With Diwali round the corner, the temptation to gorge on sweets and fatty foods also increases. Overdosing on Diwali sweets can be harmful to people already suffering from various health conditions including diabetes. This time of the year, diabetics generally choose foods labeled as 'sugar-free'. This Diwali, before you decide to treat those, read this article.
Today a large variety of food items are sold under sugar-free and zero-calorie labels. A lot of people approach these food items as the mid-path between controlling their blood sugar levels and avoiding weight gain while not sacrificing their favorite food. But the question is - can you go on having zero-calorie soda or sweets or an ice-cream without any health concerns? Here are some of the common myths about sugar-free food:
Sugar is Just the Single Source of Carbohydrates
Remember that sugar is just one carbohydrate, there are disaccharides and polysaccharides classes of carbohydrates too. So, if the food package is labeled “sugar-free” with big fonts that alone doesn’t tell everything about the total carbohydrate. Hence whenever you pick a food item labeled sugar-free, no added sugar, reduced sugar, low sugar, read the complete ingredient list that is commonly written on the backside of the package in small fonts. Most probably you may find the scientific name of the other sources of carbohydrates like amylose, glycogen, cellulose, and chitin.
Artificial Sweetener - Aspartame
One of the common artificial sweeteners is aspartame which is 200 times sweeter than common sugar. It is commonly used in bakery items, colas, and sweets. Unfortunately, at high temperatures, aspartame degenerates and leave behind chemicals that are toxic in nature. Though cleared by many FBAs, a lot of studies suggest that aspartame has at least 92 sides effect that includes anxiety, weight gain, depression, and neurological disorders.
Artificial Sweetener - Sucralose
A lot of times, sucralose is used as sugar substitutes for baked food, pastries, ice-creams, and diet supplements. It’s about 600 times sweeter than sugar and a large number of theories suggested the impact of sucralose induces sugar curving and makes you reach for more sweets and even junk food that eventually leads to weight gain.
Artificial Sweeteners
Though there has been a lot of scrutiny going on to identify the negative impact of artificial sweeteners. But one thing is clear that these sweeteners are called “artificial” that are chemically manufactured molecules. Eatables that are not engineered by nature but at the laboratory are always subject to debate.