Aspartame cancer risk getting new attention

I've heard about this cancer link and Aspartame before, but didn't know a lot about the details or how much Aspartame was fed to rats to get those results. I recently read an article/study about the subject and surprisingly, it doesn't take much to put yourself at risk.

The new study found statistically significant increases in lymphomas and leukemias in rats that were fed as little as 20 milligrams of the sweetener per kilogram of body weight—an amount that’s in the ballpark of what some people consume.

The article says this amount is equivalent to a 50-pound child drinking 2½ cans of diet soda per day, or a 150-pound adult drinking about 7½ cans of diet soda per day. You might be saying to yourself... "I don't drink that much diet soda each day!" However, if you are also consuming a lot of sugar-free products, many of those are also made with Aspartame, which could easily add-up to the same amount.

I wonder if Coke noticed this study and that's why they are planning to use Stevia. It might not be long before Aspartame generates more negative press and possibly banned.

If you can add Stevia to your drinks like tea and coffee, that's great and much better than using Aspartame based products. The article also says Sucralose is safe, but remember Splenda is not 100% Sucralose from what Ferbit has discovered recently. If the ingredients say Sucralose, then that's the safer ingredient than seeing Splenda.

I'd like a glass of sugar water, please.

This is what you're essentially asking when you order a glass of juice.

And I AM talking about the 100% juice, no-sugar-added types too. When fruit juice says "no sugar added" it just means no refined white table sugar or high fructose corn syrup has been added. Fruit juice is pure fruit sugar (fructose) which is just as dangerous as refined white sugar. Without the fiber, the fructose is absorbed too quickly (and released into the bloodstream) and not digested properly. Because it is pure fruit sugar, it causes insulin imbalances. When insulin is irregular, children are more susceptible to ear infections, allergies and obesity. Fruit juice is extremely dangerous for adults as well if they are overweight, have high blood pressure or high blood sugar. Any kind of fruit juice just isn't good for you at all. An 8-ounce glass of commercial fruit juice contains about 8 full teaspoons of pure fructose sugar.

A piece of real FRUIT and a big glass of pure water is so much healthier.

I had a nice wake-up call about a month ago. My little ones are homeschooled, but they do attend a language immersion school twice a week since I can't give them that experience at home. I knew the school served fruit juice so when we signed up, I made sure to say something to the owner. Unfortunately that info was never passed on to the girls' teachers and they have been drinking fruit juice since.

My 4YO is a little version of me and can talk anyone's ear off about nutrition. But she's still 4... So when I asked her weekly if she said no to fruit juice, what do you think she said? "Oh yes, I always tell them no apple juice." *sigh* And I believed her because I'm a dork and had no idea eyes that adorable could lie so convincingly. LOL Not only were they both catching colds left and right (which was unusual)... The wake-up-call happened when, for the first time EVER, both of them got ear infections! They had NEVER had them before and they were BAD infections. :-( Luckily I contacted our naturopath and both of the girls healed naturally with out the need for antibiotics... which was awesome, considering the severety of their infections.

Needless to say, after a very detailed discussion with the teachers, the girls do NOT get juice anymore.

Splenda packets are 99% High Fructose Corn Syrup!?

I don't use Splenda, but in my latest Mercola newsletter he talked a bit about it. And THANK GOD I don't use it!

Seriously... O...M...G...

Splenda studies were done on pure sucralose, NOT on the little packets that everyone uses. Since sucralose is 600 times sweeter than sugar, they have to use bulking agents to manage the sweetness. Those bulking agents are dextrose and maltodextrin, which come from high fructose corn syrup (pure sugar). And not just a little bit... Since sucralose is SOOOOOO sweet, 99% of the powder in those little Splenda packets is bulking agent.

And the lovely loophole in the law says if there is less than 1 gram per serving, they don't have to claim calories and can put 0 calories when in reality there are 4 calories per packet.

I'll say it again...

99% of your Splenda packet is PURE SUGAR.