Can Artificial Sweeteners Make You Fat?

Posted by headsup

February 29, 2008

Respect Yourself: Be The Best You Can Be with Caroline Phipps

Can Artificial Sweeteners Make You Fat?

Have you ever noticed that people who substitute sugar for the fake versions like Sweet’N Low, Equal and Splenda, aren’t necessarily the svelt and healthy human beings the advertising industry would suggest? Millions of us take this route on the path to health and wellness with all the best intentions in the world. How fabulous to indulge our taste for sweet things (and humans have always sought out sweet things – even before we started refining sugar) without the dreaded caloric implications. It sounds perfect doesn’t it? A wonderful version of action without consequence.

A new study by The Purdue University has throws much light on this apparent contradiction. Their findings have led to the conclusion that including artificial sweeteners in your diet actually does have a consequence for the body. Of course this story begins with a whole bunch of rats in a laboratory and the problems they encountered on such substances.

The rats were divided into two teams: The Sugary Food Team and the Sugar Substitute Team. Sadly for the rats they did not get to choose which group to join! Those eating the substitutes had larger appetites and got heavier than those on the real thing. After devouring their artificially sweetened meal, they would still be hungry and go back for seconds, thirds and so on.
Why is this?

Our bodies (and those of rats) are biologically programmed to associate a sweet taste with calories consumed. If this link is broken, by regularly providing the body with a sweet taste and no calories, our bodies get very confused and we keep searching for more food because we feel hungry.

On top of this sorry state of affairs, The Sugar Substitute Team didn’t experience the same metabolic increase that usually occurs after eating a meal, and so they used up fewer calories. This fusion of events, bigger appetite and a slow down in metabolic rate, added up to only one thing, fat rats. And this means that when we persistently play games with our biological responses by using sugar substitutes we may run the risk of weight gain.

What can be done? We know that eating too much sugar is bad for us. It enters the blood stream quickly and sends the blood sugar level way high and then it drops off rapidly. This leads to a rollercoaster of emotional and physical side effects. With this in mind, why not experiment with some of these delicious natural substitutes:

1. Agave Nectar
2. Brown Rice Syrup
3. Date Sugar
4. Raw Honey
5. 100% Pure Maple Syrup
6. 100% Maple Sugar
7. Molasses
8. Stevia

Please contact me for more information about sweet things and if you would like a free health counseling session and to hear about my 12 Session Program. You can visit my website www.carolinephipps.com, email me at caroline@carolinephipps.com or call
845-677-4624.