The Truth About Artificial Sweeteners

You have probably heard a lot about natural and artificial sweeteners.  With Americans getting fatter and fatter we tried to get sugar out of our diets in hopes that we could lose some weight.  Diet sodas and snacks were popping up everywhere.  It seemed like a good plan.  Reduce sugar, reduce calories and you will reduce your body weight.  But are these so called "healthy" sweeteners really helping us lose weight and are they even healthy for us?

First let's look at a few of the more common sweeteners:

1.  Aspartame (NutraSweet)

This is one of the most study sweeteners on the market.  It seems relatively safe to consume in moderate quantities, although those who suffer from  phenylketonuria (PKU), due to one poduct released during its breakdown should not consume it.  Aspartame is about 200 times sweeter than table sugar.  It also is the closest tasting approved artificial sweetener to sugar.  It is often combined with Acesulfame potassium, another artificial sweetener, for a taste even closer to sugar.  It was discovered by accident when a chemist was working on an anti-ulcer substance and licked his fingers.  Upon digestion it is broken down eventually into formaldehyde and formic acid.   And by the way, both of these can be toxic to humans. 

2.  Saccharin (Sweet-n-Low)

This was the first artificial sweetener on to hit the market.  It has zero calories and is hundreds of times sweeter than sugar.  Along with no calories it has no nutritional value.  You may even notice a bitter, metallic aftertaste.  Saccharin cannot be digested by the body but it can stimulate an insulin response, just like sugar does.  It is interesting to learn how saccharin was discovered.  In 1878 Constantin Fahlberg, a chemist working on coal tar derivatives, noticed his fingers tasted sweet.  He in no way was looking to create an artificial sweetener.  Coal tar derivative?  No thanks, I will take the extra calories with natural sugar instead.  Saccharin is also believed to cause cancer in rodents.

3.  Sucralose (Splenda)

Another artificial sweetener that cannot be absorbed by the body, hence it is zero calories.  It is approximately 600 times sweeter than sugar.  Sucralose can be found in more than 4,500 food and beverage products. It is used because it is a no-calorie sweetener, and does not promote dental cavities, is safe for consumption by diabetics, and does not affect insulin levels.  As in the previous two, it was discovered by accident when chemist were searching for ways to use sucrose as a chemical intermediate in non-traditional areas.  This new use was a type of pesticide.  While testing a chlorinated sugar compound one of the researchers tasted the substance and noticed it was particularly sweet.  Manufacturers of splenda actually add chlorine to it.  

Now that we learned a little about these sweeteners, we can have a better understanding of why we may or may not want to consume these.  Considering they were all discovered on accident by chemists it may raise some red flags.

It is also to look at some studies to see what the research has to say about artificial sweeteners.  There is an overwhelming amount of research out on the topic and unfortunately you will find conflicting information.  Here are a few studies I thought were worth noting however.

The first study from 2010 looked at aspartame, sucrose (table sugar), and stevia to compare the different effects on appetite, insulin response, energy intake, and glucose levels.  The study found that hunger levels were the same for all sweeteners used.  However their was less calories consumed when aspertame was used and even less calories when stevia was used.  Stevis also resulted in the lower insulin responses after consumption than their others and lower glucose levels.  So according to this study the natural sweetener of stevia may be the best choice.  

Another study observed a over 78,000 women for one year who used artificial sweeteners.  Their findings were that artificial sweetener use increased with relative weight and decreased with age.  These women were significantly more likely to gain weight than non users.  Their conclusion was that long-term artificial sweetener use neither helps weight loss or prevents weight gain.

So our "diet" foods and drinks may not actually help us diet at all.  Now this doesn't mean you can't lose weight consuming foods/beverages with artificial sweeteners.  There are a number of studies that show artificial sweeteners combined with a hypo caloric diet result in weight lose.  For these studies they make sure participants are not eating too much so they will lose weight.

But it is no guarantee that you will lose weight by switching sugar for artificial sweeteners.  The reasoning may not be so simple to explain, but it may be a neurological response from the body causing us to eat more when we consume artificial sweeteners.  When we consume foods, especially those with sugar, it activates the reward pathway in the brain.  We feel satisfied that we consumed the sugar and feel better.  Now over time, I have written before, this can be a problem.  Just like a drug we because less sensitive and need more sugar for the same pleasure response.  However, when you have sweetness without caloric content it offers partial activation of the food reward pathway.  This may lead to actual increase appetite.  Our body thinks we are getting sugar but with no nutritional value our brain will send the signal to get more sugar to satisfy us.

Also, artificial sweeteners, since they are sweet, encourage sugar craving and sugar dependence.  Repeating exposure to certain foods trains flavor preference.  So with a lot of artificial consumption, even though there are not calories, it will make you crave more sugar type foods, which leads to overeating.

So my personal habit is to try and pick regular sugar over any artificial sweetener.  That might sounds crazy, but I'm not consuming many foods that are high in simple sugars (besides fruits) and I'm not trying to lose weight.  (I know you all love hearing that).  If you are trying to lose weight then your best bet might be to find foods with stevia as the sweetener or use it instead of using sugar or artificial sweeteners.  Even using raw honey would be beneficial.

Well there is my opinion on the topic.  Unfortunately it is extremely hard to find foods without artificial sweeteners in them.  So you best bet is to stick with real foods more and stay away from low sugar snacks.

You Stay Healthy San Diego,

Mike Deibler MS, CSCS
San Diego Premier Training
My Workout Creator

The HCG Diet

It seems like every day there is a new diet out that some celebrity is claiming they are losing tons of fat, all due to some miracle diet plan they follow.  It is getting pretty ridiculous, but deceptive ads are fooling people into believing there is a magic cure for removing unwanted fat.  I've had a few people ask me about this diet lately and if it was really a good way to drop weight fast.  Here are some of my thoughts on the HCG Diet.

First a little background on what HCG is.  Human Chorionic Gonadotropin is a hormone that is produced during pregnancy by the embryo after conception.  It is also produced by some cancerous tumors.  In fact this is one hormone that doctors will test for to see if a person has a cancerous tumor.  It is suggested that high levels of HCG can cause morning sickness.  Not only that, but those who inject it may also experience other signs of pregnancy like tender breasts, water retention, and swelling.

So the HCG diet began back in the 1950's when a doctor was study a group of pregnant women in India on a ultra low calorie diet and while studying overweight men with pituitary problems.  Despite claims made after years of research their hasn't been anyone able to duplicate the success seen in the 1950's.

For this diet you either take injections of HCG or drops coupled with a 500 calorie a day diet.  The claims are that the injections will reduce hunger, preserve lean tissue, and "reset" your metabolism so you continue to lose weight after you take it.

The funny thing is, even the FDA, is calling B.S.  HCG is approved by the FDA for infertility purposes.  However, they have said it is illegal and fraudulent to sell it for weight loss purposes.  There is just no scientific evidence that it is safe or effective.  The HCG label actually states, there “is no substantial evidence that it increases weight-loss beyond that resulting from caloric restriction, that it causes a more attractive or ‘normal’ distribution of fat, or that it decreases the hunger and discomfort associated with calorie-restricted diets.”  Despite this doctors can still write prescriptions for it.

Side effects from taking HCG include headaches, blood clots, leg cramps, temporary hair thinning, constipation, and breast tenderness.  However, it has not been studied very much in this circumstance for side effects.  Researchers had determined it was not effective, so they saw no need to continue studying it for side effects when used for weight loss.

Hopefully after reading this you can see what my suggestion is for this diet.  There is just no need for this.  It is amazing that people will inject themselves with a hormone and go on a starvation diet to lose weight, instead of just exercising and eating more wholesome foods.  Once we see these claims for fast weight loss we tend to just stop thinking.  People who lose weight on this diet is because you are only eating 500 calories.  You are just starving yourself to lose weight.  Even if these injections helped with the hunger it just isn't worth it.  You will lose muscle mass and slow down your metabolism. 

Please, no matter how good it sounds, don't try this diet.  There is never going to be a magic diet that will get you looking like a supermodel.  Just continue to exercise intensely and more nutrient dense foods and you will be fine. 

So the short answer is yes you will lose weight fast on this diet, but how long will you keep this weight off since it is unrealistic to remain on a 500 calorie diet.

You Stay Healthy San Diego!

Mike Deibler MS, CSCS
San Diego Premier Training
My Workout Creator