Artificial Sweeteners Increase Hunger / Food Intake

FIT_Goat

This is all over my feed today. I don't know how solid the research is, but my own experience found this true. I end up eating more when I include artificial sweeteners, and eat to satiety.

http://www.aol.com/article/2016/07/12/heres-proof-that-diet-soda-can-make-you-hungrier/21430885/

They gave fruit flies food laced with sucralose (brand name Splenda) for five days while a control group got food sweetened with table sugar. The Splenda flies ate 30 percent more calories than the control, and when they took away the artificially sweetened food, the effect vanished.

After looking at the flies' nerve impulses, they found that the brain's reward centers associate sweet tastes with the expectation that a flood of calories is coming. Since the artificially-sweetened food provides fewer calories than the brain expected, the brain puts out a call to get more food. As the lead researcher said in a release: "When sweetness versus energy is out of balance for a period of time, the brain recalibrates and increases total calories consumed."

They replicated the study in mice and got similar results: mice given food with fake sugar for seven days ate 50 percent more than mice given food with real sugar and the mice had the same nerve impulses involved. The researchers published their findings in the journal Cell Metabolism.

Scientific American says it's too early to fully apply these findings to humans but the case against artificial sweeteners is getting stronger by the day.

GaleHawkins

When I cut out sugar I did the same with all types of sweeteners but I can see their impact being a factor for some.

dmariet116

I don't use Splenda because I never liked the taste. Interesting study and it backs what they have been saying about diet sodas for quite some time. But.... humans have the ability to reason so if they choose to use artificial sweeteners, they should be aware they may have food cravings.
It would be awesome if they did a study on sugar/splenda/aspartame/stevia/erythritol to see if ALL sugar substitutes had the same results

karebear5891

I also wonder if you artificially sweeten something and give it healthy, filling calories if it would have the same effect. I.e. I put a pinch of stevia in my keto pancakes with healthy fat and close to 300 calories. Does my brain acknowledge that it's been fed and move on?

SuperCarLori

I use sucralose, and I don't really notice any hunger difference, now, I did eat some maltitol and it sent my hunger skyrocketing. Like always, it probably depends upon individuality.

tinywonder25

It just makes me incredibly sick. My body will not accept it. Never was a fan anyway. It's all very suspect to me.

Sunny_Bunny_

karebear5891 wrote: »

I also wonder if you artificially sweeten something and give it healthy, filling calories if it would have the same effect. I.e. I put a pinch of stevia in my keto pancakes with healthy fat and close to 300 calories. Does my brain acknowledge that it's been fed and move on?

That's basically how the flies were fed. It says their food was laced with sucralose. It was just in their normal food. The same food the other group was eating.

KnitOrMiss

Likely because the body recognizes the nutritional content it expects from the fat, from the protein, from the other carbs. So unless you could disguise calories to have no taste/feel/body recognition, there would NEVER be a solution... Interesting!

LINIA

So far i'm fine with using chocolate stevia in my decaf/coffee, prior to this woe added sugar in the raw to tea/coffee.
If not at home and want sweetness, will add a packet of splenda or equal, am having no cravings and think it really is all about high fat/adequate salt.

tribal351

I use stevia with fiber in my coffee, and drink a few non calorie flavored water through the day. Doesn't bother me, nor make me hungry. It does make water drinking more interesting, so I actually get my daily amount.

RowdysLady

I seem to feel hungrier if I drink a diet soda without something filling to go with it but I don't notice anything when I use sweeteners in foods.

kmn118

I use sucralose now, instead of aspartame, in my coffee. I must have sweetener in it! I have noticed only that I have no more headaches after switching from aspartame to sucralose. The stevia has a chemical taste to me.

Gallowmere1984

To be fair, Sucralose has also been fingered as the ingredient in Quest bars that cause them to spike blood sugar in diabetics, so if it's actually that, and not the IMOs, I wonder if there's something behind that one in particular.

neweuquol

Just my humble opinion but I intend to avoid artificial sweetenders. I think the human body is pretty smart and still sees it as sugar.

kirkor

Do other fruit fly studies corellate pretty well with humans?

KetoGirl83

"Artificial" anything can't be a good idea. If I want sweet I'll use a very small amount of raw cane sugar. Everything tastes sweet to me now so a little does go a long way.

::flowerforyou::