In the new era of fitfam and living healthy, people are keen to find better alternatives to certain ingredients, which research has proven not suitable for human consumption. The element I will focus on today is sugar.

Sugar, especially in its refined form has been used in recent times to sweeten foods, beverages, desserts, condiments and more. It is in all seasoning cubes, most herbs, in virtually all soft drinks, bread, juices, breakfast cereals and many packaged foods to name a few. The most common form of table sugar used in Nigeria is white sugar and brown sugar which is white sugar mixed with molasses. Refined sugar is mostly derived from sugarcane, but is also from grains such as corn, rice and barley. Sugar is a form of carbohydrate that quickly converts to glucose in the blood which provides energy to the body.
Sugar is the cause of a myriad of diseases ranging from diabetes to cancer.
Over the years, the medical world had to drum it into our heads that we need to avoid any added sugar in our diet, due to the adverse health effects of excess sugar. Sugar stored in the body converts to fat of which its excess causes heart disease and obesity. In response to this, artificial sweeteners were developed and took the world by storm.
Ingredients like aspartame, saccharin, sucralose and acesulfame potassium which sweetens without adding calories to the diet or raising blood sugar started popping up in food and drink products as ‘sugar-free’ or ‘diet’.
For this reason, people with diabetes prefer to use artificial sweeteners, and in general, many people believe artificial sweeteners are healthier than sugar. However, do artificial sweeteners pose any risk to our health? Are they better or worse than regular sugar?
While some artificial sweeteners are generally recognised as safe if consumed minimally, artificial sweeteners such as aspartame have been known to cause terrible side effects, in particular, people who can’t process phenylalanine, a chemical used in making aspartame.
As a precaution, pregnant women are told to refrain from consuming aspartame. Saccharin, another artificial sweetener commonly used has been studied to have more addictive properties than cocaine.
In general, artificial sweeteners when consumed regularly causes heart disease, weight gain, high blood pressure and diabetes type 2. Also, artificial sweeteners are between 180 to 13,000 times sweeter than white sugar! The sweetness makes the regular consumer of such sweeteners unable to appreciate the taste of naturally sweet fruits and vegetables. The consumer begins to seek delightful foods to satisfy their taste buds, and it leads to a diet lacking in proper nutrition and the subsequent development of diseases related to poor nutrition.
In conclusion, I would advise against eating or drinking anything that contains any added sugars or artificial sweeteners. We live in a world whereby we get more than enough sugars from complex carbohydrates such as those found in rice, beans, tubers, fruit and vegetables. Already the overconsumption of even natural sources of sugars has been linked with obesity, heart disease, diabetes and even cancer. To avoid added sugars (regular or artificial), we should refrain from processed and packaged foods and lean towards eating whole foods. Increasing the amounts of fibre in our diet can also reduce our cravings for sugar. This fibre is in leafy vegetables and naturally sweet vegetables such as carrots and beetroots, then most fruits.
I hope this little piece of information has given our readers a better understanding of sweeteners and that they make the right lifestyle choices for achieving better health. Have a blessed week and stay healthy!
In the new era of fitfam and living healthy, people are keen to find better alternatives to certain ingredients, which research has proven not suitable for human consumption. The element I will focus on today is sugar.
Sugar, especially in its refined form has been used in recent times to sweeten foods, beverages, desserts, condiments and more. It is in all seasoning cubes, most herbs, in virtually all soft drinks, bread, juices, breakfast cereals and many packaged foods to name a few. The most common form of table sugar used in Nigeria is white sugar and brown sugar which is white sugar mixed with molasses. Refined sugar is mostly derived from sugarcane, but is also from grains such as corn, rice and barley. Sugar is a form of carbohydrate that quickly converts to glucose in the blood which provides energy to the body.
Sugar is the cause of a myriad of diseases ranging from diabetes to cancer.
Over the years, the medical world had to drum it into our heads that we need to avoid any added sugar in our diet, due to the adverse health effects of excess sugar. Sugar stored in the body converts to fat of which its excess causes heart disease and obesity. In response to this, artificial sweeteners were developed and took the world by storm.
Ingredients like aspartame, saccharin, sucralose and acesulfame potassium which sweetens without adding calories to the diet or raising blood sugar started popping up in food and drink products as ‘sugar-free’ or ‘diet’.
For this reason, people with diabetes prefer to use artificial sweeteners, and in general, many people believe artificial sweeteners are healthier than sugar. However, do artificial sweeteners pose any risk to our health? Are they better or worse than regular sugar?
While some artificial sweeteners are generally recognised as safe if consumed minimally, artificial sweeteners such as aspartame have been known to cause terrible side effects, in particular, people who can’t process phenylalanine, a chemical used in making aspartame.
As a precaution, pregnant women are told to refrain from consuming aspartame. Saccharin, another artificial sweetener commonly used has been studied to have more addictive properties than cocaine.
In general, artificial sweeteners when consumed regularly causes heart disease, weight gain, high blood pressure and diabetes type 2. Also, artificial sweeteners are between 180 to 13,000 times sweeter than white sugar! The sweetness makes the regular consumer of such sweeteners unable to appreciate the taste of naturally sweet fruits and vegetables. The consumer begins to seek delightful foods to satisfy their taste buds, and it leads to a diet lacking in proper nutrition and the subsequent development of diseases related to poor nutrition.
In conclusion, I would advise against eating or drinking anything that contains any added sugars or artificial sweeteners. We live in a world whereby we get more than enough sugars from complex carbohydrates such as those found in rice, beans, tubers, fruit and vegetables. Already the overconsumption of even natural sources of sugars has been linked with obesity, heart disease, diabetes and even cancer. To avoid added sugars (regular or artificial), we should refrain from processed and packaged foods and lean towards eating whole foods. Increasing the amounts of fibre in our diet can also reduce our cravings for sugar. This fibre is in leafy vegetables and naturally sweet vegetables such as carrots and beetroots, then most fruits.
I hope this little piece of information has given our readers a better understanding of sweeteners and that they make the right lifestyle choices for achieving better health. Have a blessed week and stay healthy!

By – Tobi Ayodele Keeney