by: Dr. David Jockers
(NaturalNews) Due to our society's love of sugar, scientists have been able to synthetically produce artificial sweeteners and flavor enhancers. These artificial sweeteners give us the same pleasure as sugar without the calories and dangerous effects on insulin signaling and triglyceride formation. This includes aspartame, acefultame potassium, monosodium glutamate, sucralose and many others. Unfortunately, these artificial sweeteners and flavor enhancers break down into highly toxic chemical agents that damage important regions of the body.
Aspartame: Originally approved in 1981 for use in food is 200 times sweeter than sugar. It is composed of 50 percent phenylalanine, 40 percent aspartic acid and 10 percent methanol. Excess phenylalanine has been shown to disrupt normal serotonin levels in the nervous system which can lead to depressive, emotional & psychotic disorders. Individuals who continually consume aspartame will have elevated phenylalanine.
Aspartic acid: an excitotoxin that literally over excites neurons and destroys cells. Methanol is also a neurotoxin and its absorption is also increased when aspartame is heated above 86 degrees Fahrenheit. This heating breaks methanol into formaldehyde which damages the nervous system and is highly carcinogenic.
Acefultame Potassium: This artificial sweetener is often times used in combination with other artificial sweeteners such as sucralose and/or aspartame to mask any form of after taste. This sweetener has been shown to stimulate insulin secretions even though it does not increase blood sugar. Elevated insulin increases inflammation and hampers immunity. Since Acefultame does not increase blood sugar this insulin response can stimulate reactive hypoglycemia. It has been linked to leukemia, breast cancer, thymus cancer and chronic respiratory diseases.
Sucralose: This artificial sweetener is marketed as if it came
from natural sugar. However, it is highly processed with three chlorine
atoms that damage the microflora within the human gut. The biochemist
Dr. James Bown says "sucralose is simply chlorinated sugar." Sucralose
has been shown to damage the thymus gland and inflame the liver and
kidneys. Chlorine is a natural anti-septic that harms the human gut and
destroys microflora leading to candida formation, irritable bowel
syndrome, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, obesity and cachexia.
Sodium Benzoate: This is a type of water soluble preservative salt that
is created by adding sodium hydroxide and benzoic acid. It is found in
many soft drinks, energy drinks and other processed foods and drinks.
Sodium Benzoate consumption has been strongly linked with
neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD and inflammatory disorders
such as asthma. The combination of sodium benzoate and ascorbic acid
(vitamin C) which is quite common in soft drinks and popular energy
drinks creates the highly carcinogenic substance benzene. Benzene is
linked with many serious cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma.
Monosodium glutamate: This extremely dangerous flavor enhancer and preservative is used in many canned and packaged foods. The Arizona Center for Advanced Medicine has stated that it promotes the growth of cancer cells and is highly neurotoxic in the body. Other studies have linked it to liver damage, chronic inflammation, chronic pain and weight loss resistance. It is often included under deceptive names such as autolyzed yeast extract, natural flavorings, soy protein, whey protein isolate, etc.