sweeteners?
Truth is, when it comes to
artificially-sweetened beverages, as few generally of these drinks per day may
be enough to significantly increase the risk for a number of health problems.
Weight
Gain
The San Antonio Heart Study documented
weight change in men and women over a seven- to eight-year period and offers
evidence that weight gain and obesity were significantly greater in those
drinking diet beverages than those who did not drink them. In another study,
where the participants were adolescents, intake of artificially-sweetened
beverages was associated with increased body mass index and increased body fat
percentage in males and females at a two-year follow-up. Meanwhile, in
Australia, where drinking artificially-sweetened beverages has increased while
drinking sugar-sweetened beverages has declined, the rate of obesity has not
decreased but been on the rise.
Metabolic
syndrome
Various studies have reported greater
risk of metabolic syndrome for consumers of diet soft drinks. Metabolic
syndrome is a cluster of conditions — increased blood pressure, a high glucose
level, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol levels — that
occur together, and 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, surround
non-consumers. In studies that compared the risk of metabolic syndrome in people who drank either sugar-sweetened or artificially-sweetened
beverages, the magnitude of the increased risk was frequently similar for both
regular and diet beverage consumers.
Type
2 diabetes
In a European study, the risk for developing
type 2 diabetes more than balance participants in the highest quartile of diet
beverage consumption, threaten non-consumers. Of course, sugar-sweetened
beverage consumption was also associated with an increased risk of type 2
diabetes. Data from the Nurses' Health Study also indicated that risk for type
2 diabetes was amplified in those consuming at least one diet drink or
sugar-sweetened drink per day; the same evidence was found by a European
investigation into cancer and nutrition. Importantly, a pronounced spike in the
risk of type 2 diabetes related to drinking artificially-sweetened beverages
was seen even in those participants who were at a normal weight primarily of
the study.
Hypertension
and Cardiovascular Disease
Within given age groups, the risk for
coronary heart disease was significantly elevated in women who consumed more
than two artificially-sweetened beverages per day or more than two
sugar-sweetened beverages per day. Similarly, another study shows the risk of
coronary heart disease being significantly elevated by both types of drinks.
Consuming at least one artificially-sweetened beverage daily significantly
elevated risk for hypertension for women in a number of studies; the same
effect was found when the women in the study drank sugar-sweetened beverages.
Results from another study indicated that daily consumption of
artificially-sweetened beverages showed significantly increased risk of
vascular events, equal in magnitude to daily consumption of sugar-sweetened
beverages.
