How to re-educate the palate and eat more naturally?

It’s time to re-educate our palates and include more natural foods in our diet as an alternative to sweeteners, substances that the World Health Organization (WHO) has stated are not effective for weight control and, in addition, can increase the risk of certain diseases.

The main conclusion of the WHO announcement is that sweeteners did not contribute to improving the fight against obesity and overweight, experts from the Spanish Society for the Study of Obesity (Seedo) and the Spanish Society for Endocrinology and Nutrition (SEEN) point out.

The sweetenedreminds SEEN nutrition area coordinator Francisco Botella, they are a substitute for sugarable to “confuse” nerve receptors taste buds tongue and transmit the sensation of sweet taste to the brain.

“Indirectly, an association (which does not mean a causal relationship) with a higher frequency of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseasesso from the “precautionary principle” the WHO recommends a gradual withdrawal from its use”, affirms SEEN’s nutrition area coordinator, Francisco Botella.

The same opinion is shared by Patricia Vilca, dietician-nutritionist, member of the working group Dietotherapy in obesity Seedo, who points out that the conclusion of the WHO is that the consumption of sweeteners is not recommended for weight control, since it is not effective in the long term, and for prevention chronic non-communicable diseases.

What WHO says

WHO pointed out last Monday that the replacement free sugars sweeteners “does not offer any long-term benefits in terms of fat reduction in the body in adults or children.

Among the specific products that are not recommended are: acesulfame Kaspartame, advantame, cyclamates, neotame, saccharin, sucralose, as well as Stevia and its derivatives.’

The WHO stressed last Monday that replacing free sugars – refined and naturally present in fruit, honey and others – with sweeteners “does not offer any long-term benefits in terms of reducing body fat in adults or children”.

According to the WHO, they can have unwanted effects if used for a long time, such as enlargement risk type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and mortality in adults.

Prudence

The bottle points out that there is none evidence that sweeteners cause specific diseases, only associations statistics and forces to continue studying and deepening the knowledge of its effects.

“The statistical associations that have been found, along with some of the studies that have included evidence changes in intestinal microbiotaforce the WHO to advise against its use as a precautionary measure,” he explains.

In any case, Vilca points out, sweeteners are out of the question food and they miss it Nutritional valueand the WHO guidelines are not based on toxicological assessments from security of individual sugar-free sweeteners” and is not intended to update or replace guidelines on established safe or upper intake levels organisms authorized”.

Where do we find them?

Sweeteners are commonly included in almost everything products “not to mention all” whose labels can be read “without sugar“or famous”lights” “and whose consumption is only increasing,” explains the Seedo expert.

Examples of where we can find them, according to experts: cereals, cookies, dairy desserts, cakes, drinks, ice creams…that’s why it’s important to “read the labels” when buying food.

Experts also agree that polemics as for sweeteners, and for Botella it has “a lot to do with business interests and politicians, in relation to the sugar market and processed food containing it”.

And Vilca emphasizes that the food industry “contributed” to the fact that the use of sweeteners “is present in many food preparationsas well as the free form, but an issue like everything, it is important how, how much and how often we consume it”.

Sweet yes, but not every day

In this regard, the expert emphasizes that when you want to eat a sweet, “it’s not that you can’t afford it, but you have to know that it can be part of your diet, but not every day.”

And when it comes to losing weight, experts point out that it is wrongly considered that the replacement spoons of sugar for tea or coffee because of the sweetener will have a positive effect “but what is achieved is to continue to get used to their consumption”.

“There is no point in going to a coffee shop and drinking coffee with saccharin and ask yourself a croissant“, Vilca abounds.

Healthy alternatives to sweeteners

At this point, what alternatives are there to the consumption of sweeteners? For Botella, it would be the intake of sweet foods as specified fruit or vegetableswhile a gradual reduction in use is recommended added sugars and sweeteners “so that the body gets used to being without them”.

“What we have to do is think and put into practice that a healthy diet which must be based on the consumption of fresh plant products, i.e. fruits, vegetables, legumes, quality fats such as extra virgin olive oil and nuts, as well as unprocessed proteins such as meat, fish, eggs or dairy products. Fork apostille.

It is about considering other ways of reduction consumption from free sugars and not just replace them. “It’s time to eat more naturally, we have to re-educate our palates,” says this expert.

In this sense, he comments that it attracts his attention when you go to the sawmill and ask for advice on what kind of melon, for example, is. “The answer I get is: ‘it’s very good, it’s sweet.’ I mean, is it good because it’s cute? And where is the natural taste of food?”, he points out.

Therefore, the general recommendation is to reduce the consumption of free sugars, which we know as those that are not part of the food matrix of fruits and vegetables. vegetables. So, in the long run, sweeteners “are not a solution” or alternatives to high sugar consumption.