According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, all sweets should be consumed in moderation due to their over-stimulating effect on the spleen organ within the Earth Element. The powerful flavor of “sweet” can easily create an imbalance in the Five Flavors (bitter,sweet, pungent, salty, sour) and their associated Five Elements (Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, Wood). This can occur regardless of the type of sweetener. In other words, whether the sweetener is synthetic, natural, organic, low calorie, etc. seems to make little difference from the standpoint of the disruption that it creates in the Five Flavors and the Five Elements.
From the perspective of Western Medicine, sweets should also be consumed in moderation because of their powerful stimulating effect on the pancreas which leads to the release of insulin. Excessive sugar consumption causes a cascade of undesirable events which can include high blood sugar, hyper-insulinemia, dysglycemia, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome and diabetes. The sweeteners that have the least effect on insulin and blood sugar levels are Stevia, Vegetable Glycerol and Licorice Root. (Note: If you are diabetic it is important to monitor your blood sugar levels even if you are consuming healthier sweeteners.) [CLICK TO CONTINUE READING] …
