Crystals+of+Death


 * Kyle Agin, Eric Hagenberg, Brandon Kjenstad.**

__ **History of sugar** __
It’s been said that sugar was found before the birth of Christ. The invasion of Arabs into India one thousand years later in 642 A.D. led to the spread of sugar to the rest of the world. The first time sugar was brought to England was in the year 1099. Sugar was brought to America by Christopher Columbus.

Once the juices from the sugar cane are harvested, they are washed, boiled, centrifuged, filtered, and then finally dried. This process takes out nutrition in the cane and all the fiber that was already in the crystals. There appears to be references to the evils of sugar as early as the 1800s when rations in the military were compared to standard civilian meals and it was determined that refined foods had a potentially negative on health. Sweeteners are a common substitute for sugars, but are these synthetic chemicals truly safe. For one, refined sugars provide easily food for oral bacteria, and can promote cavities and the accumulation of plaque. All carbohydrates are technically sugar, and since all carbohydrates end up as sugar, the mere fact that they begin as sugars is irrelevant. So what is relevant? The rate at which the sugar enters the blood stream, which is exactly what the glycemic index measures.

The liver processes the glucose molecule and turns it into a triglyceride, or fat molecule. There is no practical way that your liver somehow “knows” that the glucose molecule came from a green bean instead of a grain of table sugar, except that your entire body benefits from additional nutrients when you consume the green bean. The glycemic index demonstrates that refined sugars are very dangerous; they have some of the biggest index on the list. One problem with sugar is that many products add an extremely high amount of sugar to sweetener stuff.





**__ Artificial Sweeteners __**

Today people are consuming enormous amounts of sugar as part of their daily diet. Eating large amounts of sugar adds extra calories, which can cause weight gain. Artificial sweeteners are also known to as sugar substitutes or low calorie sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners are often used as part of a weight loss diet or as a means to control weight gain. People with diabetes may use artificial sweeteners because they make food taste sweet without raising blood sugar levels. Some sugar-free products may also contain flour which may raise blood sugar levels. The ADI (acceptable daily intake) are intended to be about 100 times less than the smallest amount that might cause health concerns. According to the National Cancer Institute, there’s no scientific evidence that any of the artificial sweeteners approved for use in the United States causes cancer. It also isn’t safe for people who have the rare hereditary phenylketournia products that contain aspartame must carry PKU warning label. Unlike fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, sugar-free Slurpees, candy, and desserts often provide few, if any, beneficial nutrients.

**__Aspartame__** The cons on aspartame for the eye is blindness in one or both eyes, decreased vision and/or other eye problems such as blurring, bright flashes , squiggling lines, tunnel vision , decreased night vision. Other problems aspartame causes for the eye is pain in one or both eyes, decreased tears, trouble with contacts lenses, and bulging eyes Problems from aspartame in the ear is ringing or buzzing sounds, severe intolerance of noise, and marked hearing impairment. Neurologic problems from aspartame are epileptic seizures, headaches, dizziness, confusion, memory loss, severe drowsiness, and sleepiness.

Psychological and psychiatric from aspartame include depression, irritability, aggression, anxiety, personality changes, insomnia, and phobias. Chest problems from aspartame include shortness of breath, recent high blood pressure, abdominal pain, and pain when swallowing.

**__Splenda__**


 * Splenda is a chlorinated artificial sweetener, which means that splenda, is natural. There has been not been and big studies on the safeties of splenda, but complaints have been noticed in a new study from Duke University. **


 * Skin rashes or coloring, anxiety, dizziness and numbness, diarrhea, muscle aches, intestinal cramping, bladder issues, and stomach pains are some of the side effects. ** ** McNeil Nutritionals is stressed that over 100 studies that were tested for splenda, the company denies to mention that most of the studies were tested on animals. ** ** The sugar industry is suing McNeil Nutritionals for saying that splenda is a natural form of sugar with no calories. **


 * Sucralose is made using five steps. One of those steps is adding chlorine (the cleaning liquid that goes in your pool). Adding chlorine alters the sugar molecule so that it is turned into a fructo-galactose molecule. A fructo-galactose molecule is the type of molecule that does not occur in nature. So, your body does not have the capability to digest it properly. That allows McNeil Nutritionals to say that splenda has no calories. **



Stevia __** In America, the average American today consumes around 20 teaspoons of sugar each day in their diet. Scientists recommend eating mainly complex carbohydrates such as pasta, macaroni, rice, etc. The problem with artificial sweeteners is the chemicals in them that have side effects. Items like this will still cause weight gain and do not provide much nutritional benefit. They assumed the simple carbs in sugary foods like candy, honey, and other sweets would cause a raise in blood sugar levels faster then fruits, vegetables, and also foods containing starches. A diabetic can learn through testing their blood sugar just how their body reacts too many natural sugars and can change their diets accordingly. Another factor to understand is some foods which are labeled sugar free. The extract from the stevia plant is hundreds of times sweeter than sugar, without calories or glycemic impact of fructose and sucrose.Stevia has been used as a general-purpose sweetener. Stevia has been used as a sweetener in Japan for over 30 years and no reported health concerns, and I think it's far more safer than chemical alternatives such as aspartame and saccharin, shown to cause cancer in numerous animal studies.
 * __ [[image:stevia_2.jpg width="255" height="319"]]

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 * Works Cited**
 * Appleton, PhD, Nancy. Lick the Sugar Habit. New York: Avery Publishing Group, 1996. Print. **
 * “Are These Artificial Sweeteners Good or Bad, Healthy or Poisonous? .” AC ASSOCIATED CONTENT. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2010. . **
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 * Kustes, Scott. “Real Sugar Vs. Artificial Sweeteners: Which Is Better?” Fitnessspotlight.com. N.p., 21 Jan. 2010. Web. 21 Jan. 2010. . **
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 * Roberts, M.D., H.J. Aspartame (Nutrasweet*) Is It Safe? Philadelphia: The Charles Press, 1990. Print.