Yes, I'm telling you:I banned sweeteners from my food. And that of my children! I am thinking in particular and above all of aspartame, which has replaced sugar in several food products for many years.
For almost20 years (40 years in the United States), aspartame is authorized in France. It is present in 6000 food products but also in 500 drugs.
Sweeteners are used to give a sweet taste without providing calories, or at least less than sugar. Which we all initially took as a blessing. But the more the years pass, the more the studies show their dangers .
Aspartame contains three molecules:aspartic acid for 40%, phenylalanine for 50% and the methanol for 10%. The potential harmful effects of these molecules have fueled controversy for almost 40 years.
They are particularly accused of damaging the brain. They mislead him by telling him that sugar is coming (by taste), but in the end it is not, and the brain asks for more sugar. What can have a adverse effect on obese or diabetic people, among others.
To say that aspartame was a blessing is an understatement. At the end of the 80s , we were all thrilled to see all kinds of "lights" products appear . Anyone on a diet filled cupboards and fridges with them. It was the assurance of gorging on sugar... without sugar!
In recent years, the trend has reversed a bit. Why replace sugar with sweeteners when it is not necessary ? In April 2011, after years of debate, the European Parliament finally warned pregnant women.
"May not be suitable for pregnant women " is a mention proposed by France in Brussels, present nowadays on the packaging of products and medicines containing aspartame.
I always say "prevention is better than cure ", and I'm always looking for alternatives to eating unnatural foods. .
I banned these sweeteners from my diet and that of my children. We did not gain weight, and did not become diabetic.
Sugar is an important element of our food . It is found naturally in many foods, so we eat it without realizing it.
When my children want to eat sweets, I allow them:
- one syrup and only one per day, pure water being just as good, you might as well get them used to drinking it
- an apple tastes sweet, kids like it
- a slice of homemade jam or compote , with less than 50% sugar, is as delicious as a snack spread
- a candy from time to time does not harm. And here too we can make them ourselves to find out what's inside.
If the subject interests you, I recommend a book, sold €12.99 at our Amazon partner, written by Marie-Monique Robin, on the dangers of several "poisons", including aspartame.
A golden rule :I look at the labels of the products I buy! If it says sweeteners or aspartame , I put them back on the shelves! And you, do you pay attention? Tell me in your comments...
By no longer buying products with aspartame, I significantly reduce my annual shopping budget!
For the same number of sugars, real sugar cubes cost €1.91 per kilo compared to around €2.50 for aspartame tablets. If you use 10 kg of sugar cubes per year, you save almost €6 .
Second example:yogurts. Per kilo, a difference of approximately €0.02, i.e. at the end of the year for a family of four approximately €5 .
Add all the other common products (powdered sugar, soda, candies etc), and you quickly arrive at a saving of more than €100 per year.