Artificial Sweeteners: WORSE for your health

One of the most popular “health food” products is diet soda. If you didn’t already know, diet soda is made with artificial sweeteners that have zero calories to replace the usual cane sugar or high fructose corn syrup, which are calorie rich. Because weight loss occurs in a calorie deficit, the theory behind diet soda is that you can still drink your favorite pop, but lose weight by consuming less calories. This almost sounds too good to be true- do diet sodas really have zero impact in regards to calories and metabolism?

More research is needed to fully understand the true impact of artificial sweeteners, but it is known that they have been linked to negative metabolic alterations. It is possible that they affect hunger and satiety cues, and possibly even our insulin response.

A few main takeaway points that researchers have found when removing artificial sweeteners from the diet:

Weight Loss

Those who removed artificial sweeteners from the diet saw a reduction in weight. This could be due to multiple different factors, including better blood sugar control, and feeling satisfied & full. Another factor could be that those who consume artificial sweeteners may feel like they can allow for more calories elsewhere since the artificially sweetened product was a “freebie”.

Better Blood Sugar Management

Insulin is what carries sugar out of the blood and stores it in our cells for energy. Although the artificial sweeteners do not have any sugar or calories, it seems that the body responds in a similar way as if sugar was eaten. This would mean that replacing regular sugar with artificial sweeteners is ineffective in terms of preventing insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

Better Eating Habits

Research found that those consuming artificial sweeteners ended up consuming more than double the amount of sugar over time, where the group avoiding artificial sweeteners maintained a steady intake of sugar. This could be because the artificial sweeteners have a similar effect on insulin as regular sugar, yet provide none of the sugar or calories. It could also be as simple as psychology and either not feeling satisfied by the artificial sweeteners, or, again, just allowing more sugar elsewhere since the artificially sweetened product was a “freebie”.

Research is back and forth on whether or not artificial sweeteners are “healthy”. There is a lot we still don’t know about how they affect the body- but based on the information we do have, it may be better to consume real sugar and calories in moderation rather than try to mimic our favorite treats calorie and sugar free.

Source used:Aragon A. Effects on Cardiometabolic Risk Factors After Reduction of Artificially Sweetened Beverage Consumption in Overweight Subjects. A randomised controlled trial. Alan Aragon’s Research Review. April 2022.