Do you love your diet soft drinks or sugar-free lollies? If so, your aspartame intake could be contributing to your hormonal issues. Let’s take a closer look at how aspartame can affect your hormones, and how you can reduce the impact on your health.
How aspartame can throw off your hormonal balance
The key to how aspartame affects hormones is actually found in your liver.
The body sees aspartame and other artificial sweeteners as something foreign that needs to be removed. It does this by breaking it down in the liver. To break it down, we need amino acids including sulphur, methionine and cysteine.
If you have the occasional sweetened drink, this isn’t a big deal. But if you are having it regularly or even daily, the liver is using up these amino acids to detoxify the aspartame. Other toxins, excess hormones, metabolites and even heavy metals can build up in the body because there aren’t enough amino acids to go around.
All of these can have knock-on effects on your hormone balance, thyroid, gut and brain health. You could also develop a fatty liver or find yourself struggling with stubborn weight gain.
This can be a problem for anyone, but is particularly problematic if you have:
- Endometriosis
- PCOS
- Current hormone imbalance e.g. oestrogen dominance
- Oestrogen-dependent cancers
- Fibroids
Another issue is glutathione. This ‘master’ antioxidant is critical, particularly if you have any chronic concerns such as autoimmune disease, chronic pain, inflammation or MTHFR. Aspartame can deplete glutathione levels, which has a widespread effect on your health.
Studies have found that ongoing intake of aspartame can increase liver enzymes such as ALT. Raised liver enzymes are a sign that your liver is not functioning properly. Over time, this can lead to fatty liver, weight gain, inflammation and other chronic health concerns.
Two simple steps to reduce the effect of aspartame
Now that you know how aspartame can influence your hormone balance, what can you do about it? There are two simple steps to consider, depending on how you feel about your soft drinks and sweetened treats.
The first (and ideal) step is to stop consuming aspartame. Switch your diet drinks for mineral water, juice, stevia-sweetened drinks or regular water. Avoid diet and sugar-free products that use aspartame, and opt for small amounts of the ‘real deal’ instead.
This option might not be right for you at this point in time. If you’re not ready to give up your soft drinks or aspartame-sweetened treats, you can give your liver some extra TLC.
There are two great supplement options to support the liver – NAC and milk thistle. NAC is used to support glutathione levels and lower inflammation. Milk thistle is a gentle liver-supporting herb that can As with any supplement, it’s best to seek advice from your healthcare professional around the right dosage for your needs.
Is it time to detox from the diet drinks and kickstart your health?
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