Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Do Non-Nutritive Sweeteners Aid In Weight Loss?

You know that long running joke about people who go to a restaurant and order a giant burger and fries, then a diet Coke? We see it all the time. It really doesn't make sense, does it? I mean, if you're going to gorge on a giant burger and a large fries, do you really think that buying the diet drink is really going to help make it all better? It turns out, some people really do. Research apparently suggests that many individuals believe that diet sodas "cancel-out" excess calories consumed through food.


Source: iStockPhoto

Although I do have to say that if you're going to buy (and eat) a very high calorie and fat meal, it's not such a bad thing to then buy a "diet soda". While it may seem counterproductive, it's better than adding more salt to the wound!


Non-nutritive sweeteners (those that do not provide any calories) were initially designed to promote weight loss and/or weight management, but do they? Today's Dietitian Magazine recently posted an article about whether or not calorie-free sweeteners help people lose weight. The bottom line was that the jury is still out. Some research shows that they do help with weight loss, but other research shows that they do not. In my opinion, it depends on the self-control of the person using the sweetener, as well as the attention that is paid to what they are putting in their mouth!

Much of the research has been done on whether or not non-nutritive sweeteners actually make you feel hungrier. Once again, the jury is still out (but from the article it seems like most research indicates no increase in hunger). The following are some tips on how to use non-nutritive (artificial or natural) sweeteners to your advantage.


Source: iStockPhoto

  • Don't fall into the "fat free" trap or the "I exercised, so I can eat what I want" trap. I've met many people who will buy fat free versions of their favorite foods, and then eat twice as much, therefore defeating the purpose of buying the fat free (or reduced fat) food. Similarly, I have met people (Nick being one of them, at times...) who will workout hard one day only to go through the day thinking, "I worked out hard today, I deserve to eat this food!". Once again, that defeats most of the purpose of the workout. Non-nutritive sweeteners also provide a perfect opportunity for a "trap". People may eat something or drink something that is "diet" and therefore they might subconsciously eat more at their next meal simply because they figure they can because their last snack (or drink) was low calorie or calorie free. Come on, we've all done it! But really, doesn't that defeat the purpose?

  • If you are using non-nutritive sweeteners for weight loss or weight management, use them to replace sugar in your diet, not to allow more sweets in your diet. You've all met that person who is a sugar addict. Hey, it may even be you! So, these non-nutritive sweeteners start to pop up on the shelves and all of a sudden you can eat more sweet foods, but without all the guilt! You'll still eat that cake every day after lunch, and you'll still drink that pop for dinner, but now instead of drinking your coffee black, you'll make it "sweet" by adding a non-nutritive sweetener, and then instead of drinking water with lunch, you'll allow yourself a pop, but it'll be diet. So, you have used non-nutritive sweeteners to get more of that sweet taste, not to cut down on your sugar intake. Not so effective.
Source: iStockPhoto

  • Watch out for that placebo effect. Ok, so what I mean by that is this; When you drink a diet drink, which contains artificial or even natural calorie-free sweeteners, do you feel more hungry afterwards? I don't think I ever did, until I started reading research that basically said, "artificial and natural non-calorie sweeteners make our brain confused by providing something sweet with zero calories, therefore making us crave more sugar". So, now that I've read that, the placebo effect has kicked in and whenever I drink a diet pop I seem to think I'm more hungry afterwards. Darn you research! I think what I'm trying to get at here is that the effects of artificial and natural non-calorie sweeteners, in my opinion, are all in our head. I think that now when I do use non-nutritive sweeteners, I assume I must be hungrier afterwards, only because some research has shown that. Anyone else with me on this?!?! Annoying!
QUESTION: Do you use non-nutritive sweeteners? What are your thoughts on them? Good, bad, neutral? I like the more natural non-nutritive sweeteners, such as the ones that use Stevia as the main ingredient. To me they taste like sugar, and I can use them to replace sugar in most everything I eat. I am very diligent about watching my sugar intake, so the natural non-nutritive sweeteners (used in moderation) really work for me in my efforts to maintain a healthy weight.

15 comments :

  1. I'm always torn with this. I'm super skeptical about putting chemicals into my body that come from non-nutritive sweeteners like Aspartame. But will a diet soda kill you once in awhile, and if you're only rarely drinking a soda, would diet be better than regular? This, I'm not sure. I trust Stevia a little more, and wish more diet beverages would use Stevia. I'd never switch all together from sugar though. If I'm going to indulge in a dessert, I want it to be sugar-laced and full of quality ingredients.

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  2. i used to be a splenda whore and then it started hurting my stomach so bad! checked out the fod and turns out its on there haha so now i only use stevia. i don't follow the fod strict but if something bothers my stomach i check to see if its on the list, confirm that it is and limit it haha. i'm FURIOUS about the coconut flour though! i was seriously in love with it but it gave me a birth baby now i have no idea what to do with the damn two packages of it i bought haha

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  3. this is such a great post gina! i do not believe in eating fake sweeteners ever. i think it is better to have a bit of honey, sugar or agave and enjoy it than to consume something fake. never liked diet soda either-yuck!

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  4. I used to be addicted to sweetner, i thought i was making a healthy choice by adding it to my foods. thankfully, now i know better and avoid it all together. (except for a once in a blue moon diet dr pepper when i need a kick at work :) )

    thanks for the informative post!

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  5. I haven't tried Stevia yet but in general I avoid sweeteners because they bother my stomach and I don't eat that much sugar anyway so it's not a big deal (in my mind) to have a little of the regular stuff. However, I've never been able to handle the sugar in soda and therefore used to have an occasional diet coke, it definitely never made me more hungry :) I think you are right that it's more the idea of "I did something great by having a 0 calorie drink, now I can eat all this" haha.

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  6. I don't actually use any sweeteners; I used to back in the day eat or drink sugarfree/diet foods that used splenda or aspartame- but the taste is just off and it hurts my stomach like no other (and gives me a terrible headache) so I try to avoid artificial sweeteners.

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  7. I only use stevia to sweeten things, and I'm using less and less each time! :)
    I know how bad s white sugar so I try to avoid it as much as I can. I'm lucky that I don't have sweet tooth except for chocolate, so it's easy to avoid sugar.

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  8. I use splenda and sometimes sweet n low. Splenda is for coffee, sweet n low is for iced teas.

    I wonder how many packets is "too much?"

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  9. I'm so against all "the packets". I feel sweet begets sweet and these super-sweet additives only intensify sweet cravings. Aside from appetite, to me diet coke should be called "diet cancer" when I put it that way clients often decide it's time to "break up".

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  10. I don't use non-nutritive sweeteners any longer. I gave them up probably about 4 years ago. I'm pretty sure I over-consumed them for quite a few years before realizing they were having an adverse effect including headaches. I do however have "diet cancer" ever once in awhile. No matter how bad it potentially is for some reason I still have one every other week or so.

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  11. You know, I think it depends how much you use those sweeteners. If it's like 1-2 packs a day, just use sugar!

    And your first bullet is one I totally relate to training clients. A lot of people really underestimate the calories they take in after a workout.

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  12. Like you, I also use stevia to sweeten my morning coffee or plain yogurt. I'm not sure that I trust artificial sweeteners because there is so much controversy surrounding them. To play it safe I just try to avoid them as much as possible. Great post!

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  13. I use to use artificial sweeteners but I gave them up and I feel so much better. I also think real food tastes better!

    I do use a little Stevia in my coffee but otherwise I use honey, sugar, maple syrup and Agave.

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  14. Fantastic post Gina! Thank you! I used to drink a fair amount of diet soda. But not long ago, I read about a study that linked artificial sweeteners to a HUGE increased stroke risk. That shook me up and I now have mineral water if I go out and need something fizzy. Also, a friend of mine is fighting cancer and she has consulted a nutritionist who gave the green light to stevia. Artificial sweeteners and any processed sugar, like white sugar, normal brown sugar and agave were pulled from her diet. All the info can be a bit overwhelming, so posts like yours really help bring it all together. Have a great day.

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