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.
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
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