diet drinks

I saw this on line and found it interesting. Maybe it will help.

Drink a diet soda. Gain weight.

If you're like most Americans, you're trying to lose weight. And if you're like most Americans trying to lose weight, you're probably drinking diet sodas.

Perhaps you should stop.

That's because a new study in Behavioral Neuroscience provides some laboratory evidence that the use of artificial sweeteners may make it more difficult for people to control their eating, and therefore actually lead to weight gain. This has been hinted at in other studies as well.

Here's a snippet from a summary of the new study:

Psychologists at Purdue University reported that relative to rats that ate yogurt sweetened with glucose (a simple sugar with 15 calories/teaspoon, the same as table sugar), rats given yogurt sweetened with zero-calorie saccharin later consumed more calories, gained more weight, put on more body fat, and didn't make up for it by cutting back later, all at levels of statistical significance.

Authors Susan Swithers and Terry Davidson surmised that by breaking the connection between a sweet sensation and high-calorie food, the use of saccharin changes the body's ability to regulate intake. That change depends on experience.

Problems with self-regulation might explain in part why obesity has risen in parallel with the use of artificial sweeteners. It also might explain why, says Swithers, scientific consensus on human use of artificial sweeteners is inconclusive, with various studies finding evidence of weight loss, weight gain or little effect. Because people may have different experiences with artificial and natural sweeteners, human studies that don't take into account prior consumption may produce a variety of outcomes.

Seems counterintuitive, no? But I think the research is probably valid, and would hold up in humans. I think this because I see people consuming a Diet Coke when they want to satisfy a craving for something sweet. For many, however, the diet drink will not satisfy their hunger, and only make them eat more later to satisfy that craving.

If the research is valid we can probably draw two other conclusions. First, don't substitute a Coke for a Diet Coke. It's probably more important to eat a snack (something sweet is OK, but better if it has fiber and/or protein) that might be more satisfying than a beverage. And second, diet drinks are still appropriate for dieters who are counting calories, and doing so rigorously.