Sugar vs Stevia vs Aspartame

There have been many conspiracies when it comes to sugar vs aspartame (artificial sweetener). Regular sugar is supposed to be more wholesome since it wasn't made in a lab but on a field, yet there are so many health issues associated with sugar consumption, it's easy to understand why people are scared of it. Aspartame, on the other hand, is supposed to trick your brain and influence the same metabolic responses as sugar. Plus, it's full of weird chemicals. But there are no calories so what do we do?

Then comes along a new sweetener called Stevia. This is made from the plant named Stevia rebaudiana and has been called the natural alternative to artificial sweeteners.

This no-calorie sweetener has been used for more than 1,500 years by the Guaraní people of South America who used it to sweeten local made teas and medicines. While stevia extract, aka Rebaudioside A, has been deemed generally recognized as safe by the FDA, pure stevia has not been given the same stamp of approval.

Aspartame, on the other hand, is an artificial, non-saccharide sweetener used as a sugar substitute in some foods and beverages. It was first marketed as NutraSweet as an alternative for table sugar for people wanting to ‘lose weight’.

Aspartame is approximately 200 times sweeter than sucrose (table sugar). Due to this property, the quantity of aspartame needed to produce a sweet taste is so small that it’s caloric contribution is next to nothing.

It was approved for use as a table-top sweetener and in powdered mixes in 1981 by the FDA. Since then, a number of people have questioned the studies that led to this decision. However, repeated studies done on aspartame show that it is harmless to people in the amount that it is ingested. In 1996, it was approved for use in all foods and beverages, including products such as syrups, salad dressings and certain snack foods where prior approval had not yet been given.

Now sugar. Sugar is the main reason why over 60% of Australian adults are overweight or obese. It is an addiction and wastes our money.

Sugar makes us fat. Sugar’s scientific name is sucrose. When sucrose is in our body, it gets broken down into two sugars: Glucose and Fructose. Glucose goes to our brain as energy and the liver processes the fructose. There it gets turned into fat, which is then carried away in the blood to the fat collecting areas like the lower abdomen and is turned into visceral fat. This is unattractive and a health risk.

Too much build-up of visceral fat can cause obesity as well as blockage in the arteries, which lead to diseases in the heart like heart attacks, high blood pressure and Coronary Artery Disease. Visceral fat can also cause type 2 diabetes and some cancers, which include breast cancer and colon cancer.

There are also many different names for sucrose, or fructose. These may include high fructose corn syrup, agave syrup, honey and many more. Here is a picture of all the different names for sugar:

So which one is better for you? One teaspoon of sugar contains 15 calories and no other nutrients. Too much sugar has been linked to the development of Type 2 diabetes, cancer, cavities, inflammatory bowel disease and the overgrowth of the candida yeast in the body. On the other hand, stevia does not contain any calories and reportedly may have health-enhancing properties. The same study shows the association of stevia with better blood glucose levels, fewer cavities, effective antioxidant activity, antiviral and antibacterial properties and the ability to lower blood pressure. The researchers concluded stevia has properties that make it a beneficial component to a healthy diet. As for aspartame, it just shouldn't be eaten at all. All it is is chemicals that taste sweet. Sure it can be eaten short term, but try to avoid it as much as possible.

I hope this post helped you make the right choices on what to put in your body. Next week is my birthday so I will write a quick post on what I did and got, and the wonderful cake I made for my family. See ya next time!