Sugar has often been referred to as "white poison" and it behaves more like a chemical that is difficult for our bodies to utilize and digest than a food. Humans were not designed to eat large amounts of sugar in whatever form it may take: white and brown, corn syrup, sucrose, dextrose, glucose, fructose, lactose, maltose, (and any other "ose" you might come across), barley malt, rice and maple syrup. It quickly converts into glucose, giving instant energy but requiring the body to produce large amounts of insulin (the fat-storage hormone) to deal with it.

It may, therefore, be very tempting when trying to lose weight, or go on a low GI diet, to substitute sugar with artificial sweeteners and to consume food and drinks which say "sugar-free" Don't even think about it! One such sweetener is aspartame, which has been pronounced perfectly safe by the American FDA It does, however, have considerable side effects When this sweetener is digested, the wood alcohol (methanol) in aspartame converts to formaldehyde, and then to formic acid, which in turn causes acidosis. Formic acid is the poison found in the sting of ants.

The methanol toxicity mimics, among other conditions, multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus. It may also cause symptoms of fibromyalgia, spasms, shooting pains or numbness in your legs, cramps, vertigo, dizziness, headaches, joint pain, unexplainable depression, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, blurred vision or memory loss! Quite a catalogue of symptoms.

The main things to avoid are "Diet" Coke and other sodas, but all artificial sweeteners, such as NutraSweet, Equal and Spoonful should be avoided.

The best way to rid yourself of sugar cravings is simply to go "cold turkey" and after about 7-10 days, the desire for sweet things is drastically reduced. You may prefer, however, to reduce gradually the sweetness in your food and have fresh fruit instead (dried fruit and undiluted fruit juice represent concentrated sweetness which perpetuate the desire for sugar). Using honey as an alternative to sugar is a little better as it has been shown to have less impact on raising blood glucose levels and does contain some vitamins and minerals.

If you find that you really do still want a sweet taste, the best alternatives are stevia and Xylitol. Stevia is a herb which is safe, intensely sweet and makes a non-caloric sweetener. Stevia leaf is a natural product that has been used for at least 400 years as a food product and no evidence of a safety problem has every been found. An extract is now available in either powder or liquid form

Xylitol is also a safe, natural sweetener which is made from various hardwood trees, such as birch bark, corn cobs and fibrous vegetables and fruit. It has been used since World War 11 when sugar was very scarce and has been found to metabolize in the body without using insulin. Although Xylitol looks and tastes like sugar, it has been found to have some health benefits, including having an alkaline effect on the body, while sugar is acid-forming. For scientific readers, it is a five-carbon sugar rather than a six-carbon sugar as found in all other forms of sugar including sorbitol. It has no known toxic levels although large amounts may cause mild diarrhoea and slight cramping initially. It has 40% fewer calories and 75% few carbohydrates than sugar.