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The use of sugar in type 2 diabetes is prohibited. This is due to the fact that the product contains simple carbohydrates, which cause a rapid and significant increase in blood glucose levels. In order for diabetics not to give up sweets, a variety of relatively harmless sugar substitutes have been developed. They have a different composition, it is convenient to add them to tea and some dishes. However, this product also has a number of negative properties. The harm and benefits of it are considered in the material.

Benefit

When deciding which sugar substitute is the most harmless, you should figure out why you should use it at all. What are the positive properties of a safe sugar substitute and what are its advantages?

• First of all, after its use, there is no increase in blood glucose levels. For healthy people, this theoretically helps prevent the development of diabetes, and for diabetics, it is necessary to use a substitute as a replacement for simple sugar;
• In addition, a good sweetener for obese people is an alternative, as it contains almost no calories. For this reason, it is also popular with pregnant women;
• Theoretically, a harmless sweetener is less harmful to the teeth. It is not as negative as sugar, it affects tooth enamel, does not destroy it and does not cause caries;
• In addition, sometimes a sweetener in tablets is used by those people in whom the use of a large amount of sweet causes skin reactions - itching, rashes, peeling.

Despite the fact that the question of whether sweeteners are harmful remains open, they are actively used in the manufacture of products for losing weight people, as well as for diabetics. They are also part of the “protective against caries” chewing gums, “low-calorie” cakes, etc. Their use is allowed by GOST due to the fact that if you periodically eat a relatively harmless sweetener, then there will be no harm to health. But regular consumption of such products is unsafe.

-FOOTNOTE-

Despite the apparent safety of the drug, the question of whether healthy people and diabetics should use it remains open. Most sweeteners are quite harmful and their use for a healthy person or a diabetic can backfire.

Harm

It is possible to answer the question of whether a sugar substitute is harmful and how much, only considering its appearance. All sweeteners can be divided into two large groups - natural and synthetic. The harm and benefits of these groups of drugs are different.

• Natural substitutes can be considered slightly safer. These include sorbitol, fructose, xylitol. Their main harm or side effect is high calorie content. It is almost comparable to simple sugar. For this reason, a relatively harmless sweetener made from natural ingredients is almost never used in the manufacture of products for losing weight. Also, with significant use, it can still cause an increase in sugar levels;
• Synthetic substitutes are made from chemical components not found in nature. They differ from natural ones in that they are not able to increase glucose levels even with significant use. In addition, they are very low in calories and do not cause weight gain. However, the benefits and harms of such a product are incommensurable. Synthetic substitutes have a negative effect on all groups of organs, both in a healthy person and in a diabetic. This group includes the safest synthetic aspartame sweetener, as well as suclamate and saccharin.

As mentioned above, the one-time use of even synthetic additives will not cause much harm to the body, both of a healthy person and a diabetic. But with regular use, the development of side effects and diseases is possible. Therefore, you should not regularly use a sugar substitute for weight loss, it is better to simply give up sweets until the weight returns to normal.

For diabetics, there is no alternative to such remedies. The only way to reduce the negative effect on health is to use a minimum number of substitutes. In addition, it is better to give preference to natural and control their consumption in order to avoid weight gain and blood sugar levels.

Possible consequences

When answering the question of why a sweetener is harmful, it is necessary to mention what diseases its long-term use can cause. The types of diseases depend on the type of sweetener used.

• Aspartame is the most popular sweetener. Its maximum harm or negative impact is manifested when added to tea. This compound decomposes at temperatures above 30 degrees into three components - formaldehyde, methanol and phenylalanine. The latter is toxic when consumed with proteins, while the former two are carcinogens in their own right. With regular use, nausea, headache, digestive problems, allergies, arrhythmia, tachycardia occur. In addition, appetite increases, therefore the safety or benefit of such a remedy for losing weight is doubtful;
• Suclamate is a strong allergen. Causes rashes, dermatitis, peeling and other skin reactions. There is no exact data on how much it needs to be consumed for a reaction to occur - this indicator is different for each person;
• Saccharin is a carcinogen, which, theoretically, can provoke cancer;
• Xylitol has a laxative and choleretic effect. Theoretically, it can provoke bladder cancer;
• Sorbitol is a powerful choleretic. This calls into question whether it can be used by people with gallstones, since the active flow of bile can cause their movement and blockage;
• Fructose disrupts the acid-base balance in the stomach. Despite the fact that when answering the question of which sugar substitute is better, natural sweeteners are usually indicated, they also have contraindications. Fructose should not be used for gastritis with acidity disorders.

In addition, there may be problems with the digestibility of synthetic sweeteners and their excretion from the body.

Harmless substitute

When wondering which sweetener is the most harmless, it is worth considering only natural sweeteners. The best sugar substitute is stevia. Of its positive aspects, the following can be distinguished:

1. Low calorie content compared to other natural analogues, and therefore it is the best sweetener for losing weight;
2. No off-flavour (many natural and synthetic sweeteners have an unusual taste or smell);
3. Does not change metabolism and does not increase appetite.

However, it should be borne in mind that stevia is banned for use as a sweetener in the EU countries, as well as in the USA and Canada. Although it does not contain harmful substances, and the experience of its use in Japan (it has been used there for more than 30 years as a useful sweetener) has proven that it does not cause side effects, there are no official studies on its effect on human health.

Knowing which sweetener is the safest, you can effectively maintain your sugar level in the normal range and prevent weight gain. However, stevia is quite expensive and not everyone can afford it. In this case, people periodically use other means, the benefits or harms of which may be different. In any case, when replacing a sweetener, it is important to choose a natural Stevia analogue.

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