From the Adventist Review
My wife has switched from sugar to Splenda, which she now puts in the sugar bowl for all of us in the house to use by the teaspoonful instead of sugar. She is watching her weight, but I’m worried about cancer and things like that. Do I need to be concerned?
Splenda is an artificial sweetener that is sucralose (derived from sucrose) and when consumed is broken into normal metabolic products. We are unaware of any compelling evidence that sucralose correlates with cancer. Years ago, saccharin was thought to cause cancer in rats, but the dosaging was multiple times higher than humans would ever consume, making the study useless as a basis for advising patients.
The consumption of artificial sweeteners in the United States rose from 70 million to 160 million users between 1987 and 2000, so there are many consumers. The incidence of obesity went from 15 percent to 30 percent over the same time period.
Sugar substitutes can lower caloric density of foods and beverages; however, in uncoupling sweetness and energy, we may be doing ourselves a disfavor.
Rats fed sugar substitutes ate more food and gained more weight than rats fed sugar-sweetened food. Studies show that, while both are sweet on the tongue, they affect the brain differently. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), tests demonstrated that sugar engages the parts of the brain that respond to food rewards and then switch off the craving for more; whereas the artificial sweeteners do not.
It is likely that people using artificial sweeteners who tend to be overweight gain this extra weight at least partly because they are not satisfied with the food they eat.
Allan R. Handysides, M.B., Ch.B., FRCPC, FRCSC, FACOG, is director of the General Conference Health Ministries Department; Peter N. Landless, M.B., B.Ch., M.Med., F.C.P.(SA), F.A.C.C., is ICPA executive director and associate director of Health Ministries.
Send your questions to: Ask the Doctors, Adventist Review, 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, Maryland 20904. Or you may send your questions via e-mail to blackmers@gc.adventist.org. While this column is provided as a service to our readers, Drs. Landless and Handysides unfortunately cannot enter into personal and private communication with our readers. We recommend that you consult with your personal physician on all matters of your health.
Adventist Church in Serbia requests protection from international community
December 5, 2008
Belgrade, Servia ... [ Megan Brauner/Adventist News Network ]
Criminals broke windows, scrawled threats on walls and destroyed private property at five Seventh-day Adventist churches in Serbia last month, prompting church leaders in the region to appeal to the international community for help.
The latest acts of violence came after a year of escalating crimes against Adventists in Serbia, according to a statement released by church leaders in the South-East European region.
"We acquainted the ... authorities with these happenings, and because incidents like these are happening repeatedly, we decided that the measures taken are not efficient nor they are providing protection and safety to the church members and assets," president for the Adventist Church in South-East Europe Miodrag Zivanovic said in the appeal sent out Friday.
Zivanovic said the Serbian government has not taken steps to protect the Adventist Church against crime and violence, and local law enforcement has not tried to capture and punish the perpetrators.
"Serbia has been through difficult times for years. Some extremists believe they need a scapegoat, which they find in religious minorities," said John Graz, director for the world church's department of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty. "We are expecting the government of Serbia to respond to these aggressions, [and to] demonstrate to the world that it stands for religious freedom."
Copies of the appeal were sent to the Serbian government, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Council of Europe, the embassies for the United States, Germany and Australia, the Center for Development of Civil Society, and the Adventist world church headquarters.
Vandalism began in January 2008 when churches in the towns of Sivac, Kula and Kragujevac were sprayed with graffiti threats, the appeal said. In October, the windows of the Adventist church in Kragujevac were shattered, followed by breaking and entering at local church headquarters in Belgrade in November. The Belgrade vandals were caught on security camera as they damaged cars in the parking lot.
No arrests have been made at the time of the appeal.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Vietnam received official recognition last month, granting the church in the Southeast Asian nation legal status to operate, church officials said.
Leaders met in Ho Chi Minh City October 22 to 24 to elect officers during the first church constituency meeting in the country since 1975. The church's Executive Committee for the country is now seeking funds to purchase land for establishing a Bible school, a top priority for the worldwide Protestant denomination with 13,000 members in Vietnam.
"This is a dream come true for our members," said Khoi Tran, stewardship director for the church's Vietnamese Mission, who visited the church's world headquarters near Washington, D.C. on October 29.
"This session was a crucial step toward completing the legal procedures required for church recognition," Khoi said.
The committee elected Tran Cong Tan as president, Tran Thanh Truyen as secretary and Nguyen Thi Bach Tuyet as treasurer.
According to news agency VietnamNet, Nguyen Thanh Xuan, vice chairman of the Government's Committee for Religious Affairs, addressed the group, saying "The government's religious policies have helped religious organizations, including Protestant groups, to develop and actively participate in community activities."
"We have prayed and applied for church recognition for 33 years," Khoi said. "Now we'll be able to freely publish and distribute literature, and build new churches."
Vietnam has 50 cities and provinces and only 20 of these have an Adventist presence, mostly in the south and central regions. There are six Adventist church buildings in Vietnam and about 100 registered Adventist groups meeting in homes.
"Most important we'll be able to start a Bible school to train our young people to become Bible workers," Khoi said. "The work is expanding and we need many trained workers."
The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) has wrapped up a three-year project involving nutrition and agricultural education to 4,200 low-income families in the southern districts of Mwanza and Mulanje of
Malawi. The country has the eighth highest HIV/AIDS prevalence in the world, with 14 percent of the population infected.
As part of this project, HIV/AIDS affected families are learning to grow drought resistant crops, and protect stored food from pests, spoilage, and other hazards. Additionally, ADRA is promoting the planting of community gardens as a tool to increase food accessibility among villagers.
"One of the most important parts of achieving long-term success in the project is to strengthen the capacities of the communities, as well as the capacities of individual people," said Michael Usi, director for programs at ADRA Malawi.
ADRA is also providing livelihood training to child-headed households, enabling them to make a living and provide for their families. The AIDS pandemic has left thousands of orphans, resulting in large numbers of children acting as primary breadwinners for their families.
More than 120 children and young adults between the ages of 12 to 24 have received vocational and life skills training, such as tailoring, tinsmithing, baking, brick laying, welding and carpentry.
ADRA has also partnered with Malawi's Department of Social Welfare to encourage younger children to return to school, a plan that will allow them to only work for part of the day, and still support their families.
For more information, visit adra.org
Source: Adventist News Network, November 4, 2008
