How sweet it is

Hello and Happy Life! The month of March is filled with an abundance of special days, not that every day isn’t special! We have daylight savings time, yippee, we get lighter days and I get to wake up an hour later but, lose an hour at the same time?! Let’s see...St. Urho’s and of course St. Patrick’s Day which happens to be a birthday celebration for my niece and me. Also, most of my friends are born in this month. Then there is the First Day of Spring, which is always welcomed, and Palm Sunday and Passover.

This month also would have marked the 60th Wedding Anniversary of my parents, god rest my father’s soul. My mom had dug out some Anniversary Times sheet that a friend had given them on their 40th anniversary, which tells you what was going on during the year you were married. Some of the things that had captured my eye were: 1950, bomb shelters built, Korean war began, Minnesota Valley Canning took the name Green Giant, the first credit card was Diner’s Club, pedal pushers and bare midriffs, Charlie Brown and Ozzie & Harriet, first commercial computer, minute rice and the artificial sweetener cyclamate.

This list got me thinking about certain difficulties my parents may have faced as a result of these trends. Credit cards? Most people struggle with them. Have we learned? Don’t spend what you don’t have! Then of course the minute rice, cutting nutrient values down, and the fake sweetener cyclamate. I decided to do a little investigating on artificial sweeteners. Here we go, let’s stay sweet - in a good way!

--Julie Asbach, Personal Fitness Trainer and Healthy For Life advocate

If you have any health topics, health success stories or a family recipe for a health cure, please email me at juls11@ peoplepc.com or drop it off at Hometown Focus. Thanks for your support!

Artificial Sweenters

A brief history on cyclamate. A University of Illinois scientist in 1937 had unknowingly put his cigarette down on some crystal powder and when he went to take a puff it tasted sweet and pleasant. This powder was a derivative of cyclohexysulfamic acid. So the artificial sweetener cyclamate was produced. It is 200 to 700 times sweeter than sugar. It was cheaper than saccharin and dominated through the 1960’s. Studies eventually ruled cyclamate unsafe and the FDA banned it in September 1970, though its producers throughout the years sought the FDA’s approval to re-market it, and it is still used in 55 countries.

Aspartame is another culprit to watch out for. I remember in the 1980’s when well known musician Frank Zappa was ranting about NutraSweet and how it was the cause of numerous problems in our society. People thought he was a lunatic. Well there’s definitely some truth to his madness!

Artificial sweeteners are supposedly a good choice for diabetics. When used in smaller quantities it doesn’t raise blood sugar levels. Other foods, calories, protein, carbohydrates and flour can also affect blood sugar levels and cause them to rise. Your body craves sweets when you’re not giving it the proper food it requires! Fake sugar can also ruin your body’s ability to count calories. It stimulates your appetite, which in turn causes your body to overindulge. Some possible side effects of artificial sweeteners: headaches, change in vision, convulsions and seizures, hallucinations, nausea, vomiting and joint pain. The toxicity of these sweeteners is not known well to some doctors the symptoms can mimic other health conditions such as: arthritis, diabetes and diabetic complications, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, birth defects, fibromyalgia, panic disorders, attention deficit disorder, multiple chemical sensitivity, Parkinson’s, and hypothyroidism, to name a few.

Be aware of diet and diabetic products. Manufacturers are coming up with many ways of using and naming artificial sweeteners. Also, many vitamins, prescriptions and over-the-counter drugs contain them. Be sure to read the labels!

Be safe: Try to keep fructose levels below 25 grams per day, even if the source is fresh, raw, or organic! Stevia is a good sweet alternative. Using honey, pure maple syrup, agave in small quantities, and fresh fruits are some better alternatives than processed white sugar. Meeting your nutritional needs can assist your body in obtaining its best physical condition.