Diet Sodas Increase Type 2 Diabetes by Altering the Gut Microbiome, Study Warns

AHA Publisher — Tue, 22 Dec 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Edit Lang via NaturalHealth365 – When the first diet sodas appeared on the U.S. market back in the 1950s, for many people, it was love at first sight. The low-calorie, zero-sugar beverages quickly captured the hearts of millions. Diet sodas offered an escape from their sugar-loaded counterparts. Today, about 20% of the U.S. population consumes diet drinks daily. Yet, sadly, the majority of them never realize that the zero calories come with a high risk to their health. If it was only about calories, it might make sense to enjoy diet drinks once in a while. But the truth is, diet sodas give a false sense of security to the people who reach for them. Soda manufacturers invested millions of marketing dollars selling you on the idea that they are healthier than regular sodas. Many believe that diet drinks are a better option that can help lose weight and even prevent diabetes. But what does the science say? Daily Consumption of Diet Sodas Increases the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes by 75% Of the many artificial sweeteners on the market today, aspartame is one of the most popular. Marketed under NutraSweet and Equal, this sugar substitute is present in thousands of food products and many diet sodas. But, the widespread use of aspartame is a growing concern because of the mounting evidence suggesting a link between artificial sweetener-containing foods and drinks and cardiometabolic disorders. Studies have found that people who regularly consume diet drinks have a greater risk of high blood pressure, obesity, and insulin resistance. One study revealed a shocking 75% increase in the risk of type 2 diabetes among those who consume aspartame-containing diet sodas every day. Aspartame Alters the Gut Microbiome and Triggers Metabolic Disease New evidence suggests that aspartame triggers metabolic disease. By altering the gut microbiome, aspartame seems to wreak havoc in the body. Since the microbiome plays a vital role in metabolism and caloric extraction, any disruption to the gut microbiota can lead to impaired metabolic function. Multiple studies confirmed that artificial sweeteners such as aspartame interfere with the body’s ability to balance calorie intake. A group of researchers from the University of Calgary came to similar conclusions. The 10-week animal study results showed that although aspartame positively impacted calorie count, it increased blood sugar levels and insulin resistance. Increasing Metabolic Syndrome … One Sip at a Time The most troubling part of the diet soda story is that when people drink them for many years, end up developing the very diseases they were trying to avoid. Metabolic syndrome puts people at risk for many potential health problems. Tragically, most diet soda drinkers are unaware that they face a 34% higher risk of developing the condition over a decade. What about your waistline? Contrary to common belief, consumption of diet sodas does not seem to lead to weight loss. In fact, the results are quite the opposite. One study concluded that those drinking two or more cans of diet soda a day increase their waistline by 70% more in only a decade than those who don’t drink sodas at all. Several other large-scale studies found a positive correlation between artificial sweetener use and weight gain. How to Cut Back on Drinking Diet Sodas? If you are trying to kick a decade-long soda drinking habit to the curb, the first thing you should do is to congratulate yourself on your decision. Changing habits does not have to be a difficult journey. Check out these tips to make it easier on yourself. If you have been drinking diet sodas because you love the carbonation and flavor, the first tip is for you. Try swapping your soda can with a glass of seltzer and the juice of a lemon or lime. If it’s the caffeine that keeps you coming back for more, wean yourself slowly. Cut back on the number of cans you drink each day. While you do that, work on improving your sleep routine and aim to get the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep every night. When you get more quality sleep, over time, you will find it easier to get through the day without caffeine. Find a friend or family member to support you and help hold you accountable. It is much more difficult to throw in the towel when there is someone by your side to cheer you on. Sources for this article include: NaturalHealthResearch.org, NIH.gov To read the original article click here. For more articles from NaturalHealth365 click here.

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A Combo of Fasting Plus Vitamin C Is Effective for Hard-to-Treat Cancers

AHA Publisher — Wed, 13 May 2020 07:00:20 +0000

University of Southern California via Eureklert – Scientists from USC and the IFOM Cancer Institute in Milan have found that a fasting-mimicking diet could be more effective at treating some types of cancer when combined with vitamin C. In studies on mice, researchers found that the combination delayed tumor progression in multiple mouse models of colorectal cancer; in some mice, it caused disease regression. The results were published in the journal Nature Communications. “For the first time, we have demonstrated how a completely non-toxic intervention can effectively treat an aggressive cancer,” said Valter Longo, the study senior author and the director of the USC Longevity Institute at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and professor of biological sciences at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. “We have taken two treatments that are studied extensively as interventions to delay aging– a fasting-mimicking diet and vitamin C — and combined them as a powerful treatment for cancer.” The researchers said that while fasting remains a challenging option for cancer patients, a safer, more feasible option is a low-calorie, plant-based diet that causes cells to respond as if the body were fasting. Their findings suggest that a low-toxicity treatment of fasting-mimicking diet plus vitamin C has the potential to replace more toxic treatments. Results of prior research on the cancer-fighting potential of vitamin C have been mixed. Recent studies, though, are beginning to show some efficacy, especially in combination with chemotherapy. In this new study, the research team wanted to find out whether a fasting-mimicking diet could enhance the high-dose vitamin C tumor-fighting action by creating an environment that would be unsustainable for cancer cells but still safe for normal cells. “Our first in vitro experiment showed remarkable effects,” said Longo. “When used alone, fasting-mimicking diet or vitamin C alone reduced cancer cell growth and caused a minor increase in cancer cell death. But when used together, they had a dramatic effect, killing almost all cancerous cells.” Longo and his colleagues detected this strong effect only in cancer cells that had a mutation that is regarded as one of the most challenging targets in cancer research. These mutations in the KRAS gene signal the body is resisting most cancer-fighting treatments, and they reduce a patient’s survival rate. KRAS mutations occur in approximately a quarter of all human cancers and are estimated to occur in up to half of all colorectal cancers. The study also provided clues about why previous studies of vitamin C as a potential anticancer therapy showed limited efficacy. By itself, a vitamin C treatment appears to trigger the KRAS-mutated cells to protect cancer cells by increasing levels of ferritin, a protein that binds iron. But by reducing levels of ferritin, the scientists managed to increase vitamin C’s toxicity for the cancer cells. Amid this finding, the scientists also discovered that colorectal cancer patients with high levels of the iron-binding protein have a lower chance of survival. “In this study, we observed how fasting-mimicking diet cycles are able to increase the effect of pharmacological doses of vitamin C against KRAS-mutated cancers,” said Maira Di Tano, a study co-author at the IFOM, FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology in Milan, Italy. “This occurs through the regulation of the levels of iron and of the molecular mechanisms involved in oxidative stress. The results particularly pointed to a gene that regulates iron levels: heme-oxygenase-1.” The research team’s prior studies showed that fasting and a fasting-mimicking diet slow cancer’s progression and make chemotherapy more effective in tumor cells, while protecting normal cells from chemotherapy-associated side effects. The combination enhances the immune system’s anti-tumor response in breast cancer and melanoma mouse models. The scientists believe cancer will eventually be treated with low-toxicity drugs in a manner similar to how antibiotics are used to treat infections that kill particular bacteria, but which can be substituted by other drugs if the first is not effective. To move toward that goal, they say they needed to first test two hypotheses: that their non-toxic combination interventions would work in mice, and that it would look promising for human clinical trials. In this new study, they said that they’ve demonstrated both. At least five clinical trials, including one at USC on breast cancer and prostate cancer patients, are now investigating the effects of the fasting-mimicking diets in combination with different cancer-fighting drugs. To read the original article click here.

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Diet Sodas Increase Type 2 Diabetes by Altering the Gut Microbiome, Study Warns

A Combo of Fasting Plus Vitamin C Is Effective for Hard-to-Treat Cancers