Although we are born with an innate preference for sweet taste, it is important to know that free or added sugars are a component to avoid or reduce to the maximum in the usual diet, and can be used instead sweeteners. However, it is also important not to abuse the latter, but rather, let many reasons why it is also a good idea to cut back on your intake.
Sweeteners as sugar substitutes
In those who have diabetes or when we want to cut calories from the usual diet, the use of sweeteners is very widespread, especially artificial sweeteners such as sucralosethe acesulfame Kthe saccharinthe cyclamate or the aspartamebeing able to also go to the stevia which is a natural sweetener.
In all cases, there is an admitted daily intake (ADI) that is, a maximum level recommended for its consumption in such a way that it does not harm health.
However, science has recently shown that just as it is important not to abuse free or added sugars, it is also it is important to be moderate with the intake of sweeteners; and then we tell you why.
Reasons to cut back on sweeteners
Beyond the simple fact that there is a maximum recommended consumption and therefore, we should not abuse them; we leave the reasons why it is advisable to cut the intake of sweeteners:
They can stimulate hunger and appetite
sweeteners offer no energy intake with a sweet taste or many fewer calories than sugar, honey or syrups, making it a much more profitable alternative for those seeking a caloric deficit.
However, our body associates the sweet taste with energy, which, since it is not provided by sweeteners, is sought in another way. Perhaps for this reason, the consumption of sweeteners has been associated with higher levels of neurotransmitters that increase appetite and reduce satiety.
This effect could depend largely on the percentage of body fat and gender, since a recent study indicates that in women and obese people, sweeteners increase appetite to a greater extent.
They raise the threshold of sweetness and the appetite for sweets
Sweeteners, used to replace sugar, contribute to giving our dishes a sweet taste and therefore raise the sweetness threshold increasing craving for sweets.
In our body, they can stimulate a pleasant feeling that over time pushes us to look for more and more sweets, For this reason, it is important to be moderate with its intake since we can fall into risky excesses for the body as well as in dishes with added or free sugars that harm health.
Reduce sweetness threshold and accustoming our palate to less sweet taste is key to achieve a better quality diet that keeps us away from all kinds of diseases. Therefore, we not only recommend cutting back on sugar intake but also sweeteners.
They favor metabolic alterations that harm health
A review of a large proportion of non-nutritive sweeteners notes that they can, among other things, alter blood glucose control as well as energy balance in the body and can induce glucose intolerance and increase the risk of diabetes.
On the other hand, there are studies that link their consumption to higher body weight and accumulation of fat in the body, perhaps due to this metabolic alteration that the consumption of sweeteners generates, especially if it is an excessive intake.
As if that were not enough, recent research indicates that the consumption of certain sweeteners such as acesulfame K and sucralose can negatively affect liver function altering the power to detoxify the body or eliminate toxins, typical of this organ.
They could increase the risk of cardiovascular disease
Our diet has a great influence on the risk of certain diseases. Thus, there are studies that reveal a link between a higher consumption of non-nutritive sweeteners and increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Although the link is not clear, perhaps a higher intake of sweeteners and products that contain them, such as artificially sweetened beverages, are also present together with a poor quality diet that can increase, among other things, the cardiovascular risk in an organism .
These are some of the reasons that science reveals and for which we recommend cut not only the consumption of sugars but also sweeteners, trying to get our body used to less sweets, being able to use foods with intrinsic sugars and other beneficial nutrients for the body as sweeteners.
In Vitónica | The abuse of artificial sweeteners could cause diabetes and obesity
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