Artificial Sweeteners Make You Fat

ProTFitness

http://www.mohrresults.com/nutrition/are-artificial-sweeteners-bad-for-you-part-1/

Artificial Sweeteners Make You Fat

Late last year, I’m sitting in an office building with the agent of an NFL Player and the player himself. We were working together to help the player lose weight.

While there was some initial success, he hit a little plateau. His agent asked the player "what are you drinking?"

"Crystal Light, diet soda, and water only. Chris said no liquid calories."

And his agent blew through the roof — "NO WONDER HE ISN’T LOSING" he said to me, "I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU TOLD HIM HE CAN USE ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS. Didn’t you see the report — artificial sweeteners cause you to GAIN weight more than regular sugar!!!"

And that’s when it got a little awkward in the room.

But that’s how the meeting started. And I’m now put on defense to defend my position…in front of the player himself who I did in fact tell "no liquid calories" because soft drinks and slurpees were a regular addition to the daily diet.

In another post I talked about if you should use Stevia. And just last week I talked about the new study suggesting artificial sweeteners cause heart disease. But now we’re shifting our focus to cover some more specifics about sweeteners — and there are a bunch, like Acesulfame potassium (Ace-K), Sucralose, Saccharin, and Aspartame.

Are they a better option than calorie containing sugar options when trying to lose weight and burn belly fat?

Let’s delve into them a bit and discuss some of the realities and myths with calorie free sweeteners.

Each of the artificial sweeteners has an "acceptable daily intake" (ADI) — meaning according to the FDA, you should not consume MORE than the amounts listed below per day.

•Aspartame (Nutrasweet, Equal) = 18-19 cans of diet cola
•Saccharin (Sweet ‘N Low) = 9 to 12 packets
•Acesulfame K (Sunett, Sweet One) = 30-32 cans diet lemon-lime soda
•Sucralose (Splenda) = 6 cans diet cola
Fair enough? Now depending on who you talk to, or what you read, you’ll hear all different opinions — "I only use sucralose, because xxxx" or "stevia is natural, so I use that…"

If you look at the values above, you may notice that according to the ADIs, the max for Splenda is just 6 cans of diet cola/day, whereas Equal is 18-19 cans. Does that mean Splenda is more of a concern than Equal? It might.

But as a side note, if you’re drinking THAT many diet colas/day, your diet needs an overhaul as there are absolutely zero positive qualities to diet colas (or any diet soda for that matter).

Let’s cover a few of these in more detail.

Sucralose (Splenda):

While this one has received safety approval from the FDA, it’s surely not without controversy. Picking sides with this is like jumping in to the Health Care Reform debate!

But I’m ready to go for it.

First, the upside of Sucralose:

•it has virtually no aftertaste
•it’s stable when heated so you can cook and bake with it
•it’s stable at different acidities (pHs) so it can be added to things like lemon juice without affecting its sweetness
•it has a proven track record of safety in many research studies.
Cons:

•anecdotally (meaning personal stories) have tied intake to migraine headaches
•may affect healthy bacteria in the gut, according to animal data
•it may cause weight gain?
This last one is a bit more controversial. In a nutshell, one study using rats fed them different quantities of sucralose. At the end of the 24 week study, the rats consuming sucralose gained weight compared to the ones that didn’t take any in. And that’s the study this players agent was referring to.

Weird. Zero calories, how can it cause dangerous belly fat to creep up on us?

I will say at this time I’m not impressed with the data showing artificial sweeteners cause us to gain belly fat … I clearly need to see more research to support this theory. The thought was that while artificial sweeteners themselves don’t have calories, they "trick" the body into craving more sweet foods…

…voila, belly fat and overall weight gain is through the roof.

It’s correlation data, but if I remember anything from statistics, it’s that correlation doesn’t mean causation. In a nutshell, the correlation that those who used diet soda weighed more doesn’t mean the diet soda itself caused them to gain weight. More research clearly needs to expore this. Keep in mind, also, that the doses used in this particular study were very high if we tried to extrapolate these findings to humans. At this point I just don’t buy into that conclusions of this data and am surely calling for more. That’s what I said to this players agent.

Again, another red flag for me here is that the "maximum" recommendation is 6 cans of diet cola — for some, that’s a ton, but for others, that’s breakfast. Regulate your intake!

By the way, the agent and I never did come to an agreement — I’m still 100% confident that to have a person switch from 1-2L of regular soda each day (what this player drank) to diet soda is a huge positive step. Perfect? Nope. Better. Absolutely.

Aspartame (Nutrasweet, Equal):

You’ve seen the little pink packets … pink packets of poison, according to some. Like the others, this has the stamp of approval from the FDA. But opponents of this suggest it causes migraines, causes cancer,brain tumors, and evil belly fat.

Like the others, the research is mixed — some studies show a negative effect, others show a positive effect.

I hate to give the "more research is necessary" answer, but, well, it’s the best answer to give.

I talked about my feelings on the weight gain and artificial sweeteners with sucralose.

As for cancer — it’s a hard one to pin down. These data are all done in animals, usually given very high doses, to see what happens.

For some reason the review boards look very unfavorably at loading up humans with artificial sweeteners and seeing if they cause cancer (please read that with the intended sarcasm); therefore, we’re reliant on animal data. But even if there is that chance, that concerns me … stamp of approval or not!

Like I mentioned in another blog about sugar and high fructose corn syrup, I don’t like the idea of artificial … I don’t want artificial ingredients in my body and try to limit them as much as possible. I do that by knowing what I’m eating, being able to pronounce all ingredients, and eating foods as close to the earth as possible.

With that said, I AM supportive of making the transition to calorie free drinks if someone is a regular soft drink (or juice, or sweetened tea) drinker …

But as a whole, artificial sweeteners aren’t a favorite.

We also have yet to find one without an off flavor. Call us crazy, but we want to eat a food that, well, tastes like food — not have some bitter aftertaste that’s CLOSE to being real, but not quite there.

I’d personally rather have a REAL sweetener, infrequently. Moderation. That’s a very unsexy word in marketing and the media, but it’s true.

You want a cookie?

Eat a cookie — occasionally.

Is a fat free, sugar free, calorie free flavored chocolate chunk piece of cardboard REALLY going to help out your desire for a cookie?

Not a chance.

Eat the real thing, on occasion, then get over it. Fair enough?

Eating real foods is what will help you live as healthfully as possible, burn belly fat, and look and feel great!

Tomhusker

No wonder I am so fat. That 1 TBSP of sweet & low I use when I make a 3 qt. pitcher of tea twice a week is the culprit..... :P

jennybenny76

I know of someone that will consume or drink (4) 2 Liter bottles of Diet Coke in a 5 day period... and I told them there is no way that can be healthy... thir response... it has zero calories!! My response but yeah something just doesnt seem right by drinking that much soda.. diet or not!!

Heatherbelle_87

Ok an yet he said in the article that he needs to see more research that artificial sugar is actually the CAUSE of the belly fat. Actually, he pointed out that more research needs to be done on every controversial sticking point of fake sugar.

and to quote

By the way, the agent and I never did come to an agreement — I’m still 100% confident that to have a person switch from 1-2L of regular soda each day (what this player drank) to diet soda is a huge positive step. Perfect? Nope. Better. Absolutely.

Its still a better step if you are using it as a tool to wean yourself down from an excessive sugar intake.

Incredibly misleading title.

On a side note, when I want something sweet I eat the real thing, period, I dont see the point of "diet" junk food

monstercakes

Stevia sweetener is a gift from god >__<

sleepy7

and causes cancer. stay away!

boilermakerblaw

Take whichever side you want for now, but until there's definitive peer reviewed literature other than correlations proving evidence on this topic one way or the other...I'm not sold.

rileysowner

More balanced than most articles I have seen on this particular topic. Thanks for posting.

ProTFitness

I know of someone that will consume or drink (4) 2 Liter bottles of Diet Coke in a 5 day period... and I told them there is no way that can be healthy... thir response... it has zero calories!! My response but yeah something just doesnt seem right by drinking that much soda.. diet or not!!

I always say Zero Calories does not mean Zero Problems!

Sonchie

I love this! I know I lost 100 pounds with the help of artificial sweeteners. 90% of what I drink is water but I dont have a problem having a crystal light or splenda in my coffee.
However to support the idea that people who drink diet drinks are unhealthier, I will say my husband drinks nothing but diet soda...right along side his double cheeseburger, fries and milkshake.
Is it the diet soda making him chubby? Duh!
Long story short. Moderation in everything!

ProTFitness

The Truth About Stevia—The So-called "Healthy" Alternative Sweetener


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By NATALIE DIGATE MUTH, M.D., M.P.H., R.D.


Americans now can get their calorie-free sugar fix from an all-natural alternative to artificial sweeteners. Once limited to the health-food market as an unapproved herb, the plant-derived sweetener known as stevia is now widely available and rapidly replacing artificial sweeteners in consumer products. Thirty times sweeter than sugar and with no effect on blood sugar and little aftertaste, stevia sales are predicted to reach about $700 million in the next few years, according to the agribusiness finance giant Rabobank.

Stevia’s history goes back to ancient times. Grown naturally in tropical climates, stevia is an herb in the chrysanthemum family that grows wild as a small shrub in Paraguay and Brazil, though it can easily be cultivated elsewhere. Paraguayans have used stevia as a food sweetener for centuries while other countries, including Brazil, Korea, Japan, China and much of South America, have a shorter, though still long-standing, record of stevia use.

Stevia’s Rocky History With the FDA
Though widely available throughout the world, in 1991 stevia was banned in the U.S. due to early studies that suggested the sweetener may cause cancer. A follow-up study refuted the initial study and in 1995, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowed stevia to be imported and sold as a food supplement, but not as a sweetener. Several companies argued to the FDA that stevia should be categorized similarly to its artificial-sweetener cousins as “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS). Substances that are considered GRAS have been determined to be safe through expert consensus, scientific review or widespread use without negative complications. They are exempt from the rigorous approval process required for food additives. If designated as GRAS, stevia could be used as a sweetener in a wide variety of food products and beverages. In December 2008, the FDA accepted this argument, declared stevia GRAS, and allowed its use in mainstream U.S. food production. It has taken food manufacturers a couple of years to work out the right formulations, but stevia is now present in a number of foods and beverages in the U.S., including Gatorade’s G2, VitaminWater Zero, SoBe Lifewater Zero, Crystal Light and Sprite Green. Around the world it has been used in soft drinks, chewing gums, wines, yogurts, candies and many other products. Stevia powder can also be used for cooking and baking (in markedly decreased amounts compared to table sugar due to its high sweetness potency).

In its initial form, Stevia was sold as a ground-up powder of the stevia plant leaves. Though sweet, the powder also had a bitter aftertaste (mostly attributed to a compound found in the stevia plant called stevioside), which limited its acceptability as a sugar substitute for the health-store-shopping crowd. But now manufacturers have figured out how to retain the sweet taste and all of stevia’s benefits without the aftertaste. There are more than 100 species of stevia plant, but one stands out for its excellent properties as a sweetener—stevia rebaudiana, which contains the compound rebaudioside A, the sweetest-flavored component of the stevia leaf. Rebaudioside A acts chemically similar to sugar in onset, intensity and duration of sweetness, and is free of aftertaste. A majority of stevia-sweetened products contain mostly extracted Rebaudioside A with some proportion of stevioside, which is a white crystalline compound present in stevia that tastes 100 to 300 times sweeter than table sugar.
Stevia is marketed under the trade names of Truvia (Coca-Cola and agricultural giant Cargill), PureVia (PepsiCo and Whole Earth Sweetener Company), and SweetLeaf (Wisdom Natural Brands). Despite the three different names, the sweetener is essentially the same product, each containing slightly different proportions of rebaudioside A and stevioside. Both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo intend to use stevia as a soft-drink sweetener in the U.S., but haven’t yet unveiled their stevia-sweetened versions of Coke or Pepsi.

But is it Safe?
Though stevia is most likely as safe as artificial sweeteners (or more so), few long-term studies have been done to document its health effects in humans. A review conducted by toxicologists at UCLA, which was commissioned by nutrition advocate Center for Science in the Public Interest (Kobylewski & Eckhert, 2008), raised concerns that stevia could contribute to cancer. The authors noted that in some test tube and animal studies, stevioside (but not rebaudioside A) caused genetic mutations, chromosome damage and DNA breakage. These changes presumably could contribute to malignancy, though no one has actually studied if these compounds cause cancer in animal models. Notably, initial concerns that stevia may reduce fertility or worsen diabetes seem to have been put to rest after a few good studies showed no negative outcomes. In fact, one study of human subjects showed that treatment with stevia may improve glucose tolerance. Another found that stevia may induce the pancreas to release insulin, thus potentially serving as a treatment for type 2 diabetes. (These studies are reviewed in Goyal, Samsher and Goyal, 2010.) After artificial sweeteners were banned in Japan more than 40 years ago, the Japanese began to sweeten their foods with stevia. And while they have conducted more than 40,000 clinical studies on stevia and concluded that it is safe for human use, there is a general lack of long-term studies on stevia’s use and effects.

All in all, stevia’s sweet taste and all-natural origins make it a popular sugar substitute. With little long-term outcomes data available on the plant extract, it is possible that stevia in large quantities could have harmful effects. However, it seems safe to say that when consumed in reasonable amounts, stevia may be an exceptional natural plant-based sugar substitute. Check the label next time you eat a favorite low-calorie sweet. You’re likely to find stevia near the top of the ingredient list.

References
Goyal, S.K., Samsher and Goyal, R.K. (2010). Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) a bio-sweetener: A review. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, 61, 1, 1-10.
Kobylewski, S. and Eckhert, C.D. (2008). Toxicology of rabaudioside A: A review. Retrieved July 20, 2011.

______________________________________________________________

Natalie Digate Muth, M.D., M.P.H., R.D., is a pediatrics resident at UCLA Medical Center, a registered dietitian and a spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise (ACE). She holds fitness certifications from ACE, the American College of Sports Medicine, and the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

Noles61703

I did hear that because artificial sweeteners ARE sweet, they prime the brain/body to prepare for sugar or sweetness and the appropriate chemicals are released. But then no sugar is every consumed, and so your body continues to release chemicals in preparation for the sweetness. So this can cause wierd fluxuations in blood sugar throughout the day. Many people report that after consuming artificial sweeteners, they actually have increased cravings for sweets during the day, likely because their body is still anticipating the "sugar rush". Anyways, this is just a though and something I had heard about.

Bankman1989

I know of someone that will consume or drink (4) 2 Liter bottles of Diet Coke in a 5 day period... and I told them there is no way that can be healthy... thir response... it has zero calories!! My response but yeah something just doesnt seem right by drinking that much soda.. diet or not!!

Good LORD that's a lot of soda! I do put sweet and low in my coffee and I will drink maybe 1 12 oz diet pepsi every other day (or use it for my rum chaser..lol).

I was reading an article recently that stated the foods that people choose WITH the diet cokes etc are the real reason. They will order a Big Mac Large fries and a sensible diet coke to go along with that. So they aren't adding any calories to the 1,200 they just consumed.

boilermakerblaw

I did hear that because artificial sweeteners ARE sweet, they prime the brain/body to prepare for sugar or sweetness and the appropriate chemicals are released. But then no sugar is every consumed, and so your body continues to release chemicals in preparation for the sweetness. So this can cause wierd fluxuations in blood sugar throughout the day. Many people report that after consuming artificial sweeteners, they actually have increased cravings for sweets during the day, likely because their body is still anticipating the "sugar rush". Anyways, this is just a though and something I had heard about.

I actually *did* see this study and it was interesting! But I just wish people would report the facts instead of perpetuating the things that aren't necessarily true...like I've always craved sweet foods and sometimes drinking a diet coke will stop me from eating something like candy or something sugary instead...I don't know though I guess its different in different individuals! Like, I wouldn't think someone who didn't like sweets would have a problem with soda in the first place if they *didn't* like sweets in the first place.

FearAnLoathing

OMG it makes you fat!?! how ever did I lose 62 pounds then? I drink 1 to 2 diet sodas a day,I never crave sweets.

FearAnLoathing

and causes cancer. stay away!

absolutly no proof of that

Heatherbelle_87

OMG it makes you fat!?! how ever did I lose 62 pounds then? I drink 1 to 2 diet sodas a day,I never crave sweets.

I love you. Seriously. I hate things being spread with no valid medical proof. Half assed studies are NOT valid medical proof!

mrschappet

I love this! I know I lost 100 pounds with the help of artificial sweeteners. 90% of what I drink is water but I dont have a problem having a crystal light or splenda in my coffee.
However to support the idea that people who drink diet drinks are unhealthier, I will say my husband drinks nothing but diet soda...right along side his double cheeseburger, fries and milkshake.
Is it the diet soda making him chubby? Duh!
Long story short. Moderation in everything!

LOL no offense but I never understood that. People will consume most junky of junk food and then have a diet soda... ???? really what is a real soda gonna hurt in addition to that nasty food your about to devour?

semhe

hahahahahaha, rite.... that one packet of sweet n low in my coffee must be it.... not the salty fried foods, lack of excersize, fats and sugars

SiltyPigeon

<

---

Do I look fat to you? Cuz I drink 1 (very occasionally 2!!) diet soda's per day. I like diet soda. I don't crave sweets any more or less when I drink diet soda than I otherwise do. Any claims otherwise are silly.

CaWaterBug8

BUMP

SiltyPigeon

BUMP

/\ Probably caused by artificial sweeteners.

Sonchie

I love this! I know I lost 100 pounds with the help of artificial sweeteners. 90% of what I drink is water but I dont have a problem having a crystal light or splenda in my coffee.
However to support the idea that people who drink diet drinks are unhealthier, I will say my husband drinks nothing but diet soda...right along side his double cheeseburger, fries and milkshake.
Is it the diet soda making him chubby? Duh!
Long story short. Moderation in everything!

LOL no offense but I never understood that. People will consume most junky of junk food and then have a diet soda... ???? really what is a real soda gonna hurt in addition to that nasty food your about to devour?

agree! I dont know what hes thinking. Just making a point that maybe this is one good reason why people drinking diet soda are unhealthy.

bcattoes

So, it wasn't the pizza and lack of exercise? It was artificial sweeteners? Whew!! When I get home tonight I'm ordering a large pizza, putting my feet up and enjoying it with a nice big milkshake instead of a diet drink. Skinny, here I come!!

JenaePavlak

I actually have a huge addiction to soda.. and since cans are free at work, I end up drinking a lot more... It averages 8-10 cans of soda a day.. today, I've had 5 so far, and I will probably have 4-5 more... Anyways.. the last few years, I've switched to diet soda only, and have lost almost 30 lbs... I'm not ready to give it up yet, but I don't crave sweets and eat pretty healthy otherwise (once a week have a cookie, and never eat fast food except for an occasional chicken breast sand at Subway)

I almost don't want to hear about all these studies because ignorance is bliss... lol! I almost want to find a study and be apart of it... have them learn from me for being a heavy diet soda drinker.. maybe I can get paid for a bad habit!

circusmom

I am 2lbs from my goal weight, and the whole time I've been drinking Crystal Light, sometimes as much as 2 quarts a day. My hubby stopped drinking sweet tea and replaced it with Crystal light and has dropped 15lbs, he hasn't changed anything else in his lifestyle, just what he drinks.
I think this science is slightly flawed to say the least, but thanks for the info all the same!!!

agthorn

Huh, my BMI is 21.5 and I'm very close to getting under 20% body fat. I have splenda in my coffee every morning, two packets of Crystal Light at work every day, and Mio in pretty much every glass of water I drink at home.