The truth about artificial sweeteners and weight loss

Read on to know how artificial sweeteners can affect our body weight.

The thumb rule to lose weight is to cut down on the calorie intake. Many people use no-calorie sweeteners as a replacement for regular sugar. However, there are reports that the use of artificial sweeteners can, in fact, lead to weight gain instead of weight loss.

Some of the most popular artificial sweeteners available in the market are:

Aspartame (Equal, Nutrasweet, Sugar Twin). It is 200 times sweeter than sugar.

Saccharin (Sweet and Low, Sweet Twin, Sweet’N Low, Necta Sweet). It is 200 to 700 times sweeter than sugar.

Stevia (Truvia, Enliten, PureVia). It is 200 to 400 times sweeter than sugar.

Sucralose (Splenda). It is 600 times sweeter than sugar.

Ace-K (Sunett, Sweet-1). It is 200 times sweeter than sugar.

Advantame. It is 20,000 times sweeter than sugar.

All of the above sweeteners are considered safe to use by the FDA. However, the FDA recommends prohibiting the use of cyclamate, whole-leaf, and crude stevia extracts as sweeteners. People who have PKU (phenylketonuria) should avoid consuming aspartame and foods contains aspartame. However, in general, it is advised to be cautious about the use of artificial sweeteners as few studies have found a relationship between aspartame intake and many serious diseases such as cancer.

Regarding the relationship between artificial sweeteners with weight gain, it has been found that people who use sweeteners end up consuming more food and calories that results in weight gain. Also, these sweeteners are way sweeter than sugar and train our brain to crave extremely sweet foods.

Here are the tips to cut down on the use of sweeteners.

Eat slowly. Try to eat slowly and eat the only half portion of what you desire to eat. This practice of mindful eating is quite beneficial to cut down on calories and food intake.

Eat healthily. Include healthier food products such as healthy fats to curb the craving for sugar.

Use deadlines. Give yourself practical deadlines such as to give up sugar completely for two weeks. You must try to stick to deadlines and do not cheat during this time period.

Seek help. It is best to seek help from a professional nutritionist or a dietician who can help you to achieve your goals better.