Although the majority of industry-funded studies show that artificial sweeteners have no effect on the body, more than 90% of independent studies show that artificial sweeteners like sucralose (Splenda) and aspartame (Equal) affect the microbiome and lead to inflammatory bowel problems as well as double the risk of metabolic issues like diabetes.
And, contrary to their stated goal, using artificial sweeteners will not lead to weight loss. Just one diet soda has enough negative influence on the microbiome to cause inflammation! Since obesity is now categorized as “excessive inflammation”, we can understand why non-nutritive sweeteners will not help us lose weight.
Luckily, we can start to heal our gut microbiome as soon as we cut out all artificial sweeteners, so stay away from those diet sodas!
A new study out of Brigham and Woman’s hospital in Boston and published in the Journal of Nature Medicine, relays exciting news that validates much of what I’ve been seeing in patients enrolled in the Fight MS with Food Project and our approach to managing autoimmune disorders like MS.
Manage Multiple Sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases through what you eat and how you digest your food.
Here is the link to a more detailed article about the study linking diet with MS, but below are some of what I find to be the most exciting points:
…the team found evidence that dietary changes and intestinal flora can influence astrocyte cell, a type of cerebral and consequently neurodegeneration.
Francisco Quintana, Spanish researcher who led the work, told SINC: “we have demonstrated for the first time that diet and intestinal bacteria collaborate to produce metabolites that travel through the circulation to the central nervous system to regulate inflammation and neurodegeneration.”
Or put another way, the food has some sort of role in the central nervous system through inflammation. “What we eat influences the ability of intestinal bacteria to produce small molecules, some of which are able to travel to the brain. This opens an unknown area so far. How the intestine controls inflammation of the brain,” he added.
According to the authors, dietary supplements and probiotics may be useful to control processes that contribute to the pathology of neurological diseases. “Our studies were initially focused on multiple sclerosis, but also have implications for other diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s,” said Quintana.
If you’re interested in learning more about tailoring your diet and colonizing your own intestinal bacteria to best manage your autoimmune issues, please contact me for a free initial phone consultation to see if you would be a good candidate for this approach.
Participants in a study published in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity showed a reduced amount of ruminative thoughts leading to depression after supplementing with several species of probiotics for one month.
The gut microbiome really is the new frontier when it comes to the science of human health, and the more we learn about our little friends living inside us, the more we are learning about our interrelationship with these “good” bacteria.
In my own clinical experience, I notice that the majority of my patients experience a lifting of their mood as we stabilize their digestive process and reduce inflammatory activity in their bodies through a customized anti-inflammatory diet. It’s like the world becomes more vivid and full of promise.
Maybe you, too, could feel less depressed or sad if your digestive health were improved. Contact me if you’re interested in learning more about targeted ways of improving your digestive health and I will offer you a free initial phone consultation to tell you more about how to do this.
