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Artificial sweeteners

Artificial sweeteners are synthetic sugar substitute that duplicates the effect of sugar in taste. The use of nonnutritive sweeteners began with the need for cost reduction and continued with the need for calorie reduction. Today, thanks to our dieting obsessed society, they have found their way into many processed foods. They are inexpensive and often allow food producers to claim their products as light, low calorie, or even healthy. 

The facts about the safety of these artificial sweeteners are not clear-cut. Though the FDA has approved all sugar substitutes currently on the market, there have still been numerous consumer complaints and many health professionals recommend that consumers avoid all artificially sweetened products. Because even though the FDA approves the individual additives, there are no studies that examine the effect of the chemical cocktail many consumers are daily drinking and eating thanks to excessive amounts of additives in processed food. Some animal and human studies indicate that artificial sweeteners can even cause weight gain. A sweet taste induces an insulin response, which causes blood sugar to be stored in tissues. Because blood sugar does not increase with artificial sugars, there is a hypoglycemic response to the release of insulin that results in a feeling of sluggishness and hunger followed by an increase in food intake the next time there is a meal. Another possible relationship between artificial sweeteners and weight gain is the impact that a high amount of sweet taste has on how much we need to feel satisfied. It has been found that repeated exposure to a flavor trains flavor preferences. The most convincing argument against artificial sweeteners that I see is that despite the increasing numbers of low sugar, low calorie, and “light” products, there are still increasing numbers of obesity. Artificial sweeteners and other diet foods have not helped to decrease obesity contrary to the claims of the food industry. 

The best thing to do is avoid all artificial sweeteners. They have no nutritional value. Earlier studies have shown that those who drank more than one soft drink a day, whether regular or diet were more likely than non-drinkers to have metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome leads to more than one risk factor for diabetes and heart disease. It encompasses high blood pressure, elevated blood fats, and low levels of good cholesterol, high fasting blood sugar, and large waists.