Water, water, everywhere and everyone can drink so why are we addict edto sugar and sweeteners?
Thereis always so much in the news around what we eat and drink, and it’s a lot to take in and make sense of.
Last week the results of a new study emerged showing that artificial sweeteners found in diet drinks could damage our gut bacteria and should no longer be seen as a healthier alternative to sugary products.
Artificial sweeteners have already been linked to obesity, cancer, diabetes, headaches and more, and the findings of this new study did make troubling reading. It coincided with news that promotions around soft drinks and junk foods could be restricted in a proposed clampdown by the Scottish Government to try to improve public health.
I suppose diet drinks are a result of companies trying to find ways to minimise sugar and they’re almost using sweeteners like masking agents, but the reality is they can cause just as many problems, as can food additives in general.
When I was over in New York for the US Open, I had a conversation with someone who had studied allergies and food intolerances, which are just so much more prevalent these days.
She told me the number of allergies people have now could be linked to additives, including those in creams that we put on our bodies not just in what we eat. I try to exercise common sense. I’ll have a fizzy drink once in a blue moon, but generally I just drink water. Sometimes I’ll add a tiny amount of elderflower cordial or a slice of lime, and for me you just can’t beat a glass of ice-cold water.
I never got into the whole diet drink thing, and I think these products are best avoided.
If I watch a black and white movie or an old film on TV you rarely see an overweight person in them because these additives and junk foods just weren’t around in those days. All the natural things – fruits, vegetables, unprocessed meats – don’t do us any harm, but when we start adding things for flavour or colour we don’t know what we’re putting in our bodies. That’s why eating foods in their original form is a good idea. It’s what nature intended.