The Science, The Myths and The Hidden Risks Behind Sugar Substitutes.

Hi everybody, I'm Dr. Sanda Moldovan, periodontist and nutritionist. Welcome to the Holistic Dentistry Podcast, the show that gives you the tips and tools to detoxify your mouth for a healthier body as we explore together the root cause of disease. Remember, you're not healthy until your mouth is healthy, so take care of it in the most natural way. Hi everyone, welcome to today's show, The Sweet Truth: Sugar Substitutes and What's Hiding in Your Cup. You've been told to cut sugar, but what if what you're replacing it with is just as risky, maybe worse? Today we unpack the science, the myths, and the hidden risks behind sugar substitutes. When I was In my late 20s, I actually had a serious sugar addiction. This was before I got into nutrition, before I finished my periodontal residency. As a matter of fact, I was going to school, and I didn't know why in the afternoon I always used to fall asleep. And I thought I just needed more sugar, where in fact it was that I was eating too much sugar, and then I would get this afternoon crash. And a lot of you might recognize this, right? You eat something sweet, you feel very energized, and in the next 5, 10 minutes, you're basically exhausted. So how do we overcome that? And why do you need to? I mean, for me, that my sugar addiction led to a lot of cavities. And at a young age, I ended up with 16 large mercury fillings in my mouth. And then in my late 20s, I realized it was affecting my health. I started developing inflammation in my joints and I moved next to this woman, Dagmar, who actually was a raw foodist, and she helped me understand, well, you know, you're eating too much sugar, you should really try to eat more fiber and decrease your sugar. And she gave me the first nutrition book that I looked at, and this book was by Dr. Gabriel Cousens. Um, incredible book, is about 1,000 pages, but what I appreciated about is that he was an MD-PhD and he was talking a lot about nutrition, about enzymes, about the right kind of sugar to have and decreasing the sugar. So I started incorporating some of these techniques. How I weaned myself off the sugar is actually using agave nectar. At the time, that was the only thing that was readily available. And agave, which is actually fructose and should be done, of course, in moderation, has a lower glycemic index than sugar. So sugar has a glycemic index of around 100, and then of course you're talking about agave, which has a glycemic index of 29. So within a month of drinking this agave drink with cacao— I used to mix it with raw cacao and a bunch of minerals, uh, and mesquite powder, which also has a lot of minerals in it— my body wasn't craving it anymore. So, um, I just I didn't crave sugar after a month of taking in this drink. I slowly, kind of, I had less and less of it throughout that one month. So basically, I'm here to let you know that if you have a sugar addiction, yes, you can beat it. I've learned a few things around, along the way, in terms of what kind of sugars we should be using. You already know sugar is bad. It increases oxidative stress, it increases inflammation, plus you can get an overgrowth of organisms. One of the things that I— my body was affected is actually a yeast overgrowth or Candida, and that took me a little bit longer to actually be able to overcome. And I think the one tool that helped me overcome Candida is fasting, fasting and colonics. And in an earlier episode, we talked a lot about colonics, and I'm sure in the near future we'll do an episode on fasting properly. Um, I always say the mouth is a gateway to your health, and what we see in the mouth happens in the rest of the body. So just for the fact that I had a lot of cavities, you can only imagine how many other holes I had in the rest of my organs and even my bones, right? Because as you're, you you're eating sugar that increases inflammation and acidity in your body, so you can get bone demineralization, osteopenia, and osteoporosis. The key to health is really maintaining a blood sugar level that's low. Mark Hyman, who is the author of "Blood Sugar Solution," he explains the importance of maintaining a constant blood sugar level in order to achieve optimum health. It's really important to consume low glycemic foods Foods are ranked on the glycemic index by how they affect the blood sugar level. Foods that have high glycemic index enter the body and spike in blood sugar level, which can lead, of course, to all kinds of poor wound healing, degenerative diseases, and of course chronic inflammation that manifests itself through joint pain, even brain fog, or sleepiness. But what can you have in place of sugar? And of course, if you look at the labels, you're going to see sugar-free, and people are just going for sugar-free. But are all sugar-free solutions healthy? Well, no. A lot of you might know artificial sweeteners have been used for years as a replacement for regular sugar and are still being widely used. Unfortunately, these artificial alternatives often contain aspartame, a substance that has been shown to cause side effects such as headaches, blurry vision, and even obesity. Sucralose is in many things also, such as drinks and candy that say sugar-free, but sucralose is toxic to the liver and it can cause liver enlargement as well as lymphatic system blockage. My recommendation is to avoid artificial sweeteners if you wish to keep a healthy lifestyle. Now let's talk about some of the other, uh, sugars. Agave, I already mentioned, and it's actually a cactus-based sweetener. It can be used as a way to abandon sugar, but it does have a high fructose content, and it should only be used sparingly. Agave does come in a syrupy form and is delicious. It basically tastes just like sugar. You won't be able to tell the difference. And I love that it's low glycemic. I mentioned with the glycemic index of 29. Honey. Unfortunately, honey has a high glycemic index. Yes, it is natural, but a lot of things in their natural forms are not necessarily good for us. Honey is great. I love it. It's a— we should have it. But again, I would say no more than a teaspoon a day. It is a superfood, especially organic, raw, and unfiltered honey. In our backyard, we actually have to beehives. And always, for people that have allergies, it is recommended to actually consume local honey to help you with allergies. It has a lot of antioxidants, minerals, enzymes that possess a lot of anti-inflammatory and healing properties. But consuming large amounts of honey will raise your blood sugar levels, so diabetics should limit the intake. Honey is great for sore throats and other throat-related maladies, even for sores in the mouth. Wild honey has been used to treat other diseases such as IBS, stomach ulcers, and other infections. But again, consume in small quantities such as 1 or 2 teaspoons a day due to its high glycemic index. Now let's talk about stevia. Stevia is one of the most widely available sugar substitutes, especially here in California. It actually grows in the gardens. I have actually grown stevia in my garden. It's pretty easy to grow. You can actually just pick on the leaves and you can chew on them. They actually taste sweet. Stevia is a calorie-free extract. It's actually derived from South Africa, but it's very safe for diabetics or individuals with blood sugar problems. While it is an excellent alternative to sugar. It is 200 times sweeter than sugar, and it contains an aftertaste that may be displeasing to some. Stevia can be found in the form of drops, in the form of powder, and even crushed leaves. So, for example, the leaves that I had in my garden, I actually took some of them and crushed them, make them into a powder. I used my Vitamix after I dried the leaves, and you could take a whole tablespoon and you can cook with it, you can put it in tea, for example, and it's always good to eat the whole leaf because the leaf has a lot more antioxidants, it has minerals in it and some fiber. I also took some of my stevia leaves and made it into a tincture or drops, and that basically we extract the drops, you can use hot water or you can use alcohol to extract that. But again, you have to be okay with the aftertaste, and a little drop of stevia can literally sweeten a whole cup of tea. Another sweetener that I like is monk fruit, or sweet fruit drops, are another fantastic sugar substitute. It comes from the Chinese tonic herb Luo Han Guo. The drops not only sweeten food but also support the immune system due to their high levels of saponin, a foamy plant chemical. Sweetfruit drops are 300 times sweeter than refined sugar, yet contain only 5% of the calories and have no known negative side effects, just like stevia. Well, you can call maybe an aftertaste some kind of side effect. But generally, these are safe. Uh, monk fruit can come in a powder, can come in a sugar, or can come in drops. They can be found at any natural food store and, of course, online. I like monk fruit, especially when it comes to baking. I use that in combination with erythritol. Now let's go to the sugar alcohols. Xylitol, for example, you hear me talk about this a lot because it's one of the ways we sweeten our probiotic mints. Xylitol is a natural extract from birch tree cellulose, also found in other fruits and vegetables. For example, it can come from corn. So it's super important that if you're going to buy xylitol, you're going to buy the one that's non-GMO, ideally from birch trees or from non-GMO fruits and vegetables. During World War II in Finland, to compensate for a sugar shortage, the Finnish started substituting with xylitol from birch trees scattered throughout the country. As an unintended result, there was a significant decrease in cavities nationwide. Studies have shown that xylitol promotes the growth of healthy bacteria and can even reduce child ear infections for up to 30%. Xylitol can be found today as a white granular powder or in the form of a candy or chewing gum and is a great option for children and adults who wish to regulate the balance between internal bacteria. But Xylitol is best consumed in small quantities, as larger amounts may cause gas in some people. I have some patients, very few though, that cannot tolerate the xylitol as well. Then the recommendation, of course, is always to try something like erythritol. Erythritol is another sugar substitute from the same family of xylitol. Like xylitol, erythritol is free of calories. It doesn't raise your blood sugar level. When consumed. It has similar properties to xylitol, and now you can also find it pretty much in every store and online. Erythritol is produced via fermentation and will not cause the unfortunate GI-based side effects that are common in some people who ingest xylitol. I know in the news there was a study saying that erythritol can actually cause cardiovascular issues. This is simply not true. The study I believe was done with already very sick people with cardiovascular issues. So definitely more studies are needed before actually condemning the sweetener, which, which can help you get rid of sugar and decrease inflammation in your body. But of course, always xylitol and erythritol in moderation. Also, what you'll notice is if you incorporate any of these sugar substitutes in your diet in place of sugar, you'll notice that you'll not, you'll not be craving the same way when you eat sugar. For example, when you eat chocolate with sugar, you notice you crave more sugar, but when you're actually using one of these sugar substitutes, that does not happen. Trehalose is another natural sugar substitute that is found in mushrooms. Trehalose is a bit harder to produce Uh, it is found in mushrooms, in drought-resistant plants, in bacteria, in insects, and also in animal meats. Recent studies have shown that this sweetener can prevent bone loss and can also help retain, uh, water in the cells in periods of dehydration. Trehalose is available commercially, and you can find it in some sports drinks. However, um, it is not easy to find. And also, if you try it just in the powder format itself, which, which I actually have, um, you'll notice that it's not as sweet. It's not as sweet as, let's say, monk fruit or erythritol. I also want to talk about allulose. Uh, allulose also comes in a powder, and you can actually find it at your natural food store. You can find it online. It tastes just like sugar. It's has very low calories and it has a minimal glycemic impact. Um, it's found now in a lot of the sports bars, and I also like to mix it, especially with baked goods. Allulose, again, doesn't have an aftertaste. It's actually very pleasant. So if you have something with allulose, you won't be able to tell that it is with xylitol, or with allulose rather. Interesting about allulose is that it's a GLP-1 agonist. So what does that mean? A lot of my friends who are in the natural health space actually consume allulose before a meal, so that way it increases your potential to lose weight, and you don't have to take any other drugs or peptides. So what to use when? Let's say for baking, I recommend allulose or erythritol blends. For coffee or tea, you can use stevia or monk fruit in a dropper because it's just easy. If you have gut sensitivity, then avoid sugar alcohols like xylitol or erythritol, and perhaps try monk fruit or stevia or allulose. Stay away from any artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and sucralose. So what do you need to do? When you're going to the store, you have to read the label. If something says sugar-free, please look to see if it's aspartame or sucralose. Do not buy it. Find something that has the other sweeteners. So I'm challenging you today to try a non-sweetener day. Basically, try one day, pick one thing and substitute all your sugar, let's say with monk fruit for the day. And see how you feel. See if you have more energy. See how your body responds. I'm Dr. Sanda Moldovanova, your host for the Holistic Dentistry Show. I hope you enjoyed this episode. Until next time, stay healthy. Thank you so much for joining me this week. Please make sure you check out the show notes for any links mentioned in the show. If you like today's show, please invite your friends to listen as well. That would mean a lot to me. Do you have a question you'd like me to answer? Message me on Instagram @drsandamoldovan. This is Dr. Sanda Moldovan, and remember, your mouth is the gateway to your health, so take care of it in the most natural and best way possible.