food facts Archives - Glenville Nutrition Clinic

A new study in America reveals health concerns about the sugar substitute sucralose so alarming that researchers said people should stop eating it and the government should regulate it more.

The findings were published this week in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B. The researchers conducted a series of laboratory experiments exposing human blood cells and gut tissue to sucralose-6-acetate. The findings build on previous research that linked sucralose to gut health problems.

The researchers found that sucralose causes DNA to break apart, putting people at risk for disease. They also linked sucralose to leaky gut syndrome, which means the lining of the intestines are worn down and become permeable. Symptoms are a burning sensation, painful digestion, diarrhoea, gas, and bloating.

I cover all the key sugar substitutes in my book Natural Alternatives To Sugar and explain which ones to be avoided and which ones I recommend as being safe, natural and healthy.

Here is my book extract on Sucralose:

Sucralose is made by chlorinating sucrose (sugar); it is 600 times sweeter than sugar. Only about 15 percent of the sucralose is absorbed by your body and the rest is passed out unchanged. So there have been concerns because sucralose has been detected in municipal effluents and surface waters both in Europe and the US. The concern is whether sucralose in the environment could have a toxic effect on animals, particularly those in an aquatic environment.

Sucralose is highly soluble in water and degrades very slowly which is why it has been detected in water. At the moment research tends to the view that it is not affecting the aquatic wildlife in terms of survival, growth and reproduction of algae, crustaceans, fish and plants. However, some studies have reported physiological and locomotion behavioural changes in certain aquatic organisms. Daphnia, a freshwater flea, when exposed to sucralose, swims at a different height and increased speed while gammarids, which are small crustaceans, take longer to reach food and shelter. The researchers suggest that ‘regardless if these behavioural responses were initiated via traditional toxic mechanisms or stimulatory effects, they should be considered as a warning, since exposed organisms may diverge from normal behaviour, which ultimately can have ecological consequences’.

The other controversy concerning sucralose is that it has been marketed as being ‘made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar’. Sugar is certainly used as the starting point, but the end product does not contain sugar. The Sugar Association in the US representing the sugar cane and sugar beet farmers filed claims against the manufacturers of sucralose as they thought that this was false-advertising and in France the slogan is banned. In America the slogan is now: ‘It’s made from sugar. It tastes like sugar. But it’s not sugar.’

For a full overview on what sugar replacements you should be using and a full chapter of delicious and healthy recipes you can buy a copy of Natural Alternatives To Sugar at https://www.naturalhealthpractice.com/the-natural-alternatives-to-sugar.html

sources of phytonutrients like grapes, blueberries, kidney beans and broccoli

Phytoestrogens (phyto meaning ‘plant’) are substances that occur naturally in foods and they have a very interesting effect on our hormones.

Calling them phytoestrogens would imply that we are adding yet more oestrogen into our bodies, but these plant oestrogens work in a special way. They have been shown to have a balancing effect on hormones.
A study recently showed that eating soya increased oestrogen levels when they were low and reduced them when they were high. This could explain why soya beans can reduce hot flushes for women going through the menopause (when it is believed that we have an oestrogen deficiency) and reduce the incidence of breast cancer (which is often due to an excess of oestrogen).

Because these foods have a controlling effect on oestrogen, it is important to include them in your diet – particularly when you are suffering from a condition that is sensitive to excess oestrogen; such as fibroids and endometriosis.
Research has also shown that phytoestrogens can help to produce lighter periods, and to lengthen women’s cycles that are too short.

soy beans which are strong phytonutrients

Phytoestrogens also have other positive benefits. Soya beans have been found to contain at least 5 compounds believed to inhibit cancer. The major research has focused on breast cancer because Japanese women only have one-sixth the rate of breast cancer that we have.
It also appears that when Japanese women move to the West, their rate rises to that of the Western woman.

As well as these benefits on the hormones, phytoestrogens also have a positive effect on your cardiovascular health. Studies have shown that soya can lower the level of cholesterol and specially the ‘bad’ cholesterol called LDL.

Finally, these phytoestrogens are found in almost all fruit, vegetables and cereals but they are most beneficial in the form of something called ‘isoflavones’, which are found in legumes such as soya, lentils and chickpeas.

Beans are easy to use and they are great added to salads, soups and casseroles. Most beans (although not lentils) need to be soaked, sometimes over-night, before cooking.

There is still a great deal of confusion surrounding phytoestrogens, primarily in relation to soya, but there is no doubt that it can be a useful addition to your diet – especially if you are interested in, or have, a hormone condition.

If you would like to find out more, or are interested in finding out how you can help balance your hormones/hormone condition, speak to one our expert nutritionists who have been trained to the protocols of Dr Marilyn Glenville PhD – the leading women’s health nutritionist in the UK specialising in hormone health.

Alarming Sugar Substitute Findings

Phytonutrients – And Their Importance For Hormone Health

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