The TRUTH about Good Carbs, Bad Carbs, Low vs High Carbs, and all of the Carb Confusion

by Mike Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

Best-Selling Author:  The Fat-Burning Kitchen & The Top 101 Foods that FIGHT Aging

With so much talk, confusion, and controversy in recent years about "carbs", I wanted to give you my take on good carbs vs bad carbs, low carb vs high-carb, and all the other "carb confusion" out there.  I'll also show you some of my favorite healthy carbohydrate choices, and exactly why they are better than other choices.
First of all, although I'm not a "low carb" extremist, I do believe that one of the main reasons so many people struggle to ever lose any body fat is that (regardless of complex vs simple carbs) they are over-consuming processed grain-based or sugary carbohydrates such as:

• cereals
• pasta
• rice
• bagels
• muffins
• breads (even whole grain varieties are not ideal if you're looking to lose body fat & prevent digestive system damage)
• sodas (loaded with sugar and/or high fructose corn syrup)
• juices (way too much fructose and total sugar without any of the fruit fiber)
• candies
• crackers

It is extremely hard to lose body fat if you're over consuming any of these types of carbohydrates (even if you workout very hard).  In addition to causing wild blood sugar swings and insulin surges which can promote body fat deposition and throw your hormonal balance out of whack, eating too many carbs also increases your appetite and cravings, leading you to eat MORE calories overall compared to if you ate a higher percentage of fat.
Note that I didn't include potatoes in the list of processed carbohydrates. Despite the trash talking they get from many fitness professionals, I think whole potatoes (not fries or chips!) are a nutrient-dense healthy food in general, although the skins of potatoes do contain mild amounts of toxins.
Even carbohydrate sources that most people think are "healthy" usually are just excess calories that don't really deliver a whole lot of nutrient density... and many types of breads and cereals pretend to be "whole grain" with clever marketing while in reality the first ingredient in them is refined flour, which is just going to shoot your blood sugar through the roof.
However, even "whole grain" products have been shown to have just as much of a massive blood sugar impact as refined grains in many cases, particularly when it comes to wheat products.  And unfortunately, whole grains are also bad because it's generally the bran portion of grains that contains the majority of gut-damaging antinutrients that can inflame your digestive system or prevent absorption of certain minerals by your body.

What does "low carb" vs "moderate carb" vs "high carb" even mean?
According to expert Nutrition author Chris Kresser, below are the differences between low, moderate, or high carb ratios compared to your total calories.  Keep in mind that the average person eating a modern western diet consumes a massive 50-60% of their calories from carbs.

• Very Low carb = lower than 10% of total calories (Good for therapeutic uses such as cancer treatment, Diabetes treatment, Alzheimers & other conditions)
• Low carb = 10-15% of total calories  (good for weight loss, blood sugar control, digestive improvement, and Diabetes control)
• Moderate carb = 15-30% of total calories (good range for the average person to maintain weight, balance energy, balance hormones, etc)
• High carb = greater than 30% of total calories  (Good for people that want to GAIN weight, gain muscle, or are high level athletes)

Personally, I tend to cycle between the low-carb group and the moderate-carb group depending on the day of the week, so I range between 10% to 30% of my daily calories from carbohydrates.  I've found this is where I feel best and perform best.  If I go "high-carb" like the average American, I pack on body fat VERY fast, and it's not fun.  I try to keep high-carb days to only 1 day per week, aka, my cheat day.
Note:  If you consume 2000 calories per day, then that means 200 calories, or approx 50 grams of carbs for the day would be 10% of your total calories.  For me, because of my height and high activity levels (I'm a big skier, mountain biker, hiker, swimmer, etc), my daily maintenance is more around 3000 calories, so that would mean 75 grams of carbs would represent 10% of my calories (75 x 4 = 300 calories from carbs).  On most days, I'd estimate that I get between 80-100 grams of carbs total, which is equivalent to 1 piece of fruit, 1 sweet potato, some various veggies throughout the day, along with a little bit of honey in my tea, and a little bit of coconut sugar in my coffee.
 
My take on it is that the majority of people struggling to lose body fat would do much better following these types of carb guidelines:

1. Reduce or eliminate your grain-based carb products in the diet (cereal, pasta, rice, crackers, etc) and focus more of your diet on healthy grass-fed and/or free-range meats and eggs, grass-fed raw dairy or fermented dairy (kefir and yogurt), nuts, and TONS of vegetables and fruits (for most people, keeping fruit to 1-2 pieces per day is best). 
I understand that it's very hard for most people to give up entirely their breads, cereals, and pastas.  But don't worry, just save the grain-based carbs for no more than a 1-day per week "cheat day", and most people can still do just fine if you're not gluten intolerant or Celiac.
2. Instead of the grains for most of your carbs, try getting most of your carbs from vegetables, sweet potatoes, and a variety of whole fruits and berries (NOT fruit juices, which remove the beneficial fiber as well as other essential parts of the fruit).
3.  If you're going to eat any grains at all, focus on sprouted grains if you can, or sourdough on the occasions that you absolutely need to have bread.  Since sourdough bread has been fermented, some of the antinutrients have been broken down, and even the gluten is thought to be at least slightly more digestible in a sourdough bread.
Note on wheat germ --  although wheat germ is a nutrient dense food (compared to the nutrient-poor starch portion of wheat), beware of the gluten in wheat if you have any intolerance.  Many people have wheat/gluten intolerances and don't even realize it.  It could be worth it to get tested to see how your body is handling wheat.
If you are choosing sprouted grain breads, make sure that it's 100% sprouted grain, and not regular flour as the main ingredient followed by a portion of sprouted grains.  Sprouted grains are healthier than "whole grains" because the sprouting process deactivates many of the antinutrients that can cause digestive problems and prevent certain minerals from being absorbed.
4. To replace the void if you're used to consuming lots of bread, pasta, cereals, and other carb sources... try filling that void with more healthy fats such as nuts, seeds, avocados, coconut oil, olive oil, olives, grass-fed butter and cream, aged cheeses, nut butters, as well as healthy proteins such as grass-fed dairy and meats, whole free-range organic eggs, etc.
Healthy fats and proteins go a long way to satisfying your appetite, controlling proper hormone and blood sugar levels, and helping you to make real progress on fat loss.  Consuming more healthy fats instead of carbs also helps to transition your metabolism into a "fat adapted metabolism" instead of being a "carb burner" like most people.  Having a "fat adapted metabolism" gives you more stable energy levels, stable blood sugar, balanced hormones, and more.  On the other hand, being a carb-burner gives you more energy spikes and dips, blood sugar swings, and cravings.
With all of that said, even when I'm eating a low-moderate carbohydrate diet, here's one of my favorite carb sources that is high in fiber as well as tons of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants:

Sweet potatoes or yams
I always choose the orange varieties instead of the white varieties of sweet potatoes for more carotenes. One of the problems with sweet potatoes is the time it takes to bake a sweet potato for 1 to 1.5 hrs.
I cook my sweet potatoes in a different way that only takes 5 minutes and they come out delicious... and no, I would NEVER use a microwave (We talk more about why never to use a microwave to cook your foods in this article).
The easiest and quickest way I've found to cook up a sweet potato is to slice it up into thin slivers and put it into a pan that you can cover with a lid.  I add a touch of butter, virgin coconut oil (beneficial medium chain triglycerides), and about 3-4 Tbsp of water and simmer with a covered lid for about 5 minutes. 
When the sweet potatoes are soft, then add a little cinnamon and maybe a touch (no more than a teaspoon) of real maple syrup (if you want a little more sweet flavor) and you're all set with a delicious healthy carb side dish to go with any meat dish.  Add a side salad and you've got the perfect lean-body meal plan.
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4 Examples of When Veggies are NOT Always Good For You

When it comes to veggies, more is NOT always better, and the TYPE matters for each person
by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author of best-sellers: The Fat Burning Kitchen & The Top 101 Foods that FIGHT Aging

There are a lot of things that health gurus disagree about... low-carb, high-carb, high fat, protein, meat eating, vegan diets, etc... but if there's one thing that almost every type of diet or every health professional agrees on, it's that vegetables are great for you.

Whether someone follows Paleo or Vegetarian or Atkins, almost everybody agrees that veggies are good for you.

However, it's NOT that simple, and there are definitely cases when you can eat TOO many vegetables and also certain TYPES of vegetables that are bad for certain types of conditions.

This won't be a fully comprehensive list, but let me show you a few examples...


Example #1 when veggies are NOT always great:

Some people that have a damaged digestive system, leaky gut, IBS, or other digestive issues may actually do more harm by eating TOO much insoluble fiber that's found in a lot of vegetables [Btw, grains can have TOO much insoluble fiber many times too, such as wheat bran].
This is a case when cooked vegetables might be better than raw, or eliminating certain types of veggies may be beneficial, and there's no one answer for every type of person...It all depends on the type of digestive ailment that a certain person has.  That's why it's important for people with digestive system ailments to work closely with a holistic Nutritionist or Naturopath in these cases.

Keep in mind that in many cases, a traditional MD does not have enough nutrition knowledge to prescribe the right type of diet for digestive ailments... you really need to work with a Digestion expert directly for your individual case... this may or may not be an MD or an ND.  But make sure to seek out someone with more of a Holistic approach to nutrition instead of someone that just wants to prescribe a barrage of potentially dangerous drugs to you.  There may be important uses for some drugs in certain cases, but most traditional MDs will overprescribe drugs compared to a Naturopath or Holistic Nutritionist.


Example #2 when veggies are NOT always great:

Some veggies contain certain toxins or antinutrients that you CAN eat too much of... for example, spinach is thought of as very healthy, but if you eat it at almost every meal, you can eat too much oxalic acid that can cause kidney stones or damage if eaten too often and too much quantity.

NIghtshade vegetables (such as tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, etc) are another example of veggies that are normally "healthy" but if overconsumed, can possibly have some links to Arthritis and other problems with inappropriate calcification in soft tissues of the body.  I talk more in this article about low level toxins in certain veggies that can be overconsumed.


Example #3 when veggies are NOT always great:

Certain types of veggies (and also whether they're cooked or not) can have negative impacts for certain people on Thyroid function.  One reason is certain veggies have iodine blocking characteristics.
My partners at PaleoHacks have an article here about 11 Goitrogenic foods that can impact your Thyroid health (most of them are certain types of veggies) and exactly what to look for, so I won't go into any more detail on that in this article.


Example #4 when veggies are NOT always great:

This one has to do with gut health and the quality of your POOP.  Sorry, this one might be on the TMI (too much information) spectrum for you, but it's one of the MOST important indicators of your health, so if you don't pay attention to your poop on a daily basis, you're missing out on vital health information about yourself...

As you know, a really good indicator of overall health is the regularity of your bowel movements (do you go at least 1-3x per day?), but also the consistency of your poop, and whether you have constipation, diarrhea, or that "perfect" texture in the middle.

Oftentimes, people are eating certain foods that give them constipation, or other foods that make their stools WAY too loose and runny.  I've come across cases with certain people where they were eating TOO many veggies, and it was giving them runny poop, which means the excess veggies were irritating their gut or negatively affecting their digestion in some way.

Sorry if this is TMI for you, but I've also experienced this myself... I noticed that when I eat very large salads with dinner, I end up the next morning with excessively soft loose stools, but if I have just a small amount of veggies with my dinner meat, I end up having a "perfect log" poop the next morning.
As you can see, if I held onto the foolish belief that "more veggies is always better", I would be constantly irritating my digestive system with excess insoluble fiber, but I've learned through trial and error (and simply paying attention to my stool texture every morning and remembering what I ate the night before) that when I eat a "medium" sized portion of veggies with dinner instead of a large portion, that my bowel movements the next morning are always MUCH healthier.

Again, this is a personal observation for me, and some people may do better with higher amounts of veggies, especially if you're prone to constipation, which I'm not. In fact, I've probably only had constipation once in my entire life and I think that was caused by some antibiotic that I had to take when I was younger (I'd never take antibiotics at this point in my life unless it was something life threatening or a serious infection like Lyme Disease).  But it's quite clear that my digestive system seems to prefer a slightly higher proportion of fats (avocado, nuts, butter, cream, coconut fat, etc) and meats or eggs, and a slightly smaller amount of veggies instead of those large salads.

Also, fermented veggies are typically much easier on the digestive system, due to the fact that they're already partially pre-digested by the fermenting microbes. And not only that, but fermented veggies such as kimchi and various krauts are easily one of THE best sources of gut-healing probiotics.  I like to have a traditional Korean Kimchi most mornings with my eggs... very tasty AND healthy for the gut!  I also like to add a particular brand of fermented beets that I've found to my small nightly salad, along with half an avocado.

As I've covered in today's article, you can see how more veggies is NOT always better, and there are some cases for certain people where reducing certain types of veggies may be beneficial.  There are other examples I could think of when more veggies are NOT always better, but I just wanted to give you a few important examples in this article, because it's not always the best advice when you hear people say that "you can't eat too many vegetables".  Well, as you can see, yes you CAN eat too many in some cases.

Please pass this important article on to any of your friends and family by sharing this page with them.  It's an important health topic that most people don't fully understand.

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My Take on Good Carbs, Bad Carbs, Low Carbs, and all of the Carb BS

by Mike Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

Author of best-selling program:  The Truth about 6-Pack Abs

With so much talk, confusion, and controversy in recent years about "carbs", I wanted to give you my take on good carbs vs bad carbs, low carb, and all the other "carb confusion" out there.  I'll also show you one of my favorite healthy carbohydrate choices.
First of all, although I'm not a "low carb" extremist, I do believe that one of the main reasons so many people struggle to ever lose any body fat is that they are over consuming processed carbohydrates such as:

• cereals
• pasta
• rice
• bagels
• muffins
• breads (even whole grain varieties are not ideal if you're looking to lose body fat)
• sodas
• juices
• candies
• crackers

It is extremely hard to lose body fat if you're over consuming any of these types of carbohydrates (even if you workout very hard). In addition to causing wild blood sugar swings and insulin surges which can promote body fat deposition, eating too many carbs also increases your appetite and cravings.
Note that I didn't include potatoes in the list of processed carbohydrates. Despite the trash talking they get from many fitness professionals, I think whole potatoes (not fries or chips!) are a nutrient-dense healthy food.
Even carbohydrate sources that most people think are "healthy" really are just excess calories that don't really deliver a whole lot of nutrient density... and many types of breads and cereals pretend to be "whole grain" with clever marketing while in reality the first ingredient in them is refined flour, which is just going to shoot your blood sugar through the roof.
My take on it is that the majority of people struggling to lose body fat would do much better following these types of carb guidelines:
1. Reduce your grain-based carb products in the diet (cereal, pasta, rice, crackers, etc) and focus more of the diet on healthy grass-fed and/or free-range meats and eggs, grass-fed raw dairy, and TONS of vegetables and fruits.  I understand that it's very hard for most people to give up entirely their breads, cereals, and pastas.  But don't worry, just save the grain-based carbs for a 1-day per week "cheat day", and you can still do just fine!
2. Instead of the grains for most of the carbs, try getting most of your carbs from vegetables, sweet potatoes, and a variety of whole fruits and berries (NOT fruit juices, which remove the beneficial fiber as well as other essential parts of the fruit).
3.  If you're going to eat any grains at all, focus on the most nutrient dense and fibrous portions of the grain... the germ and bran... this means that the best parts are getting oat bran instead of oatmeal, and using rice bran to add to your yogurt, cottage cheese, salads, soups, etc.  This way you get all of the most beneficial nutritious parts of grains without all of the excess starches and calories. 
Note on wheat germ --  although wheat germ is a nutrient dense food (compared to the nutrient-poor starch portion of wheat), beware of the gluten in wheat if you have any intolerance.  Many people have wheat/gluten intolerances and don't even realize it.  It could be worth it to get tested to see how your body is handling wheat.
Also, for best results with grains in general, try to stick only to sprouted grain products if you're going to eat any grains at all.  The sprouting of grains helps to eliminate some of the "anti-nutrients" in some grains, and also improves digestion of those grains.
4. To replace the void if you're used to consuming lots of bread, pasta, cereals, and other carb sources... try filling that void with more healthy fats such as nuts, seeds, avocados, nut butters as well as healthy proteins such as raw grass-fed dairy and meats, whole free-range organic eggs, etc. Healthy fats and proteins go a long way to satisfying your appetite, controlling proper hormone and blood sugar levels, and helping you to make real progress on fat loss.
With all of that said, here's one of my favorite carb sources that is high in fiber as well as tons of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants:
Sweet potatoes or yams
I always choose the orange varieties instead of the white varieties of sweet potatoes. One of the problems with sweet potatoes is the time it takes to bake a sweet potato for 1 to 1.5 hrs.
I cook my sweet potatoes in a different way that only takes 5 minutes and they come out delicious... and no, I would NEVER use a microwave (I talk more about why never to use a microwave to cook your foods in this article).
The easiest and quickest way I've found to cook up a sweet potato is to slice it up into thin slivers and put it into a pan that you can cover with a lid.  I add a touch of butter, virgin coconut oil (beneficial medium chain triglycerides), and about 3-4 Tbsp of water and simmer with a covered lid for about 5 minutes. 
When the sweet potatoes are soft, then add a little cinnamon and maybe a touch of the natural sweetener stevia (if you want a little more sweet flavor) and you're all set with a delicious healthy carb side dish to go with any meat dish.  Add a side salad and you've got the perfect lean-body meal plan.
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Paleo Pizza recipe... low-carb, gluten-free, and WAY healthier than most GF crusts

One of the foods that most people miss the most when they switch to eating "Paleo-ish" is good old-fashioned pizza. 

 

I've tried a few variations of gluten-free pizza recipes out there - but although some of them have a decent taste, they are almost ALWAYS very high glycemic and spike your blood sugar significantly (like a lot of "gluten-free" labeled foods) - so for a while, I 'gave up' on pizza... After all, even eating normal pizza on your "cheat day" can still do some harm to your digestive system from the significant amount of gluten in normal pizza crust.

 

Recently though, my good friend Dave from PaleoHacks.com (one of the largest online Paleo communities) sent me a pizza recipe from their website to try - and it was INCREDIBLE!

 

My faith in gluten-free pizza has been restored, and this is by far my new favorite pizza recipe...try this one out tonight for dinner!

This is also one of the ONLY ways to make a truly low-carb pizza, since as you know, most gluten-free crusts are still a massive carb bomb to your blood sugar.  My wife and I also choose to make this with real cheese instead of trying to make it dairy-free as we personally have no issues digesting dairy.  But if you're dairy sensitive, just eliminate the cheese and do more veggie and meat toppings.

One other comment on this recipe... You really can't pick these pizza slices up with your hands and eat them because they do fall apart much easier than regular crust, so I'd recommend just eating it with a fork... This has become a weekly favorite that my wife and I absolutely LOVE!

 

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Paleo Cauliflower-Crust Pizza Recipe

 

Cauliflower Crust

 

1 head cauliflower

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (optional if you're trying to reduce dairy)

1 egg

Coconut oil or grass fed butter to grease the cookie sheet

 

The toppings (any combination that you like)

Organic pepperoni

Organic bacon

Organic chicken sausage
Various veggies (onions, mushrooms and peppers are my favorite mix)

Black olives

Dried oregano

Homemade or store bought organic tomato sauce
Organic Mozzarella cheese (optional if you're trying to go dairy-free)

 

INSTRUCTIONS

 

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a large cookie sheet with your coconut oil or grass fed butter.

 

2. Cut up your cauliflower into pieces so that you can steam it.

 

3. Steam your cauliflower (or boil it) for 6-8 minutes or until soft. Strain out the water, let the cauliflower cool, and strain out any additional water.  Mix the cauliflower, egg, spices, parm cheese, olive oil and salt in a big bowl by mashing it with a masher or using hand beaters to mix thoroughly.

 

4. Press the cauliflower mash out to 1/4 inch thick crust and then bake for 20 minutes.  I'd recommend making 2-3 smaller crusts instead of 1 large crust as it's easier to handle.

 

5. Flip the crusts over and put back in the oven for 3-5 minutes.

 

6. Remove from the oven, add your sauce and toppings. Place back in the oven for 5-6 minutes to heat and melt the toppings.

 

7. Remove from the oven and enjoy your tasty low-carb gluten-free Paleo-ish pizza!
 

--------------------------------------------

 

This is by far my new favorite pizza recipe - and instead of feeling nasty, bloated, and tired after eating it, I feel GREAT!

 

This is just one of the over 200+ gluten-free, grain-free, recipes that Dave put together from his community-sourced & chef-reviewed Paleo Cookbook Bundle. 

 

With it, you'll not only get ridiculously tasty & healthy recipes like the one above, but you'll also get bonuses like the "Paleo 4x Cookbook", which shows you simple, easy to make recipes with just 4 ingredients. You'll also get another guide that shows you how to stay healthy when you're eating out - so you don't have to sacrifice your social life for a healthier diet. 

 

On top of it all, the Paleo Cookbook Bundle is on sale (with well over $100 in bonuses) right now at almost 30% off.

 

Enjoy!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

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Do Artificial Sweeteners (splenda, aspartame, etc) Make You Fat? Natural Alternatives Including Stevia

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
author: The Truth about Six-Pack Abs

I wanted to talk about artificial sweeteners today because I've noticed that there's a lot of confusion and misconceptions revolving around these non-caloric sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners and the huge list of products sweetened with them are marketed to you relentlessly as "healthy foods" or "healthier" than sugar or corn syrup sweetened products. But are they really?
Just to clarify, some of the most popular artificial sweeteners on the market today are:

• Splenda (sucralose)
• Aspartame
• Saccharine
• Acesulfame Potassium (aka - acesulfame K)

These artificial sweeteners are used in abundance in almost every "diet" drink, "lite" yogurts, puddings, and ice creams, most "low-carb" products, and almost all "reduced-sugar" products. Heck, even most protein powders are loaded with artificial sweeteners too (just look on the ingredients and you'll usually see one of them).
Splenda is probably one of the worst offenders of claiming to be "healthy" as they say that it's made from real sugar. Don't be fooled! It's still an artificial substance. What they don't tell you is that Splenda is actually a chemically modified substance where chlorine is added to the chemical structure, making it more similar to a chlorinated pesticide than something we should be eating or drinking.
This is one of the biggest misconceptions that I see all of the time and it saddens me to see so many people poisoning their family with dangerous artificial sweeteners like splenda, while falsely thinking they're doing something healthy.
The truth is that artificial sweeteners are not even close to being healthy, and as you'll discover in a minute, can easily be just as bad for you, if not worse, than sugar or corn syrup. Most people think that they are doing something good for themselves by choosing the "diet" drinks or "lite" yogurts compared to the sugar-laden versions, but the problem is that you're exposing yourself to a whole new set of problems with the artificially sweetened drinks and foods.
I know you're probably frustrated by all of the contradicting messages you hear each day about which foods are good for you and which are bad. I'm sure just today you probably saw some clever ad or commercial somewhere screaming health benefits for a food product that is loaded with artificial sweeteners. Don't worry. Just stick with me and I'll get past the marketing hype for you and decipher the truth. I'll also give you some ideas for great alternatives to artificial sweeteners as well as alternatives to sugar or corn syrup sweeteners.
The fact is, artificial sweeteners vs. sugar or corn syrup is really just a battle between two evils. Which evil is worse?
I'm sure you already know the problems with sugar or high fructose corn syrup sweetened products. The excess empty calories, blood sugar spike, and resulting insulin surge this creates in your body not only promotes fat gain, but also stimulates your appetite further, making things even worse.
On the other hand, artificial sweeteners save you calories, but there's growing evidence that they can increase your appetite for sweets and other carbohydrates causing you to eat more later in the day anyway. Therefore, you don't really save any calories at all. Also, studies have shown that artificial sweeteners can stimulate high insulin levels in your body too, which again can promote fat storage.
All of the 4 artificial sweeteners listed above are nasty chemicals that the human body is simply not meant to ingest. However, most of us are ingesting a whole lot of these chemicals on a daily basis. Aside from the problems I touched on so far, other health issues that have been related to artificial sweeteners in scientific studies as well as observations are:

• some have been linked to potential cancer risks
• negative effects on the liver, kidneys, and other organs
• stimulating cravings
• gastrointestinal problems
• developmental problems in children and fetuses
• headaches
• and too many more issues to list

Now some of the above potential health problems are definitely not proven as fact in studies. However, some of them have been shown in animal studies given high doses. Also, if you do some research, you'll find hoardes of people that attribute the use of artificial sweeteners over the years with all sorts of illnesses in themselves or in family members.
Regardless of the fact that any real health problems for actual human use are not proven yet, I don't know about you, but I'd rather protect myself and my family and steer clear of these possibly dangerous artificial chemicals.
Of course, despite all of the health issues potentially associated with artificial sweeteners, the companies that sell the products will continue to claim that they are fully safe. Don't believe them!  The bottom line is that the body was not designed to deal with foreign substances like artificial sweeteners. Take my word on that one.
So what are your options for alternatives?
Well, your best alternatives for sugar or corn syrup are either raw honey, organic maple syrup, or even a little-known high antioxidant syrup called sorghum syrup (common in the southern US). Even though these alternatives still have the same amount of calories as sugar or corn syrup... honey, organic maple syrup, and sorghum syrup actually provide some nutrients and antioxidants, so it's not just empty calories. Empty calories such as white refined sugar stimulate your appetite more because your body is lacking nutrients.
Now you're probably thinking that you'd like to still save on calories but avoid the nasty artificial sweeteners. Good news... You can!
You've probably seen me reference this natural sweetener in a lot of my recipes. It's called Stevia. I've been using it for years as an alternative sweetener when you still want to save a little on calories and sugar but don't want to harm your health with artificial sweeteners.
Stevia is not artificial like the other chemical sweeteners I mentioned above. Stevia is a natural non-caloric herb that's been used for thousands of years in some parts of the world. It is an herb and when dried into a powder, has a sweetness about 200-300 times stronger than sugar.
One problem I've noticed with using Stevia is that the pure powder is a very powerful sweetener, so you can easily use too much. However, I've found some good Stevia products that use a bulking agent added so that you can measure out the stevia powder in direct comparison to measuring sugar.
I've yet to see any negative reports or health concerns regarding stevia and only positive potential health benefits. After all, it's simply an herb as opposed to an artificial chemical derived in a lab.  I definitely give Stevia my seal of approval. Do yourself a favor (and your family), and if you are currently an artificial sweetener junkie, please consider switching to stevia.
More and more stevia products are available now even in many grocery stores.  One of the best stevia products I've found over the years is made by a company called Steviva. They have an excellent stevia product blended with another natural sweetener called erythritol. I suggest giving it a try! Just look for the "Steviva Blend". You can use it in your coffee or tea, to sweeten up plain yogurt, added to smoothies for extra sweetness, on cereals or oatmeal, in baking, or where ever else you might need a sweetener but want to reduce the sugar content.
If you want to grab some, here's the site: Stevia Blend
Well, that's it for today. I hope you enjoyed this important discussion. Feel free to copy/paste this link and email it to anybody you know that might be overdoing the artificial sweeteners.
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