Artificial Sweeteners, what’s the deal?

Posted by marieClairvoyant on Sep 1, 2010 in hot topics | 0 comments

“Happy Spring Day!” statuses filled up my news feed page this morning on my networking account. Having had woken up at an ungodly hour to catch the bus before dawn break, I had anything but a spring in my step. But then it hit- spring is here. That means next is…. Summer. Beach season. OMG. I’m just not ready. Heading to the office I grab my usual Coke- but this time I opt for Coke Light. Does this even make a difference?

Naturally if you’re eating take-out each evening, a diet coke won’t change much. But for someone who is on a semi-controlled “diet”, how beneficial are these diet substitutes, not only for my belly, but my health too? Thedailybeast.com recently featured an article that spoke about this very topic. High intensity sweeteners such as aspartame, sucralose, saccharin and stevia, have all, over the years gotten a bad rep. From rumours of being carcinogens, to actually adding on weight as opposed to help keep it off- I want to know what’s the real deal?

Dr. Susan Roberts sets the record straight.  After presenting a long shpeel about lab rat tests, the conclusion in basically this: Artificial sweeteners may actually make you crave more food but, may, over time, make us like the real thing less. Another purpose for artificial sweeteners is, for those of us with a sweet tooth looking to lose a few cm’s around the waist, going cold turkey on your vice may be more harmful than anything else. Diet cokes etc in this case, would aid to wean you off your guilty pleasures- think of it as your meds-substitute to an addiction, tricking your brain into believing it’s getting what the body craves, when in fact you’re getting a whole lot less added calories. Dr. Roberts goes on to say that there is no proof that states artificial sweeteners are cancer-causing-agents, however, high intensity sweeteners have a different metabolic and chemical structures which might have different effects on certain people.

So, to answer my own question- yes, it could make a difference, in moderation and as a strict replacement to your usual sweet dependence. And after all that… I got a coffee instead.

Lauren Joubert -CPT