Artificial Sweetners Good or Bad ?

When it comes to food I guess we believe what we're told without questioning. Many of us, in our quest to lead healthier lives have switched to artificial sweeteners...

Not so many years ago artificial sweeteners like Aspartame and Saccharin were deemed unsafe for human consumption but now they're common place. It is claimed Aspartame sugar substitutes cause worrying symptoms from memory loss to brain tumours. But despite US FDA approval as a 'safe' food additive, aspartame is one of the most dangerous substances ever to be foisted upon an unsuspecting public."

This was a typical warning on labels of Saccharin containers
"USE OF THIS PRODUCT MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH. THIS PRODUCT CONTAINS SACCHARIN WHICH HAS BEEN DETERMINED TO CAUSE CANCER IN LABORATORY ANIMALS."

The aim of this blog isn't to scare you but make you AWARE ! There's hundreds of web pages dedicated to this subject, here's just a few:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_substitute#Controversy_over_perceived_benefits
http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-sweeteners.html
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1467035542753985943&hl=en

While the above artificial sweeteners were declared "safe", the Miracle Fruit Plant, sometimes known as Miracle Berry, which is a natural sweetener was controversially declared "unsafe" for human consumption.
An attempt was made in the 1970s to commercialize the ability of the fruit to turn non-sweet foods into sweet foods without a calorific penalty, but ended in failure in controversial circumstances with accusations that the project was sabotaged and the research burgled by the sugar industry to prevent loss of business caused by a drop in the need for sugar. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_fruit

Butter or Margarine

What is in Margarine?
Margarine's contents are restricted by law. It must contain at least 80% oil, 15,000 IUs2 of Vitamin A, and a liquid solution based on milk products and water. Salt and vitamins can be added, as well as flavour enhancers, texture smoother's, and preservatives.

Since 1979, almost all American margarine's have been made with vegetable oil, which is high in Vitamin E, but a few are made with beef fat. In Europe, three of the six most common blends of fats include whale oil or animal fat.

Should We Eat margarine?
Margarine contains no cholesterol and very little saturated fat. It tends to be lower in calories than butter. It's a good source of Vitamin A and E, as well as essential fatty acids.

Recently dietitians have discovered the dangers of hydrogenated fats, especially those found in margarine. To keep margarine from melting, it's treated by adding hydrogen atoms to the fat molecules to make them more saturated, which raises the melting point. The reason why? Hydrogenated margarine doesn't spoil or become rancid, and rodents and insects won't eat it.
Unfortunately, the process of hydrogenation creates trans-fats, which your body can't digest properly, and the hydrogenated fats stimulate your body to create cholesterol. Margarine also has trace elements of the toxic metals used in the process.

More info: http://curezone.com/foods/margarine.asp

What about olive oil? Well I thought it was the best choice, then I came across this: http://muratducarta.bttradespace.com/AllPosts.aspx

Negative Calorie Foods

Negative Calorie Foods ~ Vegetables
Asparagus beets broccoli cabbage (green)carrots cauliflower celery chicory chili peppers cucumbers garlic lettuce onions papayas spinach turnip zucchini

Negative Calorie Foods ~ Fruit
Apples cranberries grapefruit lemons mango's oranges pineapple raspberries strawberries tangerines

All foods have some calories. No food is actually "negative calorie" food. The overall effect of certain foods in our body is that of "negative calories". Negative calorie foods are foods, which use more calories to digest than the calories the foods actually contain!

Calories from these foods are much harder for the body to breakdown and process. In other words, the body has to work harder in order to extract calories from these foods. This gives these foods a tremendous natural fat-burning advantage.

A meal consisting of 500 calories may require only 150 calories to be digested by our body, resulting in a net gain of 350 calories which is added to our body fat! According to this theory, for example, if you eat 150 calories of a food that requires 200 calories to digest, then you've burnt an additional 50 calories simply by eating that food.
More info: http://weightlossinternational.com/newsletter/free-list-of-negative-calorie-foods.html

Walking

To lose weight and to keep it off, you need to get moving.

Walking Off Weight: Walking at a moderate pace for 30-60 minutes burns stored fat and can build muscle to speed up your metabolism. Walking an hour a day is also associated with cutting your risk of heart disease, breast cancer, colon cancer, diabetes and stroke.

So how many calories do you burn when you walk.

The more you weigh the more calories you burn walking per mile; the less you weigh the fewer calories you burn per mile. The amount of calories you burn per mile is equal to double your weight in pounds divided by 3.5. For example, if you weigh 189 pounds, you burn 2 x 190 = 378 / 3.5 = 108 calories per mile.

Bear in mind there are 3500 calories in 1 lb. of body fat, that's a lot of walking.

Click on this useful link to view how many calories are burnt doing other activities
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1608/is_11_18/ai_93009049/

Water

Drinking a big glass of water whenever you feel hungry and before a meal or snack fills the stomach briefly and makes you feel fuller and stop eating sooner. Breaking down body fat and body muscle during weight loss produces wastes that must be eliminated through the kidneys. Drinking enough water is important to keep the kidneys functioning to remove these wastes.