It was combination of a sugar
shortage during the Second World War in addition to a societal shift to a thin frame
that first turned women to artificial sugar substitutes. Today, about one in five of us are
consuming artificial sweeteners through diet drinks, according to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, and the popularity of the beverages has
continued to increase in the past ten years. Sugar and other calorie sweeteners
like high fructose corn syrup have no doubt been casted as main villains for the
obesity epidemic. Talks of a fat tax for soda is enough to illustrate that
point I believe. Truth be told, sugar is actually a form of carbohydrate, which
is the preferred fuel source for our brains and muscles. But like any other
caloric nutrient consumed in excess it can most likely lead to weight gain. (More
truth to be told is that we tend to over consume on most all calories, not just
those from sugar).
A lot of people choose non-caloric
artificial sweeteners over sugar to lose or maintain weight. Some of the artificial
sweeteners we see in our food supply here in Canada include, aspartame,
sucralose, acesulfame potassium, and sugar alcohols such as xylitol, sorbitol, mannitol
and maltitol. With the exception of the last four ending in –ol, the rest don’t
contain any energy (i.e. calories). These artificial sweeteners have a
different chemical makeup from sugar, but don’t actually affect blood sugar the
same way as real sugar. The application of these low calorie sweeteners in
foods and beverages has continued to increase as have other aspects of the
typical Western diet as well. Foods come with variations in fat and
carbohydrate content, increased or decreased nutrients. All due to changing
lifestyles and attitudes toward food, and not to forget the rising cost of food
too. All a while these changes are happening, we have seen the prevalence of
overweight and obesity increase to about 70% of adults in our country.
The other truth is that analyses of
research tells us that low calorie do not affect appetite, provoke hunger,
overeating, or over stimulate taste receptors in our mouths. Which are some of
the proposed mechanisms as to how they might contribute to weight gain. There is a potential for artificial sweeteners to
have beneficial effects on energy intake, body weight, blood sugar and
blood fat levels, when in comparison to sugar. But that is as much as we know.
Right now the medical world doesn’t have any randomized controlled clinical
trials (the gold standard for science) concerning adults and low calorie
sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners are a relatively new addition to our food,
and we do need to learn more.
Consumers of diet beverages with artificial
sweetener tend to be both male and female, of non-Hispanic white ethnicity and
individuals who have higher levels of education and income may also be more
likely. It’s interesting to note that those who consume low calorie sweeteners also tend to consume more
fruit and vegetables, less sodium, and saturated fats and are overall more
physically active. But before you stock your fridge with artificially
sweetened foods and drinks, remember that many of these – be it sugar free ice
cream or fruit flavored drinks – aren’t always the most nutritious choice. If you are looking to lose weight and the
only approach you’re taking is replacing sugar with low calorie sweeteners,
then it’s safe to say you are likely to be unsuccessful in this approach.
Ordering
the Big Mac with large fries and balancing that off with a diet soda just isn’t
going to cut it. For any weight loss approach to be successful, be that low
calorie sweeteners, or the latest weight loss supplement, the approach needs to
be used with other lifestyle changes that focusing on good diet and increased activity.
As seen in The Telegram November 12, 2012
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