Many of us were teenagers who lived in a world of sugar substitutes. Back then, everyone said that sugar is bad and that we should use saccharine in our coffee and purchase sugar free products like diet soft drinks, etc.
A couple of my aunts who drank coffee always had saccharine around.
Even today, many of my friends buy sugar free cough medicine, toothpaste, diet drinks and more!
If you fit into that category, please STOP doing that!
Cleveland Clinic research has found a link between xylitol, which is an artificial sweetener that’s in many sugar free products, and an increased risk for heart attack and stroke.
“This is the second sugar alcohol that we’ve identified that at physiologic ranges, the levels that we’re seeing in the blood, is linked to heightened clotting risk, heightened risk for heart attack, stroke and frankly, death,” said Stanley Hazen, MD, PhD, physician scientist for Cleveland Clinic. “So, one thing to do is to try to avoid it, especially consuming it in large amounts.”
The same research team found a similar link between erythritol and cardiovascular risk last year. Erythritol is another artificial sweetener that’s in many food products.
In this new study, the research team found that high levels of circulating xylitol were associated with an elevated three-year risk of cardiovascular events in an analysis of more than 3,000 patients in the U.S. and Europe. A third of patients with the highest amount of xylitol in their plasma were more likely to experience a cardiovascular event like heart attack or stroke.
The research team conducted pre-clinical testing and found that ingesting xylitol caused blood platelets to clot, which increased the risk of thrombosis (blood clots in veins or arteries.) Researchers also tracked platelet activity from people who ingested a xylitol-sweetened drink versus a glucose-sweetened drink and found that every measure of clotting ability significantly increased immediately following ingestion of xylitol, but not a bit with glucose.
If a label says something contains erythritol or xylitol please don’t put it in your body.
So, what do you use instead?
Eat REAL Food!
If you must add sugar to your coffee, use real sugar. A little bit of sugar is ok, just not the large amounts that many Americans ingest daily, sometimes without even knowing it. This is why reading ingredient labels on food that you buy is so important.
Use honey to sweeten your coffee; add maple syrup to your cereal; make your own salad dressing.
Do you remember growing up with the old-fashioned cruet of salad dressing that your mom or aunt Jane made? Olive oil, red wine vinegar, and herbs. If you want a bit of something sweet, you can add a few drops of maple syrup. It’s easy, simple, and much healthier than bottled salad dressings with added sugars and other ingredients we don’t really want to eat.
Do you know that even if you think you’re getting a healthy dressing, you may not be? This is the ingredient list for Ken’s Italian Dressing:
Canola Oil, Distilled Vinegar, Apple Cider Vinegar, Salt, Contains Less Than 2% of Garlic,* Monosodium Glutamate, Onion,* Polysorbate 60, Disodium Inosinate and Disodium Guanylate, Xanthan Gum, Calcium Disodium EDTA (To Protect Flavor), Beta Carotene (Color). *Dried
Canola oil contains trans fats. According to the World Health Organization, (WHO) these can be harmful, even in small amounts. Notice that’s also the FIRST ingredient of Ken’s Italian Dressing.
Five of these other ingredients are used to either extend the shelf life or add flavor. Wouldn’t you rather make it yourself fresh and add the flavors you like instead of chemically prepared flavor?
Here’s a link to my friend Michelle’s salad dressing. This dressing is a hit at every get together!
Another example: one of my students asked me about soft butters. I looked up the one she was using, and it was butter mixed with Canola oil and salt. I found another soft butter whose three ingredients were butter, olive oil, and salt; a much better option. She liked this one just as well as the other, so she switched.
I have talked about reading the labels a few times already – not simply how many calories, but you should know everything that’s in your food. These days, many foods contain additional sugar. Do you really need sugar in your bread…? Try not to purchase any food item that includes added sugars. We get enough sugar from the food we eat.
Often, there are other food choices that taste just as good (or better!) but don’t contain ingredients that can damage your health. Sometimes it just takes a little effort to find the good stuff.
Please make the effort!
Best of Health,
Kathi
