Artificial sweeteners linked to risk of weight gain. Researchers looking at data gathered in previous studies reported a link between artificial sweeteners – ironically often associated with diet drinks – and weight gain.
They also found a link with type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and stroke. Let’s find out artificial sweeteners are good or bad ?
The best way to achieve and maintain a healthy weight and prevent type 2 diabetes is a combination of a healthy diet including at least five portions of fruit or vegetables a day, and regular exercise.
Artificial sweeteners simulate the sweet taste of sugar without all the calories found in table sugar and other calorie-laden sweeteners, such as high-fructose corn syrup. Also called sugar substitutes, artificial sweeteners are considered useful in fighting obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome, all of which are risk factors for heart disease.
Sweeteners have some adverse effects, which you should carefully consider before beginning regular use of these sugar substitutes.
Artificial sweeteners—provide many times the sweetness of table sugar. Because they are so intensely sweet, sugar substitutes enhance the sweetness of foods and beverages with few or no added calories, making them a popular diet food ingredient.
Some sugar substitutes derive from natural products while others are synthetic, but whatever their source, they may cause unhealthy side effects when included as part of your diet.
Saccharin
Saccharin, the sweetening agent in Sweet’N Low, offers 300 times the sweetness of table sugar.
Once linked with the development of bladder cancer in rats, saccharin is not a human carcinogen, explains the National Cancer Institute. However, if you are allergic to sulfa drugs, saccharin can cause itching and hives when ingested.
If you are sensitive to sulfa drugs, choose an artificial sweetener other than saccharin to avoid an allergic reaction.
Aspartame
Aspartame consists of two amino acids, aspartic acid, and phenylalanine, bonded together.
Marketed as NutraSweet or Equal, aspartame is 180 times sweeter than table sugar. The amino acids contribute calories to your diet, but the amount of aspartame eaten is generally low enough that the calories are negligible.
When ingested, aspartame breaks down into its component amino acids. The presence of phenylalanine in your diet is a health hazard if you have phenylketonuria, an inborn disease in which you are unable to properly metabolize phenylalanine.
The Mayo Clinic recommends avoiding any foods or medications containing aspartame if you are phenylketonuria.
Cyclamate
Currently banned in the U.S but approved as a food additive in 50 other countries, including Canada, cyclamate is 30 times sweeter than table sugar.
Health risks associated with cyclamate use include chromosome damage and bladder cancer. However, points out the American Council on Science and Health, no researchers have reproduced these results in subsequent studies on cyclamate ingestion.
With the health effects of cyclamate in dispute, err on the side of caution and avoid cyclamate if you are concerned about its possible health risks.
Polyols
Polyols are sugar alcohols such as xylitol, mannitol, and sorbitol. They occur naturally in foods such as apples and berries and are approximately as sweet as table sugar.
Polyols do contribute calories when eaten but, because they are not completely absorbed and metabolized by your body, they don’t add as many calories to your diet as regular sugar.
Exercise caution when using polyols as a sugar substitute, however, because in high doses they may cause a laxative effect.
Conclusion
In summary, If you are overweight or obese, the best way to lose weight is by combining dietary changes with more exercise.
Artificial sweeteners may have a stimulating effect on your appetite and, therefore, may play a role in weight gain.
Research is limited on the beneficial effects and the long term health risks associated with the ingestion of artificial sweeteners.
If you want to satisfy your sweet craving, use all-natural sugars. These sugars include agave syrup or crystals, local honey, maple syrup and Stevia.
These sugars are made by nature, not in a lab. These natural sugars do not undergo the high chemical processing of artificial sweeteners.
For your overall health, natural sugars should be used in moderation .
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