Diabetes

It is common knowledge that Diabetes is on the rise. The American Diabetes Association states that 36 million people across the country have diabetes and another 96 million have prediabetes. While being diagnosed with diabetes can be life changing, hearing that you are only “prediabetic” should not give you a sense of relief. It should be a call to action to preserve your health.

Diabetes, a metabolic disease in which the pancreas does not function properly in insulin production, causes increased glucose (sugar) in the bloodstream. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), it is the 7th leading cause of death in America and over 29 million people or 9.3% of the US population has the disease. There are various types of Diabetes such as Type I, Type II, and Gestational diabetes. Diabetes is monitored by testing blood sugar levels.

Being a healthy consumer in America can be quite tricky these days. The grocery store can feel overwhelming. Reading through labels and deciphering ingredients might make one feel as if they need a degree in chemistry to understand what they are ingesting. Products marketed with zero sugar, zero calories can be eye catching and make us feel as if we are making the better choice compared to the alternative. Unfortunately, that is not always the case.

Artificial sweeteners are synthetically made sugar substitutes. Common artificial sweeteners include Aspartame, Sucralose, Acesulfame K, Cyclamate, Neotame and Saccharin.