Monday Myth: diet soda

An easy way to cut calories from a typical American diet seems simple enough. Step one: switch from regular to diet soda. The old joke goes, "I'll have a quarter-pounder with cheese, large fry, apple pie and a Diet Coke." I mean, where do you go wrong - you've got all the flavor of a regular soda without the nasty sugar and calories; it's the fizz without the fuss, right?


Taking a deeper look, though, we find one Frankenstein of a monster lying right in our aluminum can. Artificial sweeteners, especially those in diet soft drinks, are notorious for their claims to deliver all the flavor without the guilt, "the sweet sans the sacrifice." Splenda, NutraSweet, Equal, even the latest craze known as Truvia, all sit on top of your diner table, next to your coffee creamer, and snuggled in your sugar-free cookies, but these are far from healthy, and this is obvious in several ways.

1. Aspartame was denied by the FDA on eight separate occasions. It wasn't until a little deal was struck between the inventor and the FDA's leading attorney hiring the man to lead the inventor's law firm that aspartame was deemed "safe." Aspartame is now a $1 billion industry. Interesting.

2. Sucralose (Splenda) is a chemical. Sure, it's said to "taste like sugar because it's made from sugar," but that's only if you consider manually altering its chemical make-up to feature arsenic and heavy metals as sweet as sugar. Mmm.

3. Artificial sweeteners will make you fat. Sounds harsh, but studies have found that artificial sweeteners alter your body's ability to detect sweetness and moderate how much sugar or junk food you take in. Trust me - just because they're "sugar-free" Oreos does not mean you can eat the whole box in one sitting.

4. Sugar replacements are linked to Alzheimer's disease.

5. And cancer. And birth defects. And fertility problems, diarrhea, kidney failure, hair loss, weight gain, blindness, migraines, joint pain, bloating, depression, seizures, and schizophrenia. And, ironically enough, diabetes.

This doesn't necessarily free you up to drink your favorite Mountain Dew by the gallon, though; most regular soda is chock-full of high fructose corn syrup, another yucky food additive found in nearly every kind of processed food. When it comes down to regular versus diet, however, stick with regular and include the sugar and calories in your intake for the day.

Better yet, try the real stuff, the natural kind of sugar found in one of our best friends: fruit. Orange juice is a great way to give yourself an AM boost and fresh strawberries can help protect teeth enamel (not to mention their whitening effect!). Opt against cranberry cocktail for the organic apple juice and you've saved yourself a whole boatload of who knows what.

Just like you wrote in everyone's high school yearbook, "Stay sweet! Don't ever change!", stay away from the modified junk and you can still satisfy that sweet tooth.

Monday Myth: high fructose corn syrup

Get the facts: you're in for a sweet surprise.

If you've watched television at all lately, you've seen this fabulous strategy of a commercial more than once, the one that quips high fructose corn syrup (HCFS) is "made from corn, has no artificial sweeteners, and is fine in moderation." What few people know, however, is what the "sweet surprise" the Corn Refiners Association is literally sugar-coating and force-feeding Americans across the country.

Log on to Sweet Surprise and you'll find masses of "expert testimonials" citing HCFS as equivalent to honey, table sugar, and other sweeteners. Yet the sweetener, primarily based in fructose and a combination of other sugars like glucose, is NOT metabolized by the body in the same way as sugar! The fact that the artificial sweetener is completely derived from genetically-modified corn and subject to extreme processing already only emphasizes the unnatural basis of HCFS. Sure, HFCS has no artificial sweeteners...because it IS one.

Whereas glucose in standard sugars is metabolized by the body and converted into blood glucose affecting insulin levels, HFCS is processed by the liver and converted into fat and cholesterol. Insulin helps tell your body when to stop eating; because of the different way HCFS is processed, a person may be more likely to overeat without this heads up. This fructose also ups your levels of bad cholesterol (or LDL) and triglycerides, an extraordinarily unhealthy fat linked to the hardening of healthy arteries and increased risks for heart disease.

Diabetics and at-risk diabetics especially should be on the lookout for this nasty food additive; a 2007 study by the American Chemical Society revealed that HFCS in soda and other drinks was linked with cell and tissue damage that triggers diabetes. Diabetes in itself has been linked to obesity and heart disease and only makes the healthy living battle that much more difficult, so why put another hurdle in your way of crossing the finish line at the top?

Next time you're loading up the pantry, check the labels -- you'll be surprised how many products use HFCS as a sweetener, everything from soda to soup to bread! Instead of indulging in this Frankenstein of a beast, try some actual fruit; fruit is low in yucky fructose but offers loads of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes for healthy digestion and energy. Opt for water over Coke and you'll have saved yourself an average 8 tablespoons of sugar per serving...think of all the calories you don't have to feel guilty about! Your little heart and liver will thank you.

Pretty sure the website should be renamed "Sweet Deception." Eh, better luck next campaign.