The race is on! As the weather heats up, so does the pressure to lose those last five pounds you’ve gained since winter break. But too many women are putting themselves in danger, turning to “diet” foods that have the potential to do more harm than good to their health. Many are unaware of the health risks associated with “diet” options and willingly consume chemicals, artificial sweeteners and other mystery ingredients that could make them sick and even cause more weight gain than loss. Read up for some of the diet foods you should think twice about before consuming.
Diet Soda
In order for diet soda producers to knock out the sugar and calories typically found in other soft drinks, chemicals such as aspartame are added to sweeten diet soda. Aspartame is an artificial sweetener made up of aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol. Aspartic acid is an addicting chemical that causes people to crave sweet substances. Studies have shown that this addictive property leads consumers of diet soda to actually go out and consume more sugar-filled products than they would have before drinking the soda, thus leading to additional weight gain instead of weight loss.
Methanol, when exposed to temperatures above 86 degrees Fahrenheit, breaks down into toxins called formic acid and formaldehyde. The human body regulates itself at a temperature of 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit and so consuming diet soda often means consuming the formaldehyde toxin. Many increased cases of vision problems and Multiple Sclerosis have been reported as a result of diet soda consumption and exposure to that toxin. Aspartic acid has also been linked to increased cases of anxiety, depression, and irritability in consumers.
Fat-free yogurt
Fat-free yogurt is another product that uses aspartame as a sweetener to make up for the lack of sugar. Aspartame has been linked to other diseases such as cancer, strokes and heart disease and reports have also shown people suffering from convulsions or seizures after consuming aspartame for long periods of time. Generally, these chemicals are fine for consumption every once in a while. However, when people choose to go on diets and expose themselves to high levels of these toxins over a period of time, they increase their risk of getting sick.
Protein bars
Though many protein bars are thought to be healthy because of the natural ingredients they promote, a lot of them still use preservatives that can be harmful. I took a look at one such popular weight loss bar made by Kellogg’s. The Special K Bar uses a preservative known as BHT in its ingredients. BHT, also known as Butylated hydroxytoluene, is an antioxidant that has been known to, at high levels of exposure, cause damage to the lungs, kidneys and liver, as well have toxic side effects on the blood system in the formation of blood clots. Though BHT has been banned in certain food products, it is important to look at the ingredients of your protein bars before making them an everyday staple of your diet.
Fat-free salad Dressing
Many fat-free salad dressings are popular because they contain fewer calories than normal salad dressings. However, they contain larger amounts of sugar to make up for the decrease in fat and have absolutely no nutritional value. Other regular salad dressings offer fats that have the potential to be good for you. These are unsaturated fats like canola and other plant-based oils that help your body to absorb nutrients, in both the salad you are eating and in other meals you have throughout the day. If you are not able to absorb the nutrients in some of the healthier parts of the salad, it essentially becomes an empty meal that brings you no benefit at all.
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Aspartame, phenylalanine and a variety of other chemicals and preservatives will always be present in fat-free and sugar-free foods so long as real sources of sugar and fat are absent. New sweeteners such as Splenda are no different, claiming to be a brand new artificial sweetener, but still contain the same toxic ingredients as previous sweeteners that have received public criticism. Stay informed, HC ladies: Do your research on the ingredients of these “diet” foods before you consume them and you will be doing a greater service to your overall health than just trying to lose those final five pounds.