A few weeks back, Dr. Martin shared a study showing how artificial sweeteners like aspartame have a negative impact on our overall health. That study showed how diet drinks especially caused a change to the microbiome.
This new study is showing how artificial sweeteners affect the chemical messengers in the brain. The chemistry of your brain is being altered to increase your hunger. If people are making the switch to “diet” to lose weight, it’ll actually make things worse.
Dr. Martin offers an alternative to diet drinks, and that’s vitamin W – water! So many people are dehydrated and they don’t even know it. Water is essential to our brains, and that’s why it’s so important to increase our intake!
TRANSCRIPT OF TODAY'S EPISODE
Announcer: You're listening to The Doctor Is In Podcast, brought to you by MartinClinic.com. During the episode, the doctors share a lot of information. As awesome as the info may be, it is not intended to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent any disease. It's strictly for informational purposes.
Dr. Martin: Well, good morning everyone. And once again, welcome to another Live this morning. Hope you're having a great start to your week and your day. Here in Canada, guys, it's a holiday Monday. Civic Holiday they call it, I think. I want to bring to you a study I read over the weekend. I flagged this on, I think it was Saturday and it was a study on aspartame and other artificial sweeteners. Okay. Now you guys know that on The Reset, if you didn't know it, I'm going to repeat it. I don't want no artificial sweeteners. The idea with The Reset is there's a lot of things going on. And one of them is detoxing. It's a body's 30 day, I mean cleansing. And I know a lot of keto and keto recipes and whatever will call for some artificial stuff. And I really try and get you to stay away from that for 30 days.
And I really want that body to detox from anything that is not real. Now, it's pretty hard. I don't care what planet you live on. Like, it's pretty hard to get pure, pure foods in this day and age. I get that, but as much as possible, and this is why I don't like the flavored drinks or whatever, because they might be zero calorie, but that doesn't make them good for you, okay? So I really try and emphasize do a detox, get your body used to drinking water and coffee and tea if you like it, okay? One of the things we often talk about is just forming new habits. It's amazing what happens when you form a new habit. It's amazing how you get used to things. It's never easy to start, and I get that. I understand all of that, but I really try and get people off the artificial stuff as much as possible. Okay?
Now, one thing this study was showing on, especially in diet sodas and stuff like that, there's two big changes that occur. And one of them is in the brain. One of them is in the brain. It may be both of them in the brain because you got microbiome all over, but I'll leave the microbiome for a moment. And the first thing they talk about is all these artificial sweeteners taste like sugar. And some of them look like sugar and whatever. You don't have to spend a lot of time with me before I'll talk to you about what sugar does to your body. But try not to replace it with artificial sweeteners, okay? Because what these studies have shown is that two main things happen... You know, I remember when, listen, artificial sweeteners have been around for a long time. Aspartame. My dad, when he found out he was a diabetic started to drink Tab and I think it was Fresca. Ooh, that stuff was awful stuff. Oh, you're talking, guys, in the late sixties, okay? I mean, it was bad stuff. I said, dad, how can you drink that stuff? Tastes like urine. I mean, it was terrible stuff.
Anyway, and they knew nothing, you know, think about it, now. You're talking 1968, 1969, or whatever. They knew that sugar wasn't good for you. Although that wasn't even sort of mainstream in those days. You know, you were a diabetic, maybe you should cut back. My dad just said, nah, I'm a diabetic. I'm not having sugar anymore. My dad just stopped eating sweet. Never had anything sweet. I don't remember him ever having anything sweet. He just cut it out. But we didn't know back then. People used to ask me even in the 70s, okay, what about artificial sweeteners? I said, well, I don't think they're good for you. There's no nutrition in it. There's nothing that that is going to give you that's actually going to be helpful.
How detrimental it is, that remains to be seen because there wasn't a lot of studies on the negativity of these artificial sweeteners. But they're coming out now, and one of them, we knew this a long time ago, was its effect on the microbiome. But this other one is showing that it affects the chemical messengers in the brain. Now, one of the things like an unintended consequence of taking an artificial sweetener is that it plays with the chemistry in the brain. And one of the things it does, and this is where the study sort of focused in on was that it made you hungry. A zero calorie food or drink, artificial played with the chemistry in the brain to increase your hunger. And again, if you look at long-term studies, it shows that people that drink Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi, diet soda, or whatever... Whatever you do, don't use it for weight loss. Because what they're saying is it makes you more hungry. There may not be any calories, it may be empty in terms of calories, but it makes you hungry. That's interesting, isn't it? Like, no. And I think if that had a big warning on its label and it should, again, I tell people, look, get used to drinking water instead. You're going to have to get used to it. You're going to have to form a habit.
Now, this Dr. Roberts, okay, in Florida I believe, he did a 1200 patient study with aspartame. Here's what he found. 43% increase in headaches, 31% increase in dizziness, 31% increase in confusion, and even memory loss. Not good for the brain. And 13% loss of energy. So no energy drinks. I think somebody was asking me the other day about what are those energy drinks, what do I think about that. And I said, well, I don't think too much of them. Stay away from that stuff. Don't pump yourself up with energy drinks. A lot of young kids, they need to get zapped with an energy drink. My word, that is terrible stock and going to play tricks again with the brain.
Okay, water. Your body is like planet earth. 75% of it is made up of vitamin W, water. You need water. Your brain needs water. Your brain is headquarters. I always talk about this, you know. Like every time you eat, your brain, which is about 2% of your body weight, demands 25% of your energy from food. It's like the federal government. Right off the top, you're going to get taxed. And it says, “hey, you owe me.” Brain goes, “if you want to eat sugar, okay, but I got to take 25% of that.” And that's never good. And it's so important to eat properly, of course. But what people don't realize is that the brain, which is only on average about three pounds, 2% of your body weight demands first in water. It's very difficult for the brain to become dehydrated. It does become dehydrated, but it'll take that water from all the rest of your organs because it's headquarters. And your neuro-transmitters, they need cholesterol. They sort of form the outer lining of your neuro-transmitters, but the brain needs water to operate properly. And if you're not drinking enough water, I mean, all your organs suffer, but your brain is really going to miss that water. It needs it to operate properly. It'll still operate, but it won't operate properly.
I don't know if you ever did so much sweating or on a hot day or whatever, you see energy go down, don't you? I mean, you really do. You know, some people less than others, but I don't know if you can see this t-shirt I'm wearing or not. It says Pompano Beach. We're a bunch of old timers playing ball. I still love playing slo-pitch, but I think of tournaments I've been in playing ball over the years and, you know, man, if you get into a hot day and you're baking, man, oh man, does your ability, even your processing ability of the brain goes downhill in a real hurry. And the vast majority of people, especially in this day and age are dehydrated, are dehydrated. And they need water. They need H2O.
And remember, only water is water. Coffee‘s not water. Juice isn't water. Fruits, there's a lot of water in fruits, you know, especially, you get a watermelon and all that. Hey, I didn't say he couldn't have any of that, but don't you rely on that for hydration. Don't you rely on that, because a lot of times especially if you read in a lot of medical textbooks and this and that, they'll tell you to drink plenty of fluids, okay? Plenty of fluids. And some might say water, but you know, a lot of times they don't differentiate. So when you see, oh, look at coffee, right? Like that's at least 95% water. Tea, 95% water, right? Like watermelons, probably 95% water in watermelon. But your body uses it differently.
Again, I'm not saying coffee is no good for you. Of course it is, it's vitamin C. The true one. Did I tell you about the study the other day? Three to five cups of coffee, a decrease in Alzheimer's. I flagged it. Did I tell you about it? Yeah, another study. I think I'm up to over 150 now, okay, on the benefits of drinking coffee. But coffee's not water. You know, I've said that. It's not water. There's water in it, but it takes a different route. Your body is built for you to drink water. You need it. Your brain needs it. Headquarters needs it. So don't fool yourself. I don't care who you are. “Oh, I'm not thirsty, doc.” I don't care about that. Don't wait until you're thirsty. You know, one of the best rules of thumb is to look at your urine. Look at your urine and see what color is it. You know, it should be clear. I mean, first morning urine of course is not going to be clear, clear, clear, but you need to drink water so that you know that you're detoxifying and your cells need it.
And I promised you I was going to talk about two oceans. We'll do that. I promise that we're going to do a little teaching on another, I'm sort of thinking about classifying it as a vitamin, okay? We'll talk about that. But you need that H2O. Your body's like planet earth, 75% water and you better take care of it. Chronic dehydration is very detrimental to the brain and how the brain operates. Your neuro-transmitters, it's like hydro-electric plant. They need water, need water to be flowing. And you need two liters of water, guys. That is your minimum. So I don't care where you are and who you are, you need a minimum of 64 ounces in the United States of America, or for my Canadian friends, you need 2 liters of water a day.
Now some need more than that. If you're sweating, if you sweat easily, if you're going to work out, which I hope you do, you need that vitamin W. You know, we've often talked about that blood brain barrier. It's fascinating, but when you're dehydrated, your blood brain barrier is compromised. You're not washing the toxins out and they'll get across that blood-brain barrier much more readily. Water will clean your kidneys out. Think of your kidneys as Niagara Falls. I don't care if you go at two in the morning or four in the afternoon, Niagara Falls doesn't stop. It just flows, right? And your body needs that, guys. You dehydrate so quickly. And that's why I've classified it as a vitamin because it really is essential to your life and nothing substitutes it.
So on The Reset, this is why like, I want you off... Like people are, doc, can I put something in my water? Don't put anything in your water. Like you can put a little bit of lemon, okay? And lemon is all right in water, okay, because that actually helps to detox. So lemon is good. Just put a slice of lemon or whatever. A couple of drops of lemon. I got no problem with that. But the idea is to just try and get your body used to drinking that water. And then guess what happens? And this is what always shocked my patients over the years, it shocked them. Doc, I was never thirsty until I started drinking water. And when I got around that three week mark, because you made me, then my thirst mechanism started kicking in and I realized how thirsty I was.
Yeah. It's a matter of forming a really strong habit. Wash away those toxins out of your body. There's nothing like water to do it. Like people are, “You know, doc, should I do a detox?” Yeah. Well, first of all, there's nothing that'll detox your liver more than The Reset. You want to detox your liver, that big filtration plant, okay? You want to detox that? Yes. Okay, then do The Reset. You want to detox your kidneys? Drink water. Two liters of it. Flush out those toxins. Like I said, we'll talk about another thing that you can do. We'll do that tomorrow. But imagine where these artificial sweeteners, even things you put in your water can affect your hunger mechanism, can affect your microbiome. It changes the microbiome.
It's almost like getting on an antibiotic. Antibiotics change the microbiome. They kill your friendly bacteria. But what the aspartame and these other ones do is they change that microbiome. And there seems to be studies that are showing that it feeds the bad guys. Not maybe quite as much as sugar does, but it doesn't matter. It's still changing the ecosystem inside your body, guys. You need to be very careful of that. So don't be confused because I think it was yesterday I was reading something, ah, water's overrated. You know, like just, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. And I just don't understand it. That when you study the human body, I mean, it should be day one. You're not sick, for a lot of people, you're just thirsty. You're dehydrated. You're dehydrated and you need it. Your skin needs it. Your kidneys need it.
Like I said, Niagara Falls to flush that out. Your brain. We talked about that. Headquarters needs it. You're not going to fire on all your cylinders in your brain without that vitamin W. And don't substitute it. Just drink water. What kind of water is the best water? Well, I'm a guy to push spring water. I like spring water because that's really, it's mineralized water. It's the best for you. If I was you, okay, and again, water's good. All water's good. But I don't like when they take all the minerals out, either by reverse osmosis or whatever. I don't like that. Don't demineralize your water. You need those minerals. And if you're going to drink tap water, I recommend that you filter it. You know, you don't have to spend a fortune filtering it, but I would filter it. Get a Brita or whatever, one of these water filters and filter your water, and then I would add a pinch of salt to it.
Mineral water, you know, its pH is higher. There's some people that have talked to me about different machines that you pay a few thousand bucks for, and they want me to... “What do you think of that, doc?” Well, I said, “Look, if you've got that kind of money, good for you, but I am going to talk in generalities.” People don't need to do that. Did you ever think, like if you're my age, okay? If you're in my generation pushing 70, did you ever think in your lifetime that you would ever pay for water? You know what I mean? Seriously, because when we were kids, I probably spent more time drinking out of a hose than anything else. I think it was the only time I ever drank water when I was a kid. You know what I mean?
We were dying on a baseball field or we were playing outside or whatever, and we just turned that hose on and drank out of the hose, you know. Did you ever think that there would come a day that we would go and buy water at a grocery store or something like that? I mean, it's unreal, isn't it? But it's a vitamin. Your body needs it. And I showed, I mean, into the thousands of people, because one of the things that he used to do with that microscope, you see that one right behind me here. We would show them, patients, their blood on the screen. I used to often tell patients, I said, “You see your blood up there on the screen?” “Yeah.” “Your blood is thick as molasses”. You got 60,000 miles of blood vessels there for that blood to go through, and you're as thick as molasses, your viscosity. Your blood's too thick. You're making your heart work for nothing. Your heart's going to work anyways, but why do you want it to work harder? Vitamin W will help your blood vessels. It's one of the best things you can do for your blood vessels. You got 60,000 miles. Over a hundred thousand times a day that heart, pshh, pshh, and water just reduces the viscosity of it, the thickness of it, that resistance in your blood vessels. You need that. That's why we talk about it so much.
And most people, not everybody, but most people that suffer from headaches, it's the first question I used to ask them. How much water do you drink? Your brain will tell you you're dehydrated by a headache for most people. Yeah, there's hormones and estrogen dominance, and I understand that. And there are people that'll get migraines. Sometimes it was a little bit more complicated than simple dehydration, but I said, look, if you're on any medication, any medication, you're going to be dehydrated from that medication. Heart pills, blood pressure pills, I don't care. Painkillers, anti-inflammatories. You name the pill. You are starting with dehydration. It will suck the water out of your body. It'll suck it out and you need to replace that. You need to replace that. And the best habit you can get into is get up in the morning, and before you allow yourself a coffee, have 16 ounces or a half liter of water to start. That's what I do. Just a great habit. Okay, I hope I convinced you to drink water, okay? Spring water's the best. You can drink it out of your tap, but make sure you filter it. I really want you to filter water. I know in Sudbury, boy, I think we use about 2100 chemicals in the city water. So filter that out. Filter that out, get it cleaned up and then add a pinch of salt, Himalayan salt, or a good sea salt. Just a little pinch in there.
Okay guys, holiday Monday in Canada and for you dear folks in United States, you guys have a great week. We love you. If you're not a member of the Martin Clinic Facebook group, be sure that you join us. Friday is question and answer Friday. So we really, really appreciate the questions. One of our most popular programs is our Friday program. People like the question and answer, and so do I. I enjoy it. It allows me to go off on tangents, pursue rabbits on rabbit trails. I often do that, don't I? Okay, love you guys, and we'll talk to you soon.
Announcer: You've reached the end of another Doctor Is In Podcast, with your hosts, Doctor Martin Junior and Senior. Be sure to catch our next episode and thanks for listening!