Surprising Sources of Artificial Sweeteners

By Stepy Kamei

When it comes to looking out for your overall health and wellness, it can feel overwhelming and daunting at times to know how exactly to do this. However, when it comes to your diet, you're probably better at looking out for yourself than you may give yourself credit for. For instance, if you hear the word "artificial" in any of your foods, you probably know it's best for your health if you steer clear from that food. This is absolutely the right instinct, since the most important thing to know about your dietary health is that it's best to stick to foods which are whole and minimally processed, which means their nutritional value is largely kept intact. Unfortunately, it can be tricky to determine which foods are actually healthy, and which have misleading labels on them. Keep on reading to learn about the ways in which you can tell whether a food really is healthy, or whether it's hiding something such as artificial sweeteners.

Easy Ways to Scope Out Artificial Sweeteners in Food

First of all, what's the problem with artificial sweeteners anyway? After all, sugar itself is a natural product. Is it really so damaging to add to food? It becomes problematic to your health when it's added artificially. That's because it usually involves the addition of refined white sugar, which is not a natural product, and it provides absolutely no nutritional value or content. In fact, refined sugar actually only serves to spike blood sugar levels in a rapid and unhealthy manner while also increasing inflammation around the joints and muscles of the body, which very often leads to health conditions such as headaches, muscles pain, and joint stiffness.

So how can you scope out these harmful additives on your next grocery store run? Most food packaging will not outright say that the food has artificial sweeteners. Still, there are two ways to determine whether non-nutritional sweeteners are being added to a food product. First, look to see if the packaging claims to be "low-fat" or "low-calorie." While this sounds like a healthy claim, in reality, these foods are actually almost always pumped full of refined sugar or other artificial sweeteners in order to compensate for a lack of taste due to the fat content being removed. Essentially, one unhealthy factor is being replaced with another.

The Best Bet You Can Make

Ultimately, your best bet when it comes to improving your diet and removing harmful additives to your food is by choosing to consume foods which are minimally processed. This means adding more whole grains, fresh produce, and lean proteins into your diet while removing heavily processed and packaged foods in their place. You can always consult with a nutritionist for further tips on how to keep your diet in a healthy place.

To learn more about your health, wellness and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Hoboken, N.J.