Over the Counter Natural Cures (26 page)

Most nutritional supplements, “fat-free” foods, sports bars, thirst quenchers, and other foods masquerading as healthy have been poisoned. Sweet additives hyped as noncaloric or low-fat are infiltrating our food supply and sabotaging our health. Like most people, you may not be aware of the toxic threat or the safe alternatives. But you should be, because the health benefits from any one of the
Over-the-Counter
Natural Cures
are negated by the toxic threat.

NOT-SO-SWEET ADDICTION

Have you ever been plagued by hard-to-diagnose health problems? You know: something's wrong, but your doctor can't seem to figure out what's causing your symptoms. You…

• Can't lose weight, no matter how hard you try
  
• Feel depressed
  
• Can't sleep
  
• Feel sluggish
  
• Lack mental focus
  
• Have lost your libido
  

Well, your problem is not all in your head. It could be elevated blood sugar caused by excessive sweet consumption. And if you think you're “eating healthy,” you might be fooling yourself. Most of so-called healthy foods and sport supplements are adulterated with some type of sweetener. The reasoning is simple: sweet flavors increase sales.

When you eat them, sweets elicit a chemical cascade that triggers feel-good receptors in your brain. If this happens repeatedly, your brain can form an emotional bond between happiness and sweets. You become addicted, which guarantees a buying habit. In one study, the addictive properties of sweeteners, sucrose (table sugar), and saccharin proved more addictive than cocaine! Health-food manufacturers are bankrolling themselves by leveraging this biochemical addiction. And they're sacrificing your health.

Sucrose (a disaccharide of glucose and fructose), otherwise known as table sugar, is one of the most popular adulterants. Not as natural as people think, sucrose is typically extracted from sugar cane and then purified by crystallization for use. Years ago, people didn't eat much—as little as 10 to 15 pounds per year. And their health was much better for it. Today, the average American consumes a whopping 160 pounds of sucrose each year! The irony is that your body doesn't need any sugar whatsoever. What it does need for energy is glucose—a sugar you can obtain safely from fruit and vegetables.

Sugar guarantees massive weight gain at any age. That's because it can spike your blood sugar, triglycerides, and the fat-storing hormone insulin. It also disrupts satiety (causing you to overeat) and gives rise to age-accelerating molecules known as AGE products (advanced glycation end products). These aging molecules are responsible for causing unsightly wrinkling and age-related blindness.

Over time, excess sugar consumption prevents your body from producing various antiaging and “Oh yes, please take your shirt off” hormones such as insulin-like growth factor (IGF), human growth hormone (HGH), and testosterone. If you continue to consume too much sugar, you could face a host of health disasters like insulin resistance, heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer. Causing suicide in slow motion, sugar addiction can eliminate eleven to twenty years from your lifespan.

LOUSY ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS

The realization that sugar kills has given rise to a wide-ranging selection of artificial sweeteners. Designed to curb the sucrose threat while allowing you to still get your “sweet fix,” saccharin, aspartame (NutraSweet), and sucralose (Splenda) are among the most popular. But these alternatives to sucrose have serious problems of their own.

Studies of artificial sweeteners show they lead to weight gain and even pre-diabetes. Scientists writing for
Behavioral Neuroscience
and the American Heart Association's journal
Circulation
discovered that fake sugar molecules disarm the body's defense against obesity—calorie counting. The studies showed that “mouth feel” plays a crucial role in the body's ability to sense the number of calories that are being consumed—and that artificial sweeteners disrupt the body's natural calorie calculator. To put it bluntly, artificial sweeteners can encourage
binge eating. This puts users at much higher risk for being obese and insulin resistant.

U.S. regulatory agencies insist that artificial flavors are safe—just like they insisted that “hypoglycemic drugs” for type 2 diabetics were safe. Yet diabetics increase their risk of heart attack by a ghastly 30 percent to 40 percent, courtesy of these “safe” and “effective” medications.
¹³⁸
Could history repeat itself—this time with drugs moonlighting as artificial sweeteners?

Here's what you need to know about these so-called “safe alternatives” to sugar.

Discovered to be 300 times sweeter than sugar, saccharin (chemically known as 1,1-Dioxo-1,2-benzothiazol-3-one) was the first drug used as a sweetener. As early as 1911, a board of federal scientists warned against its use in food by insisting that it was “an adulterant.” The biggest fear was cancer. Early studies showed bladder cancer among mice. This was later proven not to translate into humans due to stark bladder differences.

However, skin and lung cancer have begun to surface. Studies have not been able to confirm definitively if these threats translate into human risk. The U.S. government's National Toxicology Program lists saccharin as an “anticipated carcinogen.” Given its wild-card cancer status, saccharin is hardly a safe alternative to sugar. Yet it remains a common food and supplement additive.

Discovered to be 180 times sweeter than sugar, the drug aspartame (aspartyl-phenylalanine-1-methyl ester) is found in thousands of foods and beverages. Initially touted as an antiulcer drug, aspartame failed approval due to its carcinogenic properties. With little fanfare and a scourge of conflicts of interest, the drug was later approved as an artificial sweetener.

As an organic chemistry teacher, I taught my students how to identify
the active ingredients in soda using a technique known as thin layer chromatography. The by-products of sodas containing aspartame are all known poisons that would slowly kill you: methanol, phenylalanine, and aspartic acid. I never saw my students with a diet soda after that. Today, a number of sport drinks carry the same carcinogenic and neurotoxic ingredients. A new version of aspartame, known as neotame, carries similar risks.

Discovered to be 600 times sweeter than sugar, the drug sucralose, marketed as Splenda (1,6-Dichloro-1,6-dideoxy-β-D-fructofuranosyl-4-chloro-4-deoxy-α-D-galactopyranoside) originated as an insecticide. The molecule contains a historically deadly “organochlorine” or simply a really nasty form of chlorine (RNFOC). Unlike the harmless ionic bond in table salt, the RNFOC in sucralose is a covalent bond. The RNFOC yields such poisons as insecticides, pesticides, and herbicides.

An RNFOC—and the molecules that carry the deadly bond—can invade every nook and cranny of the body. Cell walls and DNA, the genetic map of human life, become potential casualties of war. This may result in weakened immune function, irregular heartbeat, agitation, shortness of breath, skin rashes, headaches, liver and kidney damage, birth defects, and cancer.

Hiding its origin, sucralose pushers assert that it is “made from sugar.” Sucralose is as close to sugar as glass cleaner is to purified water. France recently banned such false advertising statements. The deceit has been ignored within the United States, and sucralose is the most widely used artificial sweetener today.

NASTY NATURAL SWEETENERS

Natural alternatives to sugar and artificial sweeteners are hyped as being safe, simply because they fall under the umbrella of being natural. Don't
be fooled. It isn't that simple. The sweet molecules maltitol and high fructose corn syrup are part of the scam.

Maltitol is 90 percent as sweet as sugar. It is chemically derived from maltose using a chemical reaction known as hydrolysis—so much for being “natural.” And just like sugar, it raises insulin and blood sugar, thereby sabotaging your health.

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) (90 percent fructose and 10 percent glucose mixture) is as sweet as sugar but poses a much bigger threat. Multimillion-dollar advertising campaigns work hard to shield this fact. Just like maltitol, HFCS is made in a lab via a multienzymatic process—so much for being natural. And the sweet imposter spikes blood sugar and insulin—just like sugar. But worse than sugar, it causes us to overeat while giving rise to wrinkle-fertilizing AGE products.

HFCS consumption has shot up from a mere half pound per person annually thirty years ago to an ungodly 62 pounds per year! At the same time, obesity and diabetes rates have climbed to epidemic proportions. The HFCS and obesity connection rests with leptin and ghrelin. These appetite-stimulated hormones help burn fat while preventing us from overeating. But HFCS is foreign to the stomach and, as such, fails to trigger the natural hormonal intelligence that wards off overindulgence.

If it doesn't attack your waistline, HFCS can attack your face. A chemical reaction discovered in 1914 by the French chemist Louis Camille Maillard teaches this. Every time you consume the corny syrup, it acts as wrinkle fertilizer, courtesy of “glycation”—the process by which sugars like HFCS bind to amino acids in the bloodstream and become advanced glycation end (AGE) products.

This class of toxins has been linked to inflammation, insulin resistance, diabetes, vascular and kidney disease, and Alzheimer's disease. HFCS undergoes glycation much faster than plain ol' sugar. As sure as
night follows day, excess HFCS consumption leads to age spots, wrinkles, and everything else that makes skin look old and crumbly.

FOUR CRITERIA FOR FINDING SAFE SWEETENERS

Under the most rigid definition of safety, a safe sweetener must meet four criteria. First, it must not raise blood glucose or trigger the release of our fat-storing hormone insulin. It must not give rise to deadly AGE products. Nor should it prevent your body from producing antiaging and muscle-building hormones. And finally, it must be nontoxic.

Stevia (300 times sweeter than sugar), the sugar alcohol erythritol (60 to 70 percent as sweet as sugar), and—to a bit lesser degree—agave (as sweet as sugar) fit the rigid criteria of being safe sweeteners. Each of them has proven safe and effective in various nutritional supplements. Whether they're used in a drink (www.zevia.com), a protein powder (www.health-fx.net), or even a healthy cake (www.wellnessbakeries.com), these naturally occurring sweeteners will not negate the benefits of any nutritional supplement. These companies and their products prove that you can use each one—even if you're diabetic—without sabotaging your health.

Choosing which natural sweetener to use depends on which one tastes best to you. Agave nectar usually wins. It stimulates taste buds exactly the same way sucrose does. But unlike common table sugar, very little of its active ingredient—insulin—is absorbed. Therefore, you are protected from the dangers of sugar addiction.

All of these natural sweeteners are known to help control appetite, keep insulin and blood sugar low, and prevent the formation of AGE products. None of them are addicting, nor will they diminish your lifespan or esthetic appeal.

EASY ENOUGH FOR A CHILD

My six-year-old can recite all the dangers of too much sugar and artificial flavors in a matter of two minutes. And because she still likes to get her “sweet fix,” she can tell you which natural sweeteners are best to use in tea, cookies, and cake. Not bad, considering that most supplement companies are dumping truckloads of sweeteners into commonly used products. If a first grader can learn “if it tastes sweet, spit it out,” you can, too. Start by looking more closely at what's being added to your favorite sports supplement or sports drink.

At this point, you've learned to eat more healthy fat in place of carbohydrates. And you've discovered how to get your sweet fix without sabotaging your health. The third habit is to do whatever it takes to avoid America's number one grocery-store fat trap.

3. AVOID MSG: AMERICA'S NUMBER ONE GROCERY-STORE FAT TRAP

I recently bought some beef jerky, ignoring the label and assuming that because it was jerky, it was good food. But when my wife tried it, what was supposed to be a light, healthy snack turned into an all-out beef-eating binge. Right before she threw her head back to dump the remaining portion of food into her mouth, my wife turned the bag over to read the ingredients in fine print. Instantly she gasped, “Why the hell did you buy this! It's loaded with MSG!”

MSG stands for monosodium glutamate, and it's fat fertilizer on steroids. It's the number one grocery-store trap. A grocery-store fat trap is nothing more than a scheme by food manufacturers to make you eat more of something that you think is healthy—like beef jerky, seeds, or nuts. They are great for a company's bottom line but really bad for your “bottom.”

MSG transforms people into eating machines. It was originally used to convert healthy rats into diabetic rats to learn more about diabetes. Once consumed, MSG sets into motion a ravenous chemical cascade that begins with spiked blood sugar and insulin, and ends with feel-good molecules known as endorphins.

Intoxicated with artificial feel-good, courtesy of MSG, our brains are unable to sense overeating and demand more, more, more. The excess calories get stored in your bottom—big time. Ultra-sensitive to the Frankenfood-induced pig-out, I've even heard of kids accidentally biting their fingers off when under the influence of MSG. Well…not off, but their fingers were bleeding.

From beef jerky to bread and even spaghetti sauce, MSG has infiltrated most foods and turned each one into a fat trap. Avoid it at all cost! MSG has several aliases you can watch for, including hydrolyzed vegetable protein, hydrolyzed protein, hydrolyzed plant protein, plant protein extract, sodium caseinate, calcium caseinate, yeast extract, textured protein, autolyzed yeast, and hydrolyzed oat flour.

The white, crystalline amino acid is made in a lab and then added to meat products (and most canned or packaged foods) under the auspices of “enhancing flavor.” One small problem: it doesn't have any flavor. It just enhances overeating. But anything that enhances the bottom line is labeled as enhancing flavor.