Deadly Sweet

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What’s sweeter than sugar, calorie free, and wrapped in a weight-loss lie? If you guessed any sort of “diet dessert” you are right on track. If you’ve ever tried to lose weight you might have considered eating some of your favorite foods anyway but just switching to the “diet” version of that product. Diet soda, for example, is supposed to preserve the flavor you love so much but without any of the pesky calories you are attempting to cut out. If you ever thought to yourself, “Man, this seems too good to be true…” You were, in fact, correct. Studies from as far back as 1987 and as recently as last month, shine light on the fallacy of artificial sweeteners. Not only is your sugar-free product not likely to help you lose weight but it may cause the opposite effect! Even more notable is the possibility that it may cause a wide spectrum of even more serious health issues that go beyond obesity and its complications! 

The most common artificial sweeteners are saccharin, acesulfame, aspartame, neotame, and sucralose. These sweeteners have been approved for use by the FDA but each carries its own list of concerning statistics. All artificial sweeteners are considered to be potentially addictive and to reduce the body’s sensitivity to natural sweetness. This causes whole foods like fruit to be less appealing and foods that aren’t sweet at all to hold even less appeal. Sucralose in particular was noted in one study to increase the amount of food women and those overweight consumed by sending “hunger signals” to the brain, which encouraged the consumption of more calories overall than the control group. Saccharin in a study using lab rats was found to be more addictive than cocaine. Neotame, probably one of the newest additions to this group, is under scrutiny for a noticeable disruption of gut bacteria and negative effects to the gut microbiome and metabolism. Acesulfame has shown a similar propensity to cause a perturbation of the gut biome and has been linked to weight gain as a result. 

Last but not least, the most popular artificial sweetener, aspartame. You’ve probably heard a number or things for and against this additive but here are a few quick highlights. In 1987 there were hundreds of cases linking Nutrasweet (aspartame) to seizures and partial or full blindness! Eliminating the sweetener from the diet often resulted in full or partial recovery and the cessation of symptoms. In 1997 several studies linked Aspartame to not only brain tumors but also neuropsychiatric reactions from headaches to seizures, confusion, depression and even the acceleration of Alzheimer’s disease. The overwhelming recommendation was the removal of aspartame products from public use. In the early 2000s, the studies were a mix of industry-sponsored ones claiming aspartame was safe and independent studies reiterating the conclusions of the previous two decades. In the last 5 years, the list of countries banning Aspartame has grown but the US isn’t currently among them. Whatever side of this ongoing controversy you decide to stand on, there is definitely less risk in limiting or eliminating aspartame as much as possible. 

Artificial sweeteners might claim to carry very few or even zero calories but are they worth it if even a fraction of the claims and studies over the last 4 decades are true? Especially if their ultimate purpose, creating a way to consume sweet food while still losing weight, does not pan out? For the average person, eating real sugar in moderation may just be the safest option for now. Even better, we could eliminate processed sugars altogether and stick to whole foods! Fiber filled fruit for the win!

““Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.””
— Mahatma Gandhi