More and more evidence is finding that artificial sweeteners increase your chances of gaining weight.
These artificial sweeteners go by the names “Nutrasweet,” “Splenda,” “Sweet and Low,” and “Aspartame.”
These foods include: breath mints, soft drinks, frozen ice, fruit spreads, ice creams, iced tea, hot chocolate, jams, syrups, nutrition bars and drinks and various sugar free products.
These are added as a replacement of sugar, which many dieters fear can contribute to weight gain.
But there have been many harmful effects attributed to natural sweeteners and recent research now shows that artificial sweeteners not only fail to help dieters lose weight, but can also lead to an increase in weight gain.
Potential side effects of aspartame
Aspartame is considered a neurotoxin by many scientists. Though not proven, many believe that aspartame can lead to brain damage.
The damage caused by aspartame can lead to problems such as seizures, lupus, Alzheimer’s disease and fibromyalgia.
Aspartame has also been reported to make it more difficult for diabetics to regulate their normal blood sugar levels.
Aspartame hurts diets, doesn’t help
Recent research has shown that aspartame can actually lead to an increase in weight gain rather than a decrease.
Research conducted on rats has shown that those that consumed zero-calorie artificial sweeteners consumed more calories than those that didn’t.
The belief is that these artificial sweeteners harmfully affect the body’s ability to regulate the intake of sugar.
Given the fact that the increase in the use of artificial sweeteners have happened simultaneously with the increase in obesity, this finding isn’t surprising.
Another strange and confusing discovery made about artificial sweeteners is that they do not lead to the normal rise in body temperature that rats normally experience after eating sugar. This indicates that the body is less able to break down artificial sweeteners.
Screwing up the system
When the body takes in normal sugars and other naturally sweet foods, the body prepares for a large increase in calories and revs up the digestive system in preparation.
When the artificially sweetened food is consumed, the body discovers that the sweetened food is not packed with calories. In some way, shape or form, the human body adapts to the low calories of the artificial sweetener. This causes the body to not metabolize sugars and instead store them.
Alternatives to artificial sweeteners
Xylitol is a sugar alcohol that is slowly absorbed into the body and has health benefits such as better teeth. Stevia is a sweet herb from South America that is considered sweeter than sugar.
All that’s needed is a few drops of stevia. Another alternative to artificial sweeteners is sugar. Yes, in small amounts, sugar is not that bad for you. In tiny amounts, sugar can even help energize you before a workout and increase the amount of weight burned.
