sweeteners, organic superfood greens powder

How Artificial Sweeteners Mess With Your Mind and Body

If you are trying to cut back on refined sugars, it may be tempting to substitute them with artificial sweeteners. We’ll tell you what artificial sweeteners really do to your brain and body, so you understand why we don’t put any in our organic superfood greens powder.

Don’t you love biting into a piece of moist cake, snapping into a crispy cookie, or letting ice cream melt on your tongue? They all have one thing in common: sugar! Why do we love the taste of sugar so much? Are artificial sweeteners the solution to the problem? Let’s take a closer look at why we have a sweet tooth and the best way to deal with it.

 

Why Does America Have a Sweet Tooth?

Some scientists say that humans have evolved to enjoy sugary foods, but the actual science tells a different story. Most of us have a basic understanding of how the brain works. It sends electrical signals that pass from one neuron to the next. The electrical impulses release neurotransmitters. That’s just a fancy name for chemicals that the brain produces.

The fact is that we all need energy to live (that’s what calories are). So the brain sends out reward signals when we take it in. Sugars are quick calories. That’s the real reason your brain first thinks of sweets when you get hungry. What your brain doesn’t know is that you won’t let yourself starve to death. It doesn’t need those quick calories to burn from sugar. Unfortunately, sugary foods lead to overeating. Why?

The more you eat those sugary foods, the more your brain sends the reward signal for getting those quick calories that it thinks you need to survive. If you didn’t grow up eating cake, cookies, ice cream, chewing gum, drinking soda, or putting ketchup on everything, you may not even like sugar all that much. Unfortunately, most of us here in the US are raised on sugar and struggle to kick the craving.

So Are Artificial Sugars Any Better?

If you have read this blog for very long, then you know the answer is no. In fact, artificial sweeteners are probably worse for you. But we’re not just going to say that and move on. We’re going to explain why artificial sugars mess with your mind and body.

First of all, it is essential to understand that artificial sweeteners are sweeter than sugar. However, artificial sweeteners have no calories. So then they shouldn’t trigger the brain’s happy sensors or pack on the pounds, right? If only that were how it really worked.

Remember the neurotransmitters that form when you eat sugar? One of those is dopamine. You probably recognize that one. It makes us feel happy. So you really feel so glad for two reasons when you eat a bowl of ice cream. It tastes great, and you get calories – double happiness! Artificial sweeteners confuse the brain. They are even sweeter, so all the more reason for happiness, but then the body realizes it didn’t get those calories it needs to survive. Now your brain wants even more calories, so artificial sweeteners lead to worse overeating than regular sugar.

If you want all the details, you can read a study published in Neuroscience magazine that explains why choosing “diet” options often lead to weight gain.

 

The Second Brain and Artificial Sugar

We’ve also commented in the past on the brain-gut connection and how the gut acts as a secondary brain. You know how the digestion of regular sugar works. It gets into the bloodstream quickly, and the pancreas goes to work making insulin, so we don’t poison ourselves. What about artificial sweeteners?

The brain recognizes that there are no real sugars and, therefore, no need to produce insulin. Perfect! So there’s no chance of getting diabetes or making it worse, right? Guess again. The artificial sweeteners may not fool the body, but now it starts to question normal sugars and underproduce insulin. This can put a person at higher risk for type 2 diabetes or make it worse if someone already has it. In fact, researchers studying the effects of artificial sweeteners on the gut reveal this very problem (among others).

 

It’s Training, Not Instinct

One thing that makes humans unique from animals is how we make decisions. Unfortunately, when we train our brain to respond a certain way, we almost take away that decision-making process by setting in motion chemical reactions in the body that drive us to the same bad habits. The more sugar we eat, the more we want. The more artificial sweeteners we eat, the more food we want in general, and the more difficult it becomes to get the nutrients we need from it.

 

Retrain Your Brain with Organic Superfood Greens Powder

Now is the part of the article where we come back around to organic superfood greens powder and how it can save the day. You need to cur the sugars and artificial sweeteners, but that cuts down on the feel-good neurotransmitters produced. You can make yourself feel better with more sweets, but that will only make the problem worse. You need to get your brain something with real value, and that’s where Warrior Strong Wellness can help.

Our Certified Organic Superfood Greens Powder is full of 24 unique greens, fruits, and veggies. Your brain gets all of the nutrients (including a small amount of naturally occurring sugars), and you save yourself the struggle of buying bags of groceries to run through a juicer. Plus, we intentionally select anti-inflammatory ingredients suitable for your immune system and help with detoxification. Give it a try and see if it can help you cut down on those sugar cravings. It will be perfect in a daily smoothie!

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About The Author

Warrior Strong Wellness
Warrior Strong Wellness provides innovative and high quality transformational supplements and raises awareness and funds to fight childhood cancer by giving a portion of our proceeds to childhood cancer research. In our weekly blogs, we share wisdom about wellness and living a Warrior Strong lifestyle.

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