Written by Connie Rogers
According to the American Heart Association, “One in three children and teens in the U.S. are either overweight or obese.” (1) Artificial sweeteners have been shown to increase weight gain, headaches, depression, PLUS, increase the risk for diabetes, cancers, and seizures. (2) They are also found to be harmful to cognition. Dr. Russell Blaylock, a neurosurgeon, has been warning us for years in his book Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills, that aspartame and multiple sclerosis are closely related.
Today, kids are consuming 200 percent more fake sugars than a decade ago, which raises their risk for adult diseases.
Below is a list of surprising kid-friendly products to avoid that may contain artificial sweeteners.
Some families give their babies and small children Pedialyte® when they suffer from high fevers and below average weight gain. (3) Pedialyte® Blue Raspberry Flavour ingredients include Sucralose, Acesulfame Potassium, Blue1, and Red Dye 40.
In the grocery store, I see kids begging their parents for Yoplait Yogurt. In 2014 they switched from aspartame to Sucralose by Splenda®. Splenda® is another fake sugar. (4)
It’s socially acceptable for children to have chocolate syrup in their milk or drizzled over their banana split, daily. Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup® includes ingredients such as acesulfame potassium, found to be 200x sweeter than sugar and Sucralose. (5)
Gatorade® is found in school vending machines and at athletic events such as swim meets, basketball games, soccer, and so on. Besides harmful colorants, G2 Gatorade® contains sucrose, Sucralose, and acesulfame potassium. (6)
Jell-O® is a prevalent sugary dessert found in homes, schools, and hospitals. Unhealthy fake sugars in Jell-O® include aspartame and acesulfame potassium. (7)
In soft serve TCBY® vanilla ice cream, we can discover ingredients such as Sorbitol, Erythritol, and acesulfame potassium. (8)
Menchies® tempts kids with their frozen yogurts and pecan praline surprise. The surprise is sorbitol and Sucralose. (9)
Pringles® NewSugar Cookie invention contains Sucralose. (10)
An old favorite, Thomas English Muffins®, contains Sucralose as does Thomas Light English muffins®. (11)
Vitamins for children can contain questionable ingredients and not pose any health benefits. These include Flintstones® vitamins. Ingredients may include aspartame, aluminum, petroleum-derived artificial colors, and more. (12)
P&G Crest toothpaste can contain saccharin a petroleum-based sugar substitute. (13)
Sprite® is doing a ton of advertisement to our children lately. Diet Sprite® may contain Acesulfame K and aspartame. In children, sugary sodas can be found causal in aggressive behaviour and metabolic disorders. (14)
footnotes:
- 1- https://www.publichealth.org/public-awareness/obesity/consequences/
- 2- cancer and seizures: http://www.nutritionsecrets.com/aspartame-killer-ingredientin-food/
- 3- https://pedialyte.com/products/advancedcare
- 4- http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2014/06/27/yoplait-axes-aspartamefrom-its-low-cal-lines.html changed from aspartame in 2014 to Splenda® http://www.ibtimes.com/yoplait-yogurt-blame-general-mills-profit-loss-brandno-longer-appeals-customers-2420065
- 5- https://www.thehersheycompany.com/en_us/products/product/hersheys-sugar-freesyrup-17-point-5-ounce-bottles.html#secTitle
- 6- https://www.reference.com/food/ingredients-gatorade-g2-b8fd21be2320657d#
- 7- http://www.kraftrecipes.com/products/jell-o-gelatin-strawberry-sugar-711.aspx
- 8- TCBY® vanilla http://www.tcby.com/menu-nutrition/soft-serve/nsa-vanilla
- 9- http://www.menchies.com/frozen-yogurt-flavors/nutrition/234
- 10- https://www.kelloggsfamilyrewards.com/en_US/products/pringles-baked-stix-sugarcookie-product.html
- 11- https://www.thomasbreads.com/products/double-protein-english-muffins see also https://thomasbreads.com/products/light-multi-grain-english-muffins
- 12- http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/top-us-brand-childrens-vitamins-contains-aspartamegmos-other-hazardous-chemicals
- 13- news.crest.com/faq-item/crest-complete-faq/saccharin-crest-toothpaste
- 14- https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/does-sprite-have-caffeine see also https:// www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0899900714001920 see also artificial sugars increase insulin sensitivity https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC5903011/
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