Artificial Sweeteners and Weight Loss

Posted by: lucas on October 14, 2011 Under: weight loss supplements|

When it comes to weight gain, sweet and sugary foods are some of the worst culprits. From sugar-glazed donuts to double fudge ice cream to sodas packed with high fructose corn syrup, few foods have the capability to induce quick weight gain the way sugary treats do. Foods heavy in simple carbohydrates—like those packed with sugars—cause rapid spikes in blood sugar levels, which stimulate the production of insulin in the beta cells of the pancreas. Insulin helps us by carrying sugar into cells to be used as energy, but unfortunately it also promotes the storage of fat. That’s where artificial sweeteners come in: by offering a way to satisfy your sweet tooth without causing spikes in blood sugar or weight gain, they almost seem too good to be true. Yet artificial sweeteners are surrounded by controversy. Can these substances really be used as one component of successful weight loss programs?

Artificial Sweeteners and Weight Loss: The Roundup

Before we can discuss artificial sweeteners, we must first identify them. The sweeteners identified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration include aspartame, sucralose, saccharin, acesulfame potassium, and d-tagatose. Artificial sweeteners are those which have been created in laboratories by scientists, as opposed to reduced-calorie sweeteners such as sorbitol, which are sugar alcohols that are not artificially created but are still not quite the same as naturally occurring sugars such as those in fruits.

Some common brand names of artificial sweeteners include Splenda (sucralose), Nutrasweet and Equal (aspartame), Sweet ‘N Low (saccharin). Sucralose can be obtained in powdered form and is often used in baking in place of sugar, while aspartame is the most common sweetener used today for zero-calorie “diet” versions of sodas.

Artificial Sweeteners and Weight Loss: Are They Safe, and Can They Help?

These food additives have been attacked for years, with an endless number of claims that they cause cancer and other serious illnesses. It certainly seems that artificial sweeteners—substances cooked up in a lab by scientists—could have the potential to cause some unnatural side effects. However, the FDA’s job is to thoroughly test any substance that is sold for consumption by humans, and the consensus is that all the artificial sweeteners currently on the market are safe for use in humans.

Aspartame, especially, has come under fire for supposedly causing cancer, yet the FDA has tested aspartame more than any other substance and found over and over again that it’s safe as long as we don’t consume a tremendous amount (the equivalent of 20 cans of diet soda per day).

Artificial sweeteners do have a place in weight loss programs, especially to those who have a sweet tooth and who already have a habit of eating sugary foods. Drinking diet soda can be an easy way to cut a hundred calories from your diet, assuming you normally drink two cans of full-sugar soda every day. Baking with sucralose can also help satisfy your cravings for sweet treats such as cookies and cake while keeping your calorie budget in check.

Of course, artificial sweeteners aren’t a magic bullet for weight loss. They don’t actually promote weight loss themselves, and even though they’re safe, it’s always better to consume full, nutritionally-sound food than artificial ones. However, artificial sweeteners can certainly be one helpful component in weight loss plans.