Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan announced in his 2016 budget speech, that a tax on sugar- sweetened beverages will be levied with effect from 1 April 2017.
The reason? to reduce sugar consumption, which is linked to high 
instances of conditions such as obesity and diabetes, because these non-communicable diseases strain the financial and human resources of health care systems. Another possible reason could be that it is estimated, that the tax could bring in an estimated R7-billion in additional revenues each year!
Hopefully this tax will deter people from buying sugar-sweetened beverages, but will they turn to diet drinks sweetened with artificial sweeteners instead?
There is a common misconception that diet drinks are a healthier option, but are they? Studies have found that artificial sweeteners such as aspartame can stimulate your appetite, increase your craving for carbohydrate and stimulate fat storage and weight gain.
A 2015 study published in the British Medical Journal concluded that both artificially sweetened beverages and fruit juice were unlikely to be healthy alternatives to sugar sweetened beverages for the prevention of type 2 diabetes. http://www.bmj.com/content/351/bmj.h3576
A greater concern should be: We don’t know how much sugar,nd artificial and other sugar substitutes are added to most processed food, before we buy them. Eg. chewing gum, baked food, sweets, fruit juice, ice cream and yogurt. They’re usually marketed as “sugar-free” or “diet,”
Suggestion.
Why not see the sugar tax as an opportunity to make some improvements in your health?
21 Day Action Challenge: Kick the fizzy drink habit for the next 21 days!
If you want to look and feel better, have more vitality & energy and be more effective at work, call Arthur for an appointment. Healthy balanced eating is one of the elements dealt with in all our Reflexology and Craniosacral therapy treatments.
