Don't fall into the 'artificial sweeteners' trap!

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When I am giving talks at health events and having a rant about the crazy amounts of sugar in fizzy drinks there are always a few in the audience who (sometimes smugly) report that they only ever consume 'diet' or 'zero calorie' versions of their favourite pop so added sugars aren't an issue. This generally leads to me having another rant - often more spirited and vehement than the previous one! They are not the answer. Why? Because non-caloric artificial sweeteners (saccharine, sucralose, aspartame etc) may not be as benign as the manufacturers of diet drinks would like you to believe and may prompt glucose intolerance (ie our ability to metabolically manage the sugars in our diet) which can lead to increased body weight and prediabetes. Read Managing Director and Head of Research & Development at Nutri-Link, Michael Ash's informed review and comments on the latest research here.

MY ADVICE? Do yourself a big health and weight loss favour, ditch the fizzy diet drinks and instead, opt for the following for a refreshing drink and always have a bit of protein or fat alongside to slow the absorption of sugars and maintain healthy blood glucose levels:

  • have a glass of fresh fruit juice watered down 50:50 with still or sparkling water with a couple of scrambled eggs in the morning
  • have a refreshing, pure fruit smoothie that includes yoghurt or a mixed fresh fruit and/or vegetable juice combo alongside a small pack of fresh nuts or a chunk of hard cheese
  • get yourself a fruit fusion bottle (fabulously inexpensive), be experimental with fruit combinations and nibble on some hummus and raw baby vegetables along the way
  • keep a couple of bottles of pure fruit (no sugar added) cordials in your store cupboard/desk drawer, add lots of ice and sparkling water and have a couple of mini oatcakes with nut butter alongside
  • play around with fruit teas - they are great either piping hot or super-chilled and marry very nicely with a mini bar of very, very dark chocolate!
  • and when a super-busy day prompts the need for a stress-relieving alcoholic drink of an evening, head for extra dry champagne if funds allow (pretty light on sugar) or a dry white wine spritzer with a few olives and salted, roasted almonds to munch on!