Down With Artificial Junk

I've written about artificial sweeteners in the past, not necessarily for or against, just giving people basic information.  However, in my personal life, and what I recommend for my clients, is to avoid them all except for the occasional stevia and xylitol.  But this is an e-mail I recently received and my response.

Dear Brenna,

As the creator of “Eating Simple” and a nutrition professional, you know that numerous government agencies as well as the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association and the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics have all reviewed low- and no-calorie sweeteners and found them to be safe and effective. On Tuesday, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) released a complete risk assessment of aspartame and once again reaffirmed its safety for the general population, including pregnant women.  EFSA also concluded that, based on the evidence, aspartame does not cause cancer, harm the brain or nervous system or affect behavior or cognitive function of children or adults.

 

You can learn more about this opinion, which supports decades of scientific research as well as positions of regulatory agencies around the globe, including the FDA, at the EFSA website, the International Food Information Council (IFIC), the Calorie Control Council, Food Navigator as well as  Let’s Clear It Up. If you would like to talk with any experts, please let us know.

 

My Response:

Aspartame is a chemical, plain and simple. It is not a food. Our bodies are not deficient in it or other non-calorie sweeteners. I will NEVER EVER recommend that people consume it. My clients lose weight eating real foods, not fake foods created in a manufacturing facility.

If all these other professional organizations actually cared about people's health, and knew what good nutrition was, instead of being sheep and following the almighty dollar their patients might actually get healthy too.

 

So there you have it.  I do not support fake foods, artificial foods, or food additives.  In the words of Sean Croxton from underground wellness, 'Just Eat Real Foods.' 

 

JERF on.