Low-calorie sweeteners may make people fat

[cy]

ARTIFICIAL sweeteners have long been touted as being good for the calorie-conscious. Unfortunately, a study just published in Behavioral Neuroscience by Susan Swithers and Terry Davidson of Purdue University in Indiana suggests that such compounds may actually end up making people fatter than they otherwise would be.

Dr Swithers and Dr Davidson came to this conclusion after a series of experiments on rats. In addition to standard laboratory food, they fed some animals yogurt flavoured with saccharin, while others had yogurt flavoured to the same degree of sweetness with normal sugar.

The researchers then carried out two experiments on their animals. One merely tracked the rats' weight over five weeks. This found that rats eating sweetener gained more weight than those eating sugar. The other experiment was more subtle. After two weeks on yogurt, the rats were given an unexpected treat—a chocolate pudding loaded with calories. Both groups gobbled this up. However, those animals that had been eating sugared yogurt reduced the amount of yogurt they ate for their next meal in proportion to the number of chocolate-flavoured calories they had consumed. Those on the sweetener made no such adjustment.

Dr Swithers and Dr Davidson also measured the body temperatures of their charges before and during the chocolate meal. In normal animals the brain raises the body's temperature before and during eating. This is to prepare for the energy-intensive job of digestion. As expected, those rats on the sugar diet showed a normal temperature rise. Those on the sweetener, however, showed a diminished increase in temperature, suggesting that their physiology was in some way affected.

The cause, Dr Swithers and Dr Davidson think, is a disruption in the connection that the brain makes between sweetness and calories.

 

[PhantomPhoton]

I'll go on the soapbox here and say anyone with basic nutrition knowledge should know this.
Sugar isn't the only thing that makes one fat. And when we replace sugar in standard foods with artificial sweeteners we don't feel "full" after eating the artificial stuff. Our bodies aren't "programmed" to sense the artificial sweetener; so we eat all the other fat, other carbs and starch, etc in the food but don't feel as full because the lack of sugar.
This has been the problem with most every diet that only tries to manage one part of food but not another. Carb watching but not regulating lipid and protein intake for example.

:sigh:

Yep it pretty much comes down to calories vs just sugar.

 

[Flying Turtle]

I will definitely stay away from aspartame. A few years back I gobbled down a pack of Tic-Tacs and had the worst case of gas a couple hours later. Don't know if this is common or just my imagination.

Geoff

 

[jzmtl]

Hmm, just from the description I see more than one way the whole experiment is flawed. They are feeding rats only yogurt with sugar/sweetener, which doesn't reflect actual diet. Rats also have no conscience self control on not to eat too much while human do.

 

[Solstice]

I don't mean to start any major controversy here, but I will say that my 5+ years as a server in the food-service industry anecdotaly corroborates this finding. That is to say, the largest people seem to guzzle down diet coke after diet coke. Almost as soon as I put it down, I have to grab another. I also noticed this with my plus-sized ex-roommate who would drink at least a two-liter a day of the stuff.

I have certainly had my own issues with weight, and grew up a quintessential "fat kid." I used to drink a lot of regular soda, which is obviously no good. Then I switched to diet, but I stopped after I noticed a relation with headaches. At this point, I stick to water, the occasional juice, and good old fashioned beer! and am probably in the best shape of my life, even though I'm almost 30. Working out helps.

The short of it is- the less chemicals and processed foods you consume, in moderate portions, the better, no matter what it is.

 

[Norm]

I will definitely stay away from aspartame. A few years back I gobbled down a pack of Tic-Tacs and had the worst case of gas a couple hours later. Don't know if this is common or just my imagination.

Geoff

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tic_Tacs

Each Tic Tac weighs just under 0.5g. Since US federal regulations state that if a single serving contains less than 0.5g of sugars it is allowable to express the amount of sugar in a serving as zero[2], and since a single serving of Tic Tacs is a single Tic Tac, Tic Tacs are labeled in the US as containing zero sugar.

 

[nerdgineer]

Yeah, but sugar makes you fatter...

Despite the many diet products, there is no way around the basic math: fat gained = calories in - calories out.

We all actually do know how to lose weight, many just prefer to pretend that it's not so...

 

[Wattnot]

Based on what was stated above, and more, I gave up all artificial sweeteners last February. No significant weight change (I initally lost a couple of pounds).

The main reason was the possible brain effects talked about above (and more). My biggest concern is diabetes. Your mouth signals "here comes sugar" whether it's real or fake sugar. The body releases insulin (as well as other reactions) to deal with the sugar. When the insulin gets there and there is no sugar to process. . . I can see that as being a problem. The long term internal message is that the insulin isn't needed. When the insulin stops, you're a diabetic.

The first thing I noticed after being off the stuff for a couple of weeks was that I didn't need that much regular sugar to be satisifed anymore. I'm also hyper sensitive to the artifical stuff. It tastes WAY too sweet to me now. In giving up soda (because there is too much sugar in regular soda so I gave that up too) I tried to keep drinking "Fruit 2 O" (a flavored water drink with just a little fake sugar) but it tasted too weird and overly sweet.

I never thought I'd be able to give up the diet soda but it really wasn't that bad. I don't miss it much at all.

 

[Crenshaw]

the only reason i bother with artificial sweeteners is cos of coke zero.

i dont normally drink coke anyway, but when i feel like one, i dont realyl want the extra 300 or so calories, so i just get a coke zero.

Crenshaw

 

[LED_Thrift]

The least processed foods are the better. I believe that more natural sweetners, like sugar, are better in the long run than processed sweetners, and so I never use them. I don't allow them in my house, unless a guest brings some. After they leave I throw it out, and I'm kind of a fanatic about not throwing any food out.

I think a lot of the laws governing artificial sweetners were influenced by large corporate lobbyists.

 

[Jarl]

I think a lot of the laws governing artificial sweetners were influenced by large corporate lobbyists.

Surely that could NEVER happen? :duh2: :shrug:

In some senses, the exact conclusions of the study surprise me, but the idea that using sweeteners is bad for you strikes me as kind of obvious. People have been around for the last x thousand years, and eating sugar and sugar containing products for basically all of that. You'd have thought your body (delete as appropriate) has adapted/was designed to deal with sugar effectively, and then along comes this chemical that we've made in a lab somewhere, and it's meant to be better for us than what's been refined over thousands of years :thinking:


Personally I try to eat healthy, but when you're on a student budget it's a bit tricky sometimes... Do I buy lights or food? :thumbsup:

 

[LED_Thrift]

but when you're on a student budget it's a bit tricky sometimes... Do I buy lights or food? :thumbsup:

No brainer - but that's why you're still in school

 

[MarNav1]

Surely that could NEVER happen? :duh2: :shrug:

In some senses, the exact conclusions of the study surprise me, but the idea that using sweeteners is bad for you strikes me as kind of obvious. People have been around for the last x thousand years, and eating sugar and sugar containing products for basically all of that. You'd have thought your body (delete as appropriate) has adapted/was designed to deal with sugar effectively, and then along comes this chemical that we've made in a lab somewhere, and it's meant to be better for us than what's been refined over thousands of years :thinking:


Personally I try to eat healthy, but when you're on a student budget it's a bit tricky sometimes... Do I buy lights or food? :thumbsup:

Well lights of course! :naughty:

 

[Monocrom]

Anything that tastes good will make you fat. Anything that tastes bland or awful, will not help you to pack on the pounds.

Taste is directly related to weight.

 

[TITAN1833]

Anything that tastes good will make you fat. Anything that tastes bland or awful, will not help you to pack on the pounds.

Taste is directly related to weight.

That's right, I love lettuce I'm that light I can hop around all day long :twothumbs

 

[jtr1962]

Not surprising at all. Besides the mentioned effect of artificial sweeteners not making you feel as full (so you consume more), there is also the well known "negative calorie effect". Basically, a fat person somehow thinks the lower or zero calories in a diet soda offset the 1800 calories in that big bag of potato chips, or the gargantuan number of calories in those six Big Macs they have for lunch. Other negative effects of artificial sweeteners include possible long term health effects such as causing cancer. These chemicals just haven't been in use long enough to determine all of their harmful effects. Basicially, it's best to avoid ANY kind of artificial substitute whether it's artificial sweeteners, margarine, artificial coffee creamer, etc. You may save a few calories using these things but who knows what long-term harm you're doing to your body. Besides that, most substitutes taste like crap compared to the real thing.

Just to play fair regarding non-diet drinks, I feel high-fructose corn syrup should be banned just as trans-fats have been from other snack foods. Besides allowing sweetening of drinks (and calorie counts) to levels far beyond what is possible with sugar, again this is another ingredient with unknown long-term health effects. It may be "natural" but can still have harmful side effects if consumed in quantities far beyond what nature intended. High-fructose corn syrup has been added to any number of products with increasing frequency over the last ten years. It's no coincidence that I've felt increasingly lethargic during the same time period. And I'm sure other things have also been added to food which have synergistic harmful effects when combined with high-fructose corn syrup. Nevertheless, high-fructose corn syrup is high on the list of ingredients which should be banned from food. Besides the harmful effects, most sodas sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup are overly sweet and just taste "phony". Overcarbonation is another problem. I generally prefer store-brand soda as it usually isn't as sweet nor as carbonated. Coke/Pepsi are completely disgusting IMO. In some countries they use them to clean sidewalks which is about all they're good for.

Finally, lost in all this discussion of diet and obesity is the simple fact that we're focusing on the wrong side of the equation-intake. It's a fact that the average adult will not feel satisfied unless they take in 3000-4000 calories per day. This is why "diets" almost always fail. They make us do something as unnatural as perhaps trying to sleep only an hour a day. People simply have to make sure they burn those 3000-4000 calories and they won't get fat. Before the days of mechanized transport and office jobs that was fairly easy. Nowadays it requires some effort but it can be done. Make sure you walk about 6 miles (10,000 steps) daily for starters. This burns perhaps 500 calories or more. After that do something else to burn an additional 1500 calories. Bike 20 miles at a fairly decent pace, or some similar aerobic activity for an equal amount of time. Push for mandatory exercise periods at school or work if you're one of those who can't motivate themselves to exercise. Do all that and you can eat pretty much what you want. Do less and you're stuck feeling forever food-deprived. As a bonus exercise sometimes acts as an appetite-suppresent.

 

[Monocrom]

Not surprising at all. Besides the mentioned effect of artificial sweeteners not making you feel as full (so you consume more), there is also the well known "negative calorie effect". Basically, a fat person somehow thinks the lower or zero calories in a diet soda offset the 1800 calories in that big bag of potato chips, or the gargantuan number of calories in those six Big Macs they have for lunch.

An unfortunate assumption that many people make. Speaking as someone who was once fat, and could probably stand to still lose a couple of pounds, I just didn't care. Being fat doesn't reduce a person's IQ to the point they honestly believe that a diet drink will off-set the huge meal at Mickey D's or BK. Making a law that forces places to list the calorie numbers of everything on the menu is just plain stupid. Who goes to a fast food place for health, or calorie-counting? It's like walking into a Chevy dealership and telling the salesman, "What's the fuel-economy on this fully loaded Corvette? I really need to know that before I consider buying it."

Same thing with fat folks and fast food places. Yeah, the food is unhealthy. They know it.... and they don't care.

 

[jtr1962]

Same thing with fat folks and fast food places. Yeah, the food is unhealthy. They know it.... and they don't care.

There's probably a bit more to it than that. Granted, many overweight people I've known suffer from the type of low self-esteem you describe. They don't care that the food makes them fat because it's the only thing in their lives which gives them any pleasure. In addition, observing my father for many years it seems there's also obsessive-compulsive behavoir involved. He just couldn't control his food intake because so many aspects of his life revolved around eating as part of doing something else. It just became a pattern. IMO these two things are what separate someone who gradually packed on a few extra pounds, perhaps due to gradually decreasing activity, from someone who is grossly overweight. Unfortunately, I've also seen firsthand that there are really few cures once you get to that point. These people have gotten to the point where their bodies tell them they need to take in 10,000 or 15,000 calories daily. No amount of exercise can burn that off.

Ironically, most of the people who might care that fast food places now post calorie information are those least likely to overindulge in the food in the first place. Yeah, I look at the calorie info in BK. Then again, the once or twice a month I go there to get a pair of Whopper Juniors (no fries, no soda) isn't going to affect me one bit.