Nutrition

Health Effects of Processed Meats Versus Unprocessed Red Meats from Harvard SPH on Vimeo.

Some great discussion about legumes, sprouted or otherwise.

Editor’s note: the feature article in last week’s edition of The Paleo Diet Update discussed Sprouted Legumes. The article in this week’s edition is a corrected version of the original article. We apologize for any miscommunication.

Q: Hi, the Paleo Diet makes a lot of sense to me and I very much appreciate the research that’s gone into it. However, am I right in thinking that any diet we are adapted to may nevertheless not be an ideal diet? We adapted to a diet that enabled us to be healthy enough to live long enough to reproduce healthy enough offspring.

If I understand correctly, couldn’t certain foods could make that basic diet even healthier? For example, I have The Paleo Diet for Atheletes out from the library right now and I see that you believe that the life of an athlete requires departure from a strict paleolithic diet. Couldn’t properly treated grains and legumes be beneficial additions to the diet? (i.e. soaked/sprouted to reduce/eliminate anti-nutrients?)

I am waiting to receive The Paleo Diet from the library (I’m on a long waiting list, which is good news I guess!) so maybe you address this issue in the book, in which case, I apologise. But if not, I would appreciate knowing your views on soaking/sprouting grains and legumes, and the reasons behind those views.

Thanks so much,
Zena

A: Dear Zena, first of all – thanks for supporting our work.

Lectins, one of the known antinutrients in cereal grains and legumes¹, have been demonstrated to exert several deleterious effects upon human physiology¹, (especially for those with autoimmune diseases) by increasing intestinal permeability². Their function is to protect the plant against attacks by plant-eating animals by using several toxic substances, such as lectins³. There is a growing body of evidence showing that both the root and the sprout of wheat kernels have significant amounts of wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), one of the most studied lectins. Indeed, WGA originates in the wheat kernel, especially during germination and growth⁴, and the highest concentrations are found in young plant roots, seeds, and sprouts.

Lectins are resistant to digestive enzymes, and are found intact in peripheral circulation, as shown by Wang et al (1998)⁵. Furthermore, they are deposited in the internal organs⁶.

As stated by Pusztai et al⁷, lectins are heat stable, and normal cooking does not completely eliminate these toxic compounds unless they are pressur cooked^8-11. The best way to reduce lectins’ adverse health effects is to limit their intake.

In addition, saponins – another type of toxic/antinutritive compound – exist in legume sprouts. Saponins have been shown to affect the gut barrier and by extension immune system function¹². They may also increase the risk of autoimmune diseases in genetically susceptible individuals¹³. Soaking, sprouting or cooking legumes, does not reduce their saponin content^{14, 15}.

In addition, a peptide fraction from gluten proteins called gliadin is found in wheat. Gliadin is resistant to digestive enzyme degradation¹⁶, arrives intact when it comes into contact with intestinal epithelial cells¹⁷, and increases intestinal permeability. Increased intestinal permeability may be at the root of autoimmune diseases such as Celiac Disease and Type 1 Diabetes¹³.

Phytate, the main form of phosphorus storage in many plants (especially bran and seeds) is classified as an antinutrient because is a chelator of iron, magnesium, calcium and zinc¹. Phytate ingestion inhibits the intestinal absorption of those minerals. Phosphorus from phytate is unavailable to humans, as we do not produce the phytase enzyme necessary to break down phytate – unlike ruminants, who do produce phytase, and are able to digest phytate¹⁸. Yeast fermentation in bread reduces phytate content¹⁹. Furthermore, addition of ascorbic acid counteracts the inhibitory effects of phytate upon iron absorption²⁰. Soaking and fermentation reduces the phytate content of grains and legumes as indicated in several studies^{21, 22, 23, 24}.

Having said that, Dr. Cordain in his first book talks about the 85:15 rule, where he explains that 85% of caloric intake from modern paleolithic-like foods is still more healthy than the typical western diet, where more than 70% of caloric intake comes from foods introduced in the human food chain after the agricultural revolution²⁵.

The bottom line is that our metabolism is perfectly adapted to the nutrition that shaped our genome during million of years of evolution. Therefore, any nutrient introduced after the agricultural revolution may not be compatible with our ancient genome. We believe that anyone engaged in athletic activities could do very well on a diet based on 85% paleolithic nutrients, which are preferable to the nutrients found in the typical western diet.

I hope this is helpful.
Maelán Fontes

References:

1. Cordain L. Cereal Grains: Humanity’s Double-Edged Sword. World Rev Nutr Diet. Basel, Karger, 1999, vol 84, pp 19–73.
2. Cordain L. et al. Modulation of immune function by dietary lectins in rheumatoid arthritis. British Journal of Nutrition (2000), 83, 207–217.
3. Chrispeels, M.J. & Raikel, N.V. (1991) Lectins, lectin genes, and their role in plant defense. Plant Cell 3, 1-9.
4. Miller, R., & Bowles, D. (1982). A comparative study of the localization of wheat-germ agglutinin and its potential receptors in wheat grains. Biochem. J., 206, 571-576.
5. Wang Q, Yu LG, Campbell BJ, Milton JD, Rhodes, JM. Identification of intact peanut lectin in peripheral venous blood. Lancet 1998;352:1831-32.
6. Caron, M. & Steve, A.P. (2000) Lectins and Pathology, Taylor & Francis, London.
7. Pusztai A and Grant G. Assessment of lectin inactivation by heat and digestion. From Methods in Molecular Medicine. Vol 9 Lectin methods and protocols. Edited by J M Rhodes and J D Milton Humana Press Inc. Totowa, NJ.
8. Grant G, More LJ, McKenzie NH, Pusztai A. The effect of heating on the haemagglutinating activity and nutritional properties of bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) seeds. J Sci Food Agric 1982;33: 1324-1326.
9. Boufassa C, Lafont J, Rouanet J M, Besancon P 1986 Thermal inactivation of lectins (PHA)isolated from Phaseolus vulgaris. Food Chem 20 295-304.
10. Buera M P, Pilosof A M R, Bartholomai G B 1984 Kinetics of trypsin inhibitory activity loss in heated flour from bean Phaseolus vulgaris. J Food Sci 49 124-126.
11. Collins J L, Beaty B F 1980 Heat inactivation of trypsin inhibitor in fresh green soybeans and physiological responses of rats fed the beans. J Food Sci 45 542-546.
12. Patel B, Rober S, Sporns P, et al. potato glycoalkaloid adversely affect intestinal permeabiliry and aggravate inflammatory bowel disease.
13. Visser J, Rozing J, Sapone A et al. Tight junctions, Intestinal permeability and Autoimmunity. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 1165: 195-205 (2009).
14. Ruiz RG, Price K, Rose M, Rhodes M, Fenwick R. A preliminary study on the effect of germination on saponin content and composition of lentils and chickpeas. Z Lebensm Unters Forsch 1996;203:366-369.
15. Ruiz RG, Price KR, Arthur AE, Rose ME, Rhodes MJ, Fenwick RG. Effect of soaking and cooking on the saponin content and composition of chickpeas (Cicer arietinum) and lentils (Lens culinaris). J Agric Food Chem 1996;44:1526-1530.
16. Shan L, Qiao SW, Arentz-Hansen H, et al. Identification and Analysis of Multivalent Proteolytically Resistant Peptides from Gluten: Implications for Celiac Sprue. J Proteome Res. 2005 ; 4(5): 1732–1741.
17. Drago S, Asmar R, Di Pierro M, et al. Gliadin, zonulin and gut permeability: Effects on celiac and
18. non-celiac intestinal mucosa and intestinal cell lines. Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology, 2006; 41:408/419.
19. Klopfenstein, TJ et al. “Animal Diet Modification to Decrease the Potential for Nitrogen and Phosphorus Pollution”. Council for Agricultural Science and Technology 21.
20. Reinhold JG. Phytate destruction by yeast fermentation in whole wheat meals. J Am Diet Assoc 1975;66:38-41.
21. Hallberg L, Brune M, Rossander L. Iron absorption in man: ascorbic acid and dose-dependent inhibition by phytate. Am J Clin Nutr 1989;49:140-4.
22. Chen LH, Pan SH. Decrease of phytates during germination of pea seeds (Pisium Sativa). Nutr Rept Int. 1977;16: 125-131.
23. Walker KA. Changes in phytic acid and phytase during early development of phaseoleus vulgaris beans. Planta 1974;116:91-98
24. Bain, J. M., Murcer, F. V.: Changes in phytic acid and acid-soluble phosphorus in maturing pinto beans. J. Sci. Fd. Agric. 20, 82–84 (1966).
25. Jennings, A. C., Morton, R. K.: Changes in nucleic acids and other phosphorus-containing compounds of developing wheat grain. Aust. J. Biol Sci. 16, 332–341 (1963b).
26. Cordain L, Eaton SB, Sebastian A, et al. Origins and evolution of the western diet: health implications for the 21st century. Am J Clin Nutr 2005;81:341–54.

For those of you who have a high incidence of Alzheimer’s in your family history (like me), here is some good news.  Paleolithic/ancestral eating seems to have some affect there.

April 23, 2010 — Individuals who consume a diet rich in nuts, fish, poultry, vegetables, fruits, and olive oil–based salad dressings but low in high-fat dairy products, red meat, organ meats, and butter have a reduced risk for Alzheimer’s disease, a new study suggests.

The finding, from a prospective community-based cohort study, warrants further exploration of food combinations in the prevention of this important public health problem, said lead study author Yian Gu, PhD, from the Taub Institute for Research in Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University, New York City.

“Many studies have looked at the relationship between diet and the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, but they have tended to focus on single nutrients or dietary items, such as fruits or vegetables or intake of meats. But the reality is that people eat a variety of foods, so we wanted to determine the best combination that might prevent Alzheimer’s,” she told Medscape Neurology.

Their results were published online April 12 in the Archives of Neurology. The study will also appear in the June issue of the journal.

Dietary Patterns

Dr. Gu and her colleagues studied a cohort of 2148 elderly subjects 65 years and older living in New York City. All subjects were healthy and free of dementia at study entry. Their dietary habits were obtained via questionnaire, and they were prospectively evaluated with the same standardized neurologic and neuropsychological measures approximately every 1.5 years for an average of 4 years.

The researchers used reduced rank regression to calculate dietary patterns according to their effect on 7 nutrients previously shown in the literature to be related to Alzheimer’s disease: saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamin E, vitamin B₁₂, and folate.

During the follow-up, 253 individuals developed Alzheimer’s disease. The study found that one dietary pattern — characterized by higher intakes of salad dressing, nuts, fish, tomatoes, poultry, cruciferous vegetables, fruits, and dark and green leafy vegetables and a lower intake of high-fat dairy products, red meat, organ meat, and butter — was significantly associated with a reduced risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

Compared with subjects in the lowest tertile of adherence to this pattern, the Alzheimer’s disease hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) for subjects in the highest tertile was 0.62 (0.43 – 0.89) after multivariable adjustment (P for trend = .01).

The study also found that subjects who were older, less educated, and current smokers tended to be less adherent to the protective diet. Hispanic individuals adhered less than white and black individuals (P = .02), and women tended to adhere more than men (P = .05).

“The dietary pattern that was most protective against Alzheimer’s reflected a diet rich in ω-3 and ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamin E, and folate but poor in saturated fatty acids and vitamin B₁₂,” commented Dr. Gu. “The combination of nutrients in this dietary pattern reflects multiple pathways in the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

“For example, vitamin B₁₂ and folate are homocysteine-related vitamins that may have an impact on the disease through their ability to lower circulating homocysteine levels,” she said. “Vitamin E is a strong antioxidant, and the fatty acids may be linked to dementia and cognitive function through atherosclerosis, thrombosis, or inflammation. Fatty acids may also affect brain development and membrane functioning.”

She added that the study has several limitations. “We used a single measurement of the diet, and this might not have captured the long-term dietary habits of the subjects. We also excluded subjects from the final analysis because they were lost to follow-up, and this might have introduced selection bias. We also can’t completely rule out the possibility that the reduced risk associated with this protective diet was due to residual confounding.”

Further studies are planned, Dr. Gu said. “We cannot say based on this study alone that this type of dietary pattern prevents Alzheimer’s disease, but many studies have consistently shown that fruits and vegetables and unsaturated fatty acids are associated with a lower risk. We want to repeat these findings in different populations and see if they can be confirmed in other studies.”

Array of Health Behaviors

Commenting on this study for Medscape Neurology, David Knopman, MD, professor of neurology at the Mayo Clinic and a member of the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center in Rochester, Minnesota, said that, despite the study authors’ best efforts, it is still not clear whether diet alone makes a difference.

“Dietary habits, which often are lifelong, are certainly part of the array of health behaviors that contribute to better cognitive health in late life. However, diet and other health behaviors are intertwined. Because a healthy diet contributes to better cardiac health, lower weight, lower blood pressure and a lower risk for diabetes, there are many reasons to view the dietary habits described by Dr. Gu and colleagues as beneficial.”

The study was supported by federal National Institute on Aging grants. Dr. Gu and Dr. Knopman have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Arch Neurol. Published online April 12, 2010.

Clinical Context

There is increasing evidence linking Alzheimer’s disease to diet intake, but the impact of particular nutrients on risk is uncertain. For example, adherence to the Mediterranean diet has been linked with a lower risk for Alzheimer’s disease, but only a limited number of food groups are considered in the Mediterranean diet.

This is a prospective cohort study of a longitudinal cohort of community-dwelling elderly residents of New York City without dementia at baseline to examine the link between dietary pattern analyzed by reduced rank regression to derive a pattern consistent with reduced risk.

Study Highlights

• 2148 elderly subjects 65 years and older were recruited from among a sample of Medicare beneficiaries. Baseline standardized history, physical examination, and neuropsychological test batteries were performed.
• A global summary score on the Clinical Dementia Rating was obtained at baseline, and subjects were monitored at 1.5-year intervals for testing.
• Average food consumption in the year before the testing was obtained by a 61-item version of the Willet semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire by trained interviewers in English or Spanish.
• The nutrient intake from foods consumed was calculated and then used in the reduced rank regression analysis.
• At the 1.5-year interval examinations, status of possible or probable Alzheimer’s disease was determined by criteria of the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke-Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders Association.
• Reduced rank regression determines linear combinations (ie, scores of dietary patterns) of a set of predicting variables. This test was performed with use of 30 predetermined food groups.
• The nutrients used in the analysis were saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, omega-3 polyunsaturated acids, omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamin E, vitamin B₁₂, and folate.
• This list was generated from what was most commonly reported as associated with Alzheimer’s disease risk in the literature.
• A dietary pattern score was calculated for every pattern that emerged, for a total of 7 groups of dietary pattern scores.
• After an average follow-up of 3.96 years, 253 incident cases of Alzheimer’s disease were identified.
• The participants who went on to have Alzheimer’s disease were older, were less educated, and had lower body mass index vs those without Alzheimer’s disease.
• They were more likely to be Hispanic than white and were less likely to consume moderate alcohol.
• The 7 dietary pattern scores examined explained 76.8% and 29.5% of the total variation in nutrient and food intakes, respectively.
• The crude hazard ratios for Alzheimer’s disease in the highest vs the lowest tertiles for the dietary patterns 1 though 7, respectively, were 1.06, 0.54, 1.10, 1.16, 0.94, and 0.96.
• Dietary pattern score 2 was the only pattern that was associated with Alzheimer’s disease risk; therefore, subsequent analysis focused on this pattern.
• A high dietary pattern score 2 indicated a diet rich in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamin E, and folate (all positively correlated, P < .001) but poor in saturated fatty acids and vitamin B₁₂.
• Dietary pattern score 2 correlated positively with intakes of salad dressing, nuts, fish, tomatoes, poultry, cruciferous vegetables, fruits, and dark and leafy vegetables.
• This score correlated negatively with intakes of high-fat dairy, red meat, organ meat, and butter.
• Subjects who were older, less educated, and current smokers were less likely to adhere to dietary pattern score 2.
• Compared with subjects in the lowest tertile of adherence to dietary pattern score 2, those in the middle and highest tertiles, respectively, had a 19% and 38% lower risk for Alzheimer’s disease (P for trend = .01).
• Alcohol intake and nutrient supplements did not affect this association.
• The authors concluded that a dietary pattern rich in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamin E, and folate and poor in saturated fatty acids and vitamin B₁₂ was associated with a lower risk for Alzheimer’s disease in older persons.

Clinical Implications

• The risk for Alzheimer’s disease is lower by 19% and 38%, respectively, for individuals in the middle and highest vs the lowest tertiles of adherence to dietary pattern score 2.
• The dietary pattern protective against Alzheimer’s disease consists of a diet rich in salad dressing, nuts, fish, tomatoes, poultry, cruciferous vegetables, fruits, and dark and leafy vegetables and low in high-fat dairy, red meat, organ meat, and butter.

Sources:

FoodBev 2010

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:

Aspartame is the most controversial food additive in history, and its approval for use in food was the most contested in FDA history. In the end, the artificial sweetener was approved, not on scientific grounds, but rather because of strong political and financial pressure. After all, aspartame was previously listed by the Pentagon as a biochemical warfare agent!

It’s hard to believe such a chemical would be allowed into the food supply, but it was, and it has been wreaking silent havoc with people’s health for the past 30 years.

The truth is, it should never have been released onto the market, and allowing it to remain in the food chain is seriously hurting people – no matter how many times you rebrand it under fancy new names.

The Deceptive Marketing of Aspartame

Sold commercially under names like NutraSweet, Canderel, and now AminoSweet, aspartame can be found in more than 6,000 foods, including soft drinks, chewing gum, table-top sweeteners, diet and diabetic foods, breakfast cereals, jams, sweets, vitamins, prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

Aspartame producer Ajinomoto chose to rebrand it under the name AminoSweet, to “remind the industry that aspartame tastes just like sugar, and that it’s made from amino acids – the building blocks of protein that are abundant in our diet.”

This is deception at its finest: Begin with a shred of truth, and then spin it to fit your own agenda.

In this case, the agenda is to make you believe that aspartame is somehow a harmless, natural sweetener made with two amino acids that are essential for health and present in your diet already.

They want you to believe aspartame delivers all the benefits of sugar and none of its drawbacks. But nothing could be further from the truth.

How Aspartame Wreaks Havoc on Your Health

Did you know there have been more reports to the FDA for aspartame reactions than for all other food additives combined?

In fact, there are over 10,000 official complaints, but by the FDA’s own admission, less than 1 percent of those who experience a reaction to a product ever report it. So in all likelihood, the toxic effects of aspartame may have affected roughly a million people already.

While a variety of symptoms have been reported, almost two-thirds of them fall into the neurological and behavioral category consisting mostly of headaches, mood alterations, and hallucinations. The remaining third is mostly gastrointestinal symptoms.

This video will familiarize you with some of the terrifying side-effects and health problems you could encounter if you consume products containing this chemical.

Unfortunately, aspartame toxicity is not well-known by doctors, despite its frequency. Diagnosis is also hampered by the fact that it mimics several other common health conditions, such as:

Multiple sclerosis	Parkinson’s disease
Alzheimer’s disease	Fibromyalgia
Arthritis	Multiple chemical sensitivity
Chronic fatigue syndrome	Attention deficit disorder
Panic disorder	Depression and other psychological disorders
Lupus	Diabetes and diabetic complications
Birth defects	Lymphoma
Lyme disease	Hypothyroidism

How Diet Foods and Drinks CAUSE Weight Problems

In recent years, food manufacturers have increasingly focused on developing low-calorie foods and drinks to help you maintain a healthy weight and avoid obesity. Unfortunately, the science behind these products is so flawed, most of these products can actually lead to increased weight gain!

For example, researchers have discovered that drinking diet soda increases your risk of metabolic syndrome, and may double your risk of obesity – the complete opposite of the stated intention behind these “zero calorie” drinks.

The sad truth is that diet foods and drinks ruin your body’s ability to count calories, and in fact stimulate your appetite, thus boosting your inclination to overindulge.

Unfortunately, most public health agencies and nutritionists in the United States recommend these toxic artificial sweeteners as an acceptable alternative to sugar, which is at best confusing and at worst harming the health of those who take their misguided advice.

Even More Toxic Dangers of Aspartame

Truly, there is enough evidence showing the dangers of consuming artificial sweeteners to fill an entire book — which is exactly why I wrote Sweet Deception. If you or your loved ones drink diet beverages or eat diet foods, this book will explain how you’ve been deceived about the truth behind artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose — for greed, for profits, and at the expense of your health.

As mentioned earlier, almost two-thirds of all documented side effects of aspartame consumption are neurological.

One of the reasons for this side effect, researchers have discovered, is because the phenylalanine in aspartame dissociates from the ester bond. While these amino acids are indeed completely natural and safe, they were never designed to be ingested as isolated amino acids in massive quantities, which in and of itself will cause complications.

Additionally this will also increase dopamine levels in your brain. This can lead to symptoms of depression because it distorts your serotonin/dopamine balance. It can also lead to migraine headaches and brain tumors through a similar mechanism.

The aspartic acid in aspartame is a well-documented excitotoxin. Excitotoxins are usually amino acids, such as glutamate and aspartate. These special amino acids cause particular brain cells to become excessively excited, to the point that they die.

Excitotoxins can also cause a loss of brain synapses and connecting fibers. A review conducted in 2008 by scientists from the University of Pretoria and the University of Limpopo found that consuming a lot of aspartame may inhibit the ability of enzymes in your brain to function normally, and may lead to neurodegeneration.

According to the researchers, consuming a lot of aspartame can disturb:

• The metabolism of amino acids
• Protein structure and metabolism
• The integrity of nucleic acids
• Neuronal function
• Endocrine balances

Furthermore, the ester bond in aspartame breaks down to formaldehyde and methanol, which are also toxic in their own right. So it is not surprising that this popular artificial sweetener has also been found to cause cancer.

One truly compelling case study that shows this all too well was done by a private citizen named Victoria Inness-Brown. She decided to perform her own aspartame experiment on 108 rats over a period of 2 years and 8 months.

Daily, she fed some of the rats the equivalent (for their body weight) of two-thirds the aspartame contained in 8-oz of diet soda. Thirty-seven percent of the females fed aspartame developed tumors, some of massive size.

How to Ditch Artificial Sweeteners, and Satiate Your Sweet Tooth

If you suffer from sweet cravings, it’s easy to convince yourself you’re doing the right thing by opting for a zero-calorie sweetener like aspartame. Please understand that you will do more harm than good to your body this way.

First, it’s important to realize that your body craves sweets when you’re not giving it the proper fuel it needs.

Finding out your nutritional type will tell you exactly which foods you need to eat to feel full and satisfied. It may sound hard to believe right now, but once you start eating right for your nutritional type, your sweet cravings will significantly lessen and may even disappear.

Meanwhile, be sure you address the emotional component to your food cravings using a tool such as the Meridian Tapping Technique (MTT). More than any traditional or alternative method I have used or researched, MTT works to overcome food cravings and helps you reach dietary success.

And, if diet soda is the culprit for you, be sure to check out Turbo Tapping, which is an extremely effective and simple tool to get rid of your soda addiction in a short period of time.

Non-Acceptable Alternative Sweeteners

I have written a few articles on fructose earlier this year, and I will be writing many more, so please be aware that I am absolutely convinced that fructose ingestion is at the core of our obesity epidemic.

And I’m not only talking about high fructose corn syrup, which is virtually identical to table sugar. The only major difference between the two is HFCS is much cheaper so it has contributed to massive increase in fructose ingestion, far beyond safe or healthy.

Please understand you need to keep your fructose levels BELOW 25 grams per day. The best way to do that is to avoid these “natural” sweeteners as they are loaded with a much higher percentage of fructose than HFCS.

• Fruit Juice
• Agave
• Honey

Please note that avoiding these beyond 25 grams per day is crucial, even if the source is fresh, raw, and organic. It just doesn’t matter, fructose is fructose is fructose…

Acceptable Alternative Sweeteners

For those times when you just want a taste of something sweet, your healthiest alternative is Stevia. It’s a natural plant and, unlike aspartame and other artificial sweeteners that have been cited for dangerous toxicities, it is a safe, natural alternative that’s ideal if you’re watching your weight, or if you’re maintaining your health by avoiding sugar.

It is hundreds of times sweeter than sugar and truly has virtually no calories.

I must tell you that I am biased; I prefer Stevia as my sweetener of choice, and I frequently use it. However, like most choices, especially sweeteners, I recommend using Stevia in moderation, just like sugar. In excess it is still far less likely to cause metabolic problems than sugar or any of the artificial sweeteners.

I want to emphasize, that if you have insulin issues, I suggest that you avoid sweeteners altogether, including Stevia, as they all can decrease your sensitivity to insulin.

Lo han is another sweetener like Stevia. It’s an African sweet herb that can also be used, but it’s a bit more expensive and harder to find.

So if you struggle with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes or extra weight, then you have insulin sensitivity issues and would benefit from avoiding ALL sweeteners.

But for everyone else, if you are going to sweeten your foods and beverages anyway, I strongly encourage you to consider using regular Stevia or Lo han, and toss out all artificial sweeteners and any products that contain them.

Related Links:

Aspartame: Killing You By Degrees

Aspartame, Brain Cancer and the FDA

New Research Links Nutrasweet to Leukemia and Lymphoma

In the paleo diet blog Dr. Cordain maitains, there was a question about eggs.  It appears that the 6 eggs/week limitation is more for those with autoimmune issues.

Read the full post here:  http://thepaleodiet.blogspot.com/2010/01/paleo-diet-q-29-january-2010-update-on.html