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Can Artificial Sweeteners Cause Obesity?
At first glance, it
makes sense that as obesity rates skyrocket, so does the consumption of
artificial, no-calorie sweeteners.
Obesity is similar to a U.F.O. sighting; everyone has a different theory. Some people say it’s too much fat, some say
it’s due to too many carbohydrates, and others say it’s all in our genes. It seems that the dramatic growth in
popularity of artificial sweeteners is a side-effect of the rise in obesity
but, could it be the other way around?
Could obesity be a side-effect of the consumption of fake sugar? Look at it this way, if artificial sweeteners
were doing anything at all to help people lose weight, why is the obesity rate
at an all-time high, despite the increased consumption of these chemical
concoctions?
The theory is that sugar
substitutes may cause people to overeat by interfering with the brain’s natural
ability to measure calories. Experiments
on rats have proved this theory to be correct and the findings were published
in February 2007 in a journal titled Behavioral
Neuroscience.
The rats were fed either
artificially sweetened yogurt or yogurt sweetened with real sugar, in addition
to their normal rodent diet. The rats
fed the artificially sweetened yogurt gained more weight and also seemed to
lose their natural ability to keep track of the calories they did eat. The reduced ability to regulate calories was
seen in as little as ten days.
In nature, sweet tastes are
associated with higher calories and the brain uses taste to predict the caloric
value of foods. When a no-calorie
sweetener is consumed, this natural mechanism is confused because sweet tastes
usually mean higher calories and yet, the sweetener contains zero calories. Chronic consumption of artificial sweeteners,
like drinking a diet soda every day, can permanently deprogram you body’s
natural calorie-counting mechanism and lead to chronic overeating and
weight-gain.
Bottom line here is to stick with
the real thing. Stevia is an excellent
choice for those looking for a natural no-calorie sweetener. The best sweeteners are raw sugar or raw
honey.
You may also want The Truth About High-Fructose Corn Syrup
before you go shopping.
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