Artificial sweeteners offer a sweet taste without a high caloric intake. Considering this, many believe them to be helpful during weight loss. The average can of a carbonated drink contains 150 calories where a majority of the calories come from its sugar content. Likewise, diet drinks offer zero calories. Thereby, the better option is obvious.
According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and American Heart Association (AHA), individuals can take artificial sweeteners instead of sugar to effectively counter metabolic syndrome, obesity and diabetes. All of the three are linked to cardiac ailments.
According to Dr. Christopher Gardner, an associate professor at Stanford University in California stated, “While they are not magic bullets, smart use of non-nutritive sweeteners could help you reduce added sugars in your diet, therefore lowering the number of calories you eat. Reducing calories could help you attain and maintain a healthy body weight and thereby lower your risk of heart disease and diabetes.”
All Artificial Sweeteners Are Not Safe
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved five artificial sweeteners that are safe for consumption. These artificial sweeteners are:
Saccharin
Acesulfame
Aspartame
Sucralose
Stevia
However, it is quite difficult to understand how the human brain and body responds to sweeteners.
A major concern regarding artificial sweeteners is that it may replace the lost calories through other sources. This can harm weight loss or affect health benefits. For instance, humans like to fool themselves. “Since I am consuming diet coke, a slice of cake won’t harm.”
Moreover, such sweeteners can also change our taste buds. A sweetener is far stronger than corn syrup or table sugar. A small amount of sweetener can produce an overpowering taste in contrast to normal sugar without the calories. Therefore, over-stimulation of sugar receptors in case of frequent use can affect the way our taste buds respond. This means, individuals who consume artificial sweeteners may find fruits and vegetables bland and unpalatable.
Hence, artificial sweeteners can change the way you respond to certain foods. This promotes unhealthy eating practices with little to no nutritional value.