Artificial Sweeteners Uncovered: Impact on Weight Loss & Healthier Options
Read Time: 3min 30 Sec
We all are looking for tips and tricks to cut the weight off us. Cutting calories by eliminating sugar is one of the most common discussions for weight loss and instead using artificial sweeteners. Multiple other names for artificial sweeteners are low-calorie sweeteners, sugar substitutes, non-nutritive sweeteners, and high-intensity sweeteners.
Tell me what you know about the different artificial sweeteners.
Artificial sweeteners are well artificial, as created with chemicals in the lab. For example, the first artificial sweetener, Saccharin, was produced in a lab over a century ago, in 1879, and has been approved and regulated by US FDA( Food and Drug Administration). Non-nutritive sweeteners do not contain calories or sugar and are non-nutritious, as in do not contain any other nutrients such as fiber, anti-oxidants, vitamins, or minerals. The six artificial sweeteners are [1]
Sucralose (Splenda)
Aspartame (Equal, Nutrasweet)
Saccharin (Sweet' N Low)
Acesulfame potassium (Sunnett, Sweet One)
Neotame (Newtame)
Advantame
The above non-nutritive sweeteners, when added to food, add sweetness without the added calories with the addition of a small amount. For example, Sweet'N low is 700 times sweeter than sugar, Splenda is 600 times sweeter than sugar, and Equal is 200 times sweeter than sugar.
That means no calories equals no weight gain, correct?
Well, it is more complex than that with the story of artificial sweeteners. MRIs of the brain reward center respond differently to a solution with sugar vs. a solution with Saccharin, reported by a study in 2011. The group that received natural sugar showed an MRI of the brain activated, which signals fullness and satisfies the craving for sweet food.
In contrast, the brain signal was less for fullness and satisfaction for the group receiving Saccharin and caused people to crave more sweet foods. The sweet flavors tell the brain and the gut that high-caloric food arrives when you use artificial sweeteners regularly. But then, sadly, the calories do not come, and you may end up eating more calories. On the other hand, other studies observed weight loss or weight maintenance with the consumption of drinks with artificial sweeteners in the long term due to a reduction in daily caloric intake by replacing sugar.
And then, the study published by the American Heart Association observed over 200 adults that used to consume at least one sugary beverage a day previously over a year. The three groups of adults in this study either consumed low-calorie drinks such as diet coke or diet Pepsi to replace their daily consumption of the sugary beverage, another group consumed either sparkling water or plain water, and the third group continued to drink their daily usual sugary drinks. After a year, there was no significant weight gain or significant changes among the three groups in their cholesterol. But the most glaring finding was when they specifically saw people with the most abdominal fat benefitted the most when switching from regular drinks to artificial sweeteners or best when switching to water. As people with large amounts of abdominal fat continued to consume common sugary beverages, they gained 10 pounds.
And there is evidence that the increased intake of artificial sweeteners creates chaos for the gut bacteria and increases one particular gut bacteria, Bacteroides, which is proficient at pulling energy out of food to reserve it as fat.
So then the answer is no more Splenda in my coffee in bed?
If you drink large amounts of sugary beverages daily, diet beverages containing artificial sweeteners are slightly better. But the eventual answer is to wean yourself off the sodas(regular and diet). Use raw honey, pure maple syrup, vanilla extract, almond extract, and cinnamon ( read here ) to add sweetness to your coffee. For your oatmeal, natural fruits, such as bananas and dates, as a better alternative to sugar. Add to your yogurt the strawberries, raspberries, or blueberries.
In conclusion, artificial sweeteners are a better option than regular sugar, especially when drinking the calories in sodas such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, or Mountain Dew occasionally. But in the long haul, the answer is to discontinue the artificial sweeteners in large amounts and add other nutritive sweeteners such as fruits and raw honey (1-2 teaspoons a day), and maybe better to use Stevia or monk fruit ( which we shall discuss at another time).
I hope your cup of coffee with Splenda didn't get cold while you were reading this; if you were, you might not need it anymore.
References:
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Additional Information about High-Intensity Sweeteners Permitted for Use in Food in the United States https://www.fda.gov/food/ingredientspackaginglabeling/foodadditivesingredients/ucm397725.htm.
Green E, Murphy C. Altered processing of sweet taste in the brain of diet soda drinkers. Physiology and Behavior. May 2012.
National research center. Artificial Sweeteners: Are They Helping You Lose Weight or Gain it? 12 June 2012. Retrieved at: http://www.center4research.org/2012/06/artificial-sweeteners-are-they-h…
