Why is Creatine Good for Everyone?

Chances are you’ve already heard something about creatine. Perhaps you’ve seen it displayed on a vitamin shelf, advertised in a magazine or featured on a TV show like 20/20. But what exactly is creatine and where does it come from? Is it safe? And if it is some kind of natural steroid used by elite athletes like baseball hero Mark McGwire, then why are physicians prescribing it for fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, ischemic heart disease, inflammation, muscular dystrophy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease? Why is creatine used to reduce muscle wasting in aids & cancer , applied during orthopedic rehabilitation and recommended for post-surgery convalescence?





Truth is creatine is a naturally occurring substance that’s been part of our food chain for tens of thousands of years. It’s inside everyone (regardless of what you eat) hiding in every active cell waiting to explode. That’s right, every man, woman and child — even an unborn fetus. Creatine is a product of protein metabolism and is synthesized in the liver, pancreas and spleen from special protein building blocks called amino acids. In nature, it’s found only in animal protein, and once consumed as food or as a dietary supplement (creatine monohydrate) it moves from your intestines in blood towards your muscles, glands and vital organs.

Most of the creatine you make or consume ends up in muscle (95%) with the support of insulin and several enzymes. That’s why creatine is usually mixed with additional phosphates and an insulin-releasing carbohydrate like maltodextrin. When combined with nutrients like HMB, alpha-lipoic acid and grape seed extract, it gets even better. Insulin metabolism tends to improve and many essential mechanisms required to sustain and preserve cell function are reinforced, especially under stressful conditions.







Once inside the cell, creatine combines with phosphorous to form a high-energy compound called creatine phosphate (CP). Creatine phosphate functions as an energy reservoir for the production of ATP, the body’s principle energy currency. ATP (adenosine triphosphate) keeps your motor running, but it’s stored in small amounts and requires continuous replenishment.







During low-intensity activity, such as walking or grocery shopping, ATP levels are maintained primarily from fats and carbohydrates (aerobic metabolism). But if we need to pick up the pace and move quickly, like when running after a bus or away from danger (flight or fight response), well…that’s when you can really appreciate and feel the power of creatine (anaerobic metabolism). Of course the millions of athletes worldwide who have used creatine monohydrate as a supplement for over twelve years without any adverse effects, already know how it improves motivation and exercise performance. But they’re not the only ones who desire more strength and stamina…are they?






The neat thing about the supplement is that you can control the dosage and get more of it inside a weak or tired muscle cell. More creatine leads to a greater influx of water, and this "cell volumizing" effect creates an environment which optimizes tissue repair and growth. Creatine monohydrate is engineered pharmaceutically — it is not derived from animals and contains no animal by-products. The best single time to take creatine is after physical activity, and for best results combine creatine with a high-glycemic fruit (like papaya or mango) and mix in a blender with whey protein isolate, L-glutamine, an omega-3 rich blended oil and Kangen water.









If you’re a grandparent, creatine can help muster up what it takes to get more active and play with your grandchildren. And what about Mum and Dad? How are they able to manage the kids, work full-time, take care of the house, educate themselves and get to the gym? ENERGY. That’s how. That’s what good health and performance is all about.






So that’s why I use creatine and feed it to everyone in my family in the appropriate and logical dose (including my children). When used correctly, it’s as safe as vitamin C, and just like vitamin C, the amount and form you take is based on bodyweight (lean mass), age, gender, activity level and individual preference. And one more thing...don't believe anyone who says that creatine is harmful. They literally don't know what they're talking about.

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Our Immune System Is Designed to Handle Anything if it's Strong, Don't You Think?

Most of us have some familiarity with our immune systems. We know it keep us from getting sick or catching a cold. But what else is our immune system responsible for? Is it something that we should consider on a daily basis?

Absolutely! The immune system takes care of everything exterior that comes in contact with our bodies. Especially with all the talk of Swine Flu, it’s important to remember just how necessary a healthy immune system is. Catching a cold, virus, or just feeling run-down is often not the fault of the germs or conditions with which you’ve come in contact. Our bodies are designed to come in contact with all sorts of organisms and germs without problem. Why do some people seem to always be sick, while others never catch a cold? Why do some people always seem allergic and stuffy? Long before the days of cold medicine, antibiotics, and extremely sterile conditions, we were going up against germs and pollen on a regular basis. We started over-medicating and over-sanitizing, but our rate of sickness hasn’t really improved. And why is that? Because it’s all about the immune system.

The role of the immune system in mild allergy symptoms is often overlooked. Especially if you’ve recently acquired seasonal allergies, or if you’ve noticed your symptoms worsening, you should take a look at your immune health. An allergy is basically a small irritant to which the immune system overreacts, giving you itchy eyes, sneezes, and other uncomfortable symptoms. When the immune system is stronger, the body is more inclined to deal with these irritants without the uncomfortable symptoms. Many people dismiss allergies as something that cannot be helped without some kind of medication. Strengthening your immune system through diet, as well as taking Vitamin C (a natural antihistamine), can drastically improve mild allergy symptoms.

So, how exactly do you strengthen the immune system? Many health food stores and natural markets sell immune-boosting supplements. These can be helpful, but they are no replacement for the necessary diet changes that should be made to boost immune health.

Boost Your Immune System:
- Avoid all sugar. This includes in beverages, foods, processed foods, and even natural sugars. Natural sugars like fruit are fine in moderation, but if you feel run-down, it’s beneficial to avoid them.
- Emphasize vegetables, especially green. Vegetables are dense sources of all the vitamins and nutrients we need for fully-functioning bodies and minds. Green vegetables are alkalizing, which means they make the body a harder place for bacteria and viruses to thrive.
- Kick the substances. Alcohol, cigarettes, and caffeine all deplete the immune system. Avoid them entirely! A little alcohol or caffeine can be used in moderation when you’re feeling well. Cigarettes are obviously worth eliminating.
- Eat immune-boosting foods. Fresh, raw garlic is an excellent immune-booster. Aim for 3-5 cloves a day if you’re feeling run down. Cooked garlic is still somewhat effective, but raw is best.
- Stay hydrated and sleep enough. These are obvious, but worth mentioning. Make sure you’re drinking water all throughout the day. If you have a coffee vice, make sure you drink a glass of water with your morning coffee. Also aim for 7-8 hours of sleep a night. Many don’t feel rested with only seven hours, but you’ll find as you strengthen your immune system in other ways, you’ll feel more rested on less sleep.
- Supplement, if you need it. I always recommend optimizing your diet before turning to supplements. If you’ve already done the above, you can look toprobiotics, or healthy bacteria. Probiotics are sold at natural food stores and are normally refrigerated. These healthy bacteria help keep your intestinal flora in balance. Since a large portion of the immune system is in the digestive system, keeping your digestion healthy and regular has great immune benefits. Probiotics can also be found naturally in yogurt (look for greek yogurt or yogurt with no added sugar) or other naturally cultured foods like kefir or kimchi.Immune-boosting supplements come in a variety of forms. Some are simply vitamin supplements, which shouldn’t be necessary if you’re eating a vitamin-rich diet. Others are extracts of medicinal mushrooms or of immune-boosting foods like garlic. These are worth trying if you feel you have covered all the other aspects of immune health. I like a simple Vitamin C supplement (500mg) to help alleviate mild allergy symptoms or to take if I feel I may be getting sick.

As you can see, there are a lot of things we can do to improve our immune health that don’t involve taking poisonous medical concoctions or mysterious drugs with endless side effects. A quick fix never really works, so invest in your health by making the necessary dietary changes.

Be well,

Processed Food is in Disguise Buyer Beware

Everyone knows that “junk food” is bad for us. Many of us know that “processed food” is bad for us. But what really is the difference? Why do many health-conscious consumers shun potato chips but enjoy granola bars in abundance? Why do many health-conscious consumers refuse to buy soda for their child but purchase fortified “juice” beverages regularly?

Processed food is food that has been heavily manufactured in order to be shelf-stable. Processed food rarely resembles anything from nature. Processed food fills the inner aisles of the grocery store; things like cereal, crackers, breads, bottled beverages, granola bars, and other snack foods. There is no question that these foods are not part of a healthy diet. When a food undergoes so much manufacturing, it becomes nutritionally devoid. An enormous amount of preservatives and other artificial ingredients are added to these foods to keep them “fresh.” In addition, a great deal of sugar and salt is often added to make these “foods” taste better. The healthiest foods are the ones closest to their natural state. Our bodies are not designed to consume these man-made concoctions that America has come to accept as food. When we eat shrink-wrapped, boxed, bagged creations, we will not reach optimal health and weight. Calories are irrelevant here; the food you eat is a lot more complex than calories. [For more on this, read my post Confessions of an Ex-Calorie Counter.]

There is rarely any dispute over junk food. The general consensus is that foods like twinkies, potato chips, and soda are not good for us. This is true, however, there are many foods just like these that the average family would consider a healthy addition to their pantry. Unfortunately, a great deal of marketing fools most consumers into believing items like granola bars or fortified cereals are a beacon of health, while in reality, they are much like twinkies in disguise. [See my posts The Truth About Granola Bars and The Truth About Vitamin Waterfor more specific info on this.]

While these healthy substitutes may be certified organic and may not contain harmful ingredients like high fructose corn syrup or trans fat, they are certainly not the foundation of a healthy diet. Nearly all these foods are very high in sugar and are heavily processed. “Whole wheat” bread is one of the worst offenders; consumers think that a “whole grain” label is a sign of a truly nutritious choice. These breads are full of preservatives and often still contain refined white flour. [For more on this, read my post All About Bread.] While I recommend them over their more unnatural counterparts, I really don’t recommend them at all. A long ingredient list is always worth avoiding.

But perhaps the worst offender is functional or fortified foods. These are standard, processed foods that have certain vitamins or nutrients added to increase their marketability. There is always a new nutrient in the spotlight with incredible health claims and promises. Things like vitamin C, fiber, antioxidants, omega 3s, and probiotics are just some of the current health buzzwords. Food companies know that consumers are becoming increasingly interested in health, so they fortify their processed, cheap, junk food with these substances. Theseare healthy substances when found occurring naturally in whole foods. However,supplementing a nutrient-devoid, sugar-laden, chemically-ridden cracker with a certain nutrient won’t make it healthy.

Be a smart consumer. When considering your food purchases, don’t be enticed by health claims and packaging. Stick to foods that resemble something that may be found in nature and the nutrition will take care of itself.

Eat your vegetables,

@Emily , healthyeatingnaturally.wordpress.com

The Truth About Bread: Beyond Whole Wheat

I’m sure most of us couldn’t imagine a life without bread: sandwiches, toast, bread baskets, bread bowls, and so forth. It is an integral part of our food culture and seems to be a major player in every meal. However, with the rise of low carb diets, the concept of “good carbs” and “bad carbs,” plus the new offerings of “whole wheat” everything, it’s easy to get confused about which breads are healthy and which are not.

All the bread I’ll be talking about here and pretty much all commercial bread is wheat bread, meaning it is made from wheat. Some people confused “whole wheat” with “wheat,” but all regular bread is made from wheat. The difference is the refining and manipulation of the wheat grain.

Wheat Background
The wheat grain is made up of three parts: the bran, the germ, and theendosperm. The bran and the germ are the outer, fibrous layers of the grain that contain nearly all the nutrients and fiber.

Bread Making in America
However, in order to make white bread, these outer layers are removed, stripping the wheat of most of its nutrients. What’s left is the measly endosperm, containing no real vitamins or minerals. In order to replace some of what is lost, factories and bread manufacturers “enrich” their breads with arbitrary amounts of chemically synthesized vitamins. The fiber is not replaced. What is left is a product devoid of the natural nutrition of the wheat grain in order to make it more soft and fluffy. However, it doesn’t stop there. Commercial bread manufacturers then add a plethora of chemicals and additives in order to make the bread shelf stable and cosmetically pleasing. This refinement process, besides removing vital nutrients, makes bread very high on the glycemic index. This means it causes rapid blood sugar crashes and basicallyconverts into your body as sugar. Refined bread is also higher in calories because the endosperm, the most caloric part of the grain, is most prominent.

Refined Bread… It’s Everywhere
It is obvious to most of us that a piece of white Wonder Bread is refined and therefore not whole wheat and lacking in nutritional value. However, in America, virtually everything is “white” bread unless otherwise specified: french baguette, ciabatta, focaccia, tortillas, hot dog and hamburger buns, and crackers. Even breads labeled “whole wheat” usually contain white (refined) flour as well and are merely supplemented with some whole wheat flour. It is imperative to read the label and see “100% whole wheat flour” and no mention of “enriched,” “bleached” or “unbleached,” flour is there. To make it simple: if it doesn’t say “whole,” it has been refined. Even home-made breads or bread fresh from the bakery is made with white flour unless otherwise noted.

“Whole Wheat” and “Whole Grain” as a Marketing Scheme
Whole wheat and whole grain have become terms that automatically mean “healthy” to most consumers. However, as stated before, many breads labeled “whole wheat” are mixed with a hefty amount of white flour as well. “Whole grain” is a somewhat meaningless term in the world of conventional bread; they may have added some “whole” grains (like rye) to the bread, but those grains could still be surrounded by white, refined flour. Again, check the ingredients, and when something claims to be “whole wheat,” truly investigate that is made only with whole wheat flour. Sometimes breads are even dyed to appear darker in color and look healthier.

How To Find A Good Bread
After ensuring you find a bread that is made exclusively from whole wheat flour, there are other things to look for. Breads often include the harmful additiveshigh fructose corn syrup or trans fats known as partially hydrogenated oilswhich should be avoided at all costs. I suggest avoiding added sweeteners like honey or molasses as well as they are not necessary for making a great-tasting bread. And, a general rule of thumb: don’t buy something with a lengthy list of ingredients you can’t pronounce. Things labeled “to retain freshness” is their kind way of saying chemical preservatives. None of these things make for a healthy choice. It is the easiest to find whole wheat breads devoid of these additives at health food stores or natural markets. Chain grocery stores do not make at easy, but at health food stores you’ll have a number of choices. Bread is not a food that was originally designed to stay fresh for a week at room temperature. Real bread made from the whole grain is so nutrient dense that it spoils easily and usually does better in the refrigerator. When you want a piece, simply toast it for a minute or two.

A Superior Alternative: Sprouted Grain Bread
Sprouted grain bread is often made without flour. A number of whole grains such as wheat, barley, and spelt are sprouted by being submerged in water. The sprouted grains are then used to make a nutritionally superior bread to regular floured wheat bread without any additives. When these grains sprout, they produce a number of vitamins and minerals and are metabolized in your body more as vegetables than as bread or flour. My personal favorite is Ezekiel 4:9 bread, available at health food stores (and some really great chain grocery stores, too). It is almost always in the refrigerated section.

Ezekiel bread, which comes in a variety of flavors, combines wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt. The combination of grains makes for the proper balance of amino acids to provide a complete protein. One slice has only 80 calories but 4 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber, which is more substantial than even the best whole wheat breads. Oh, and it tastes GREAT. It may be made from sprouted grains, but it doesn’t taste like a veggie loaf. It’s a rich, nutty, and bread-tasting. My favorite flavor is Sesame.

Hopefully that clears up some of the bread confusion!

Eat well,

Learn How to Build The Habit of Eating Breakfast

You wake up. Kick off the day with a coffee. Then don’t eat until lunch time. For some of you this will sound familiar. Which is a shame because breakfast remains the king of meals.

Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper. – Adelle Davis

Why Do You Need Breakfast? Skipping breakfast is one reason you’re skinny. You need calories from the first hour. Other benefits:

• Maintain Muscle. You’re in a catabolic state when sleeping. Eating breakfast stops muscle breakdown.
• Avoid Hunger. You’ll be less hungry the rest of the day. Also helpful if you need to lose fat and/or weight.
• Increase Health. The food you buy at the cafeteria at work/school or in McDonald’s is processed, which is usually unhealthy.
• Save Money. Preparing breakfast is cheaper than buying breakfast on the road to work/school.

This post will help you build the habit of eating breakfast.

1. Make it Tasty. It’s easier to build the habit of eating breakfast if you eat foods you like. Check out these 7 breakfast recipes that build muscle. Go low carb if eating breakfast makes you sleepy: eggs & veggies.

2. Start Small. If you can force yourself to eat breakfast, do it. However slow progress works better to build habits. Start with a small breakfast, like 2 eggs instead of 6. Increase the meal size every 2 weeks.

3. Eat Less Before Bed. Big meals before bed time will mess with your sleep and make you less hungry on waking up. Avoid snacking in the middle of the night & eat light prior bed time. Example if you go to bed at 11pm:

• 7pm. Meat, veggies & brown rice.
• 10pm. Cottage cheese, berries, flax seeds & fish oil.
• 11pm. Sleep.
• 7am. Scrambled eggs.

4. Plan. Have the foods ready you need for breakfast. Rearrange your life so you don’t skip breakfast. Cut preparation time in the morning.

• Groceries. Buy what you need for 7 or 14 days breakfast. Don’t end up skipping breakfast because your fridge is empty.
• Wake up Earlier. 15mins earlier so you have time to eat breakfast & avoid morning stress. Go to bed earlier so you wake up on time.
• Prepare. Breakfast, stuff for work/school, clothes, etc. Prepare as much as possible the night before so you can sleep longer.

5. Persist. The best way to build the habit of eating breakfast, is to do it daily. Decide you want to build this habit. Whatever happens you’ll eat breakfast. Stick to your decision. Plan everything so you don’t miss breakfast.

Nausea happens. Drink water, take a shower, come back & try again. Still not hungry: eat it on the road to work/school. Eating healthy & going to sleep on time will take care of persistent nausea’s.

Bonus: The Lazy Man Muscle Building Breakfast. Prepare a protein shake the night before if you have problems waking up early. Keep it in the fridge & drink on waking up. Ingredients:

• Whey
• Kangen Water
• Rice Milk
• Steel Rolled Oats

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One Simple Trick to Stay Away From Junk Food

Staying away from junk food can be a challenge for anyone trying to eat more healthy. Try this easy trick to break the “junk food junkie” label.

Junk food.

Who doesn’t love it?

Potato chips, candy, soda, fried foods, french fries … Twinkies.

Let’s face it: If it wasn’t “junk” and terrible for our health and waistline, we’d eat it all day. Even the most fitness-conscious person will admit that if we could instantly make Snickers and Mountain Dew a health food, they’d be downing candy bars and soda in a second.

Problem is, you can’t lose fat or stay healthy on a diet of soda, snack cakes and fried potato products.

So how do you break the cycle?

Simple: You learn the fine art of “substitution.”

Why We Love Junk Food

There are a number of reasons we like junk food. These include the taste, the texture and even the way our genes have been coded. Our bodies have been “hardwired” over time to crave certain foods by nearly 200,000 years of evolutionary adaptation.


 The food industry knows this and design their foods to hit the tongue in areas that make us crave them. Junk foods typically are loaded with simple carbs and sugars, fats and sodium. At a very primitive level, our bodies love these things (as well as amino acids, often in the form of meat or eggs.) 


When we were hunters and gatherers, simple carbs and sugars gave us quick energy, fats provided us with long-term energy stores and prevented hunger, and sodium ensured that our cells regulated internal and external pressure. Amino acids from game helped build strength and muscle, which came in handy when hunting. Sodium also enhanced the flavor of foods and made them more palatable, which helped when your diet was primarily wild game, root vegetables or whatever else you could forage.

These factors were critical for our survival thousands of years ago, when our food supply was spotty, people needed sources of quick energy to hunt down game, vitamins and minerals were limited by geography (for example, if you didn’t live near an ocean, salt could be hard to come by) and foods were bland because of the scarcity of herbs and spices. So our cravings for salty, fatty and sugary foods may actually be our body’s mechanism to ensure that we get enough calories and macro- and micro-nutrients to survive. 


I’m not suggesting that we are genetically predisposed to eating junk food. There was no junk food available when our ancestors were hunting and gathering. But the reason that we find junk foods pleasurable today may be because they contain substances like sugar, salt and fat that our bodies require in varying amounts to survive, based on our activity levels. Remember that pleasure is nature’s way of encouraging a behavior, and pain is its way of discouraging it.

What Was Good for Us Then, Is Killing Us Now

Jump forward to 2008, and we face an obesity epidemic fueled by overly-processed snacks, junk food, and fast foods that are high in simple carbs, fats and sugar. We still have the tastes of our ancestors, but we are not nearly as active as they were. That means that the excess calories we consume in the form of sugars and fats from junk food get stored away as body fat (instead of being used for energy), contributing to a wide-range of serious health problems from diabetes, to heart disease, to cancer. Instead of helping us survive, our primal taste for sugars, salt and fat is killing us. Our environment and activity levels have changed, but we continue to eat like it’s 200,000 BP.

DID YOU KNOW? A February 2005 Wall Street Journal poll found that 83 percent of American adults believe “public schools need to do a better job of limiting children’s access to unhealthy foods like snack foods, sugary soft drinks and fast food.”

Why Junk Food Is “Empty”

Fighting your innate biological drive to enjoy more sugars, fats, and sodium is difficult. After all, your body has adapted over thousands of years to encourage it. You can condition yourself to get used to eating less of these foods (which will reduce cravings over time), but at a primitive level, restricting yourself for prolonged periods of time is generally ineffective. Each individual is different, as well, and some people have less cravings for fat or sugar than others. Others find it very difficult to give up junk food, even when highly motivated. The real problem with junk food is not necessarily that it contains sugar, fat or salt, but that modern food production techniques have stripped out many of the nutrients and fiber that exist in the whole food. So these processed foods contain extra sugar, salt and fat to make them more “satisfying” and flavorful. They also contain artificial flavorings or flavor enhancers to make them even more palatable.

The result is a food that tastes great, but is nutritionally incomplete. This is why soda, cakes, and potato chips are called “empty calories.”

Kicking The Junk Food Junkie Syndrome The Easy Way

The trick to ditching junk food is to substitute healthier, whole foods that mimic the flavors and textures of junk food. The foods that you substitute will still have certain attributes of junk food (saltiness, sweetness and fat), but they will be in a form that is more nutritionally dense. For example, if you love potato chips or french fries with a sandwich or burger, you can substitute foods like salted almonds or salted mixed nuts. Although the sodium content and fat content will still be fairly high in nuts, you’ll have shifted from consuming empty calories in the form of chips or french fries, to a nutritionally dense food that contains healthy fats and is rich in minerals. The saltiness and crunchiness of nuts can “substitute” for the same characteristics that you enjoy in a less-nutrient rich food like potato chips.

Other common junk food substitutes include:

• Greek Yogurt instead of regular yogurt or high-fat sour cream, here are Greek yogurt recipes
• Kangen water instead of sugary soda, sports drinks, flavored waters, filtered waters
• Naturally flavored instant oatmeal (try adding a organic raisins, almonds, stevia) instead of a cookie
• Lightly sweetened organic dark sipping cocoa instead of hot chocolate
• A scoop of chocolate whey powder with rice or almond milk instead of chocolate milk
• Sweet Potato fries, or Baked potato wedges with olive oil and sea salt instead of french fries
• Organic Apple slices or bananas with natural peanut butter instead of a snack cake after dinner
• Fresh or frozen berries or banana slices on whole grain cereal instead of sugary cereals
• Homemade healthy no bake cookies instead of the sugary, full-fat kind (or as a healthy alternative to expensive and sugary sports or nutrition bars)
• Low-sugar granola like Bear Naked fit granola or homemade granola instead of a brownie
• Kashi Chewy Go-Lean Bars or ProBar organic meal barsinstead of a candy bars,
• Healthy pizzas made with whole grain Lawash or flatbread, 2% mozzarella, jarred pizza sauce and low-fat ham instead of pepperoni cheese pizza, Kashi Mediterranean Original Crust Pizza is a great
• Meatless burger like Boca Burger instead of hamburger, or Extra Lean Ground turkey
• Healthy nachos made with baked tortilla chips, vegetarian or low-fat refried beans, extra-lean ground turkey, avocado slices and low-fat or 2% sharp cheddar cheese instead of Taco Bell nachos
• Natural popcorn with a few sprays of Extra Virgin Olive Oil Spray, Organic and Pink Hymalayin salt instead of the full-fat version

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: In general, processed foods are less “energy dense”, and "nutritionaly dense" like fresh fruits and vegetables: they also contain less water and fiber but more added fat and sugar, which makes them both less filling and more fattening. It has been well publicised that eating low density fruit and vegetables may help you to lose weight

What About Artificial Sweeteners and Fat Substitutes?

Since we are talking about substitutions for sugary, fat or salty foods, let’s quickly discuss artificial sweeteners and fat substitutes. On the surface, artificial sweeteners like NutraSweet® (aspartame), Sucralose, saccharine and Splenda, acesulfame potassium would seem to be a good fit as a substitute for sugar. NOT, studies show this sweetners are linked to numerous illness such as brain tumors, and cancer. Don't take chances, use a natural sweetner Stevia.

However, the goal of healthy substitution with junk food is the replacement of empty calories, with nutritionally-dense foods.

Even if you set aside the health and safety concerns associates with artificial sweeteners, you are still left with a food produced in a lab that has no nutritional value. Indeed, recent research has shown that consumption of artificial sweeteners may actually encourage people to gain fat, versus lose it. In terms of fat substitutes like Olestra, the same principle applies. Olestra is a fat substitute that passes through the body undigested. This means that doesn’t contribute any fat calories or nutritive value to the diet. Because it is nutritionally-empty, it doesn’t meet the criteria of a good “substitute” food. Indeed, because Olestra has a tendency to pull fat-soluble vitamins, undigested, along with it, manufacturers have to put additives in the food to facilitate the natural absorption of fat-soluble vitamins.

Olestra (not unlike artificial sweeteners) may encourage people to over-eat, because they believe that without any fat, they can eat as much food as they want. However, because it’s frequently used in conjunction with highly-processed foods like snack chips, you still are consuming high-glycemic carbohydrates and calories, regardless of the fact that it contains no fat.

The Takeaway: Say Goodbye to Junk Food and Hello To Healthy Food

“Fooling” your taste buds with nutritionally-dense substitutes for the pleasurable flavors and textures you find in junk food is one of the more effective long-term solutions for breaking your junk food habit once and for all.