How Artificial Sweeteners Are Making You Fat
In my practice as a nutritionist and personal trainer, new clients are always coming to me telling me they are doing everything they are “supposed” to be doing, but still, do not lose weight. Of course, this is frustrating. Losing weight is hard enough, and to change your eating habits and still see no results, that’s even more frustrating.
Why do these people not lose weight? If I had to pick the most common reason why most people’s efforts have proved no results, I would say it is the deception of artificial sweeteners and processed diet foods. Yes, you heard right. It is the diet coke, diet snacks, processed foods and artificial sweetener in your coffee that is keeping you fat.
How is this so?
Artificial sweeteners overwhelm your liver
Your liver is your largest internal organ, and it’s responsible for an astonishing variety of life-sustaining and health-promoting tasks, including those that make healthy weight loss and weight management possible. Integral to countless metabolic processes, the liver supports the digestive system, controls blood sugar and regulates fat storage. One of your liver’s most important functions, and the most crucial to your weight loss, is chemically breaking down everything that enters your body, from healthy vegetables, to not so healthy fast food, from healthy water to not so healthy soda.
It’s your liver’s job to distinguish between the nutrients you need to absorb and the dangerous or unnecessary substances that must be filtered out of your bloodstream. But when the liver is clogged and overwhelmed with toxins, like artificial sweeteners, it can’t do a very effective job of processing nutrients and fats. If it can not process the nutrients and fats that your body needs, this will cause you to gain weight or will prevent you from losing weight.
Your liver also produces bile, a crucial substance for detoxifying our bodies. It is the job of bile to help our bodies break down the fats we need and to assimilate fat-soluble vitamins. But when our bile becomes overly congested with the toxins it’s trying to filter out, it simply can’t function properly. It becomes thick, viscous and highly inefficient in breaking down fats. The result: You are more likely to gain weight and to have a greater difficulty losing it. So the more toxic your body becomes, the more difficulty you’ll have losing weight and keeping it off because your liver just can not work properly to break down fat.
Are artificial sweeteners considered a toxin?
What qualifies something as a “toxin”? A toxin is anything that your body does not recognize as a natural food source. The reason why artificial sweeteners have “zero” calories is because your body does not recognize them as a food source. For example, the chemical process to make Splenda (sucralose) alters the chemical composition of the sugar so much that it is somehow converted to a completely different molecule than sugar. This type of “fake” sugar molecule does not occur in nature and therefore your body does not possess the ability to properly metabolize it. This is how the makers of Splenda claim that it has zero calories, because in theory it should not be digested or metabolized by the body (Although it has been shown that some people’s body do absorb up to 15% of the artificial sweeteners they ingest). So the more artificial sweeteners that you consume in one day, the more you are overwhelming your liver with toxins and the less able it is to do its job of processing fat. And what happens if the liver can’t do its job? You can’t lose weight or worse yet, you gain weight.
What if you don’t use artificial sweeteners? Don’t be fooled. Almost every diet product on the market has some kind of artificial sweetener added to it. Even some children’s snacks are now being made with sucralose (Splenda) and most flavored waters contain sucralose or aspartame.
Now add up how many things you eat in one day that contain some form of artificial sweetener. The list may be very long. How overwhelmed do you think your liver is? Does it have the ability to work properly? Even if you keep your calories at bay and only drink Diet Coke with your meals, will you truly get down to the weight that you want, and stay there? It has been in my experience that the answer is “no” and until you are ready to commit yourself to a healthy way of eating, weight loss will always be a constant struggle.
What else do sweeteners do?
Sweeteners increase appetite
Artificial sweeteners tell your taste buds that, “sweet stuff has arrived,” which to the brain means, “nutrition has arrived.” When artificial sweetened drink or food reaches the small intestine, the receptors find no nutrition. A message is then sent back to the brain saying, “We’ve been tricked-there’s no nutrition here.” The appestat (the part of your brain that triggers satiety) sends the message to “keep eating because we need nutrition to help process all this fake food and run your body.” So even after you eat a good portioned healthy meal (along with your diet coke) you still feel like your starving all day, or you become very hungry soon after. Your healthy eating efforts may be sabotaged if you continue to feel hungry all day. No one likes to feel hungry so you continue to eat more food until you feel satisfied, which in your effort to lose weight, may just be too much.
Sweeteners Increase our Sweet Tooth
Saccharin (Sweet n Low) is 300 times sweeter than sugar, aspartame (Equal) is 200 times sweeter than sugar and sucralose (splenda) is 600 times sweeter than sugar. Such sweeteners can only increase our sweet tooth and increase our taste of sweet things. If you can never get rid of your sugar cravings, any healthy eating plan will be difficult because you will constantly be craving “sweet”. Artificial sweeteners have also shown to promote the same blood sugar fluctuations as regular sugar, which, again will bring on “sugar lows” which will increase appetite and cravings. This is not to say, that something sweet now and again is not ok, but it is those people who can not control their sugar cravings that are being sabotaged by these artificial sweeteners.
What are some alternatives to sweeteners?
Giving up sugar and artificial sweeteners may be difficult, especially if you are accustomed to everything having such a sweet taste. A wonderful alternative to sugar and artificial sweeteners is an herb called Stevia. Stevia is an extraordinarily sweet herb, 200-300 times sweeter than sugar. Stevia is almost calorie-free, so it is perfect for people who are watching their weight. Unlike sugar, it does not trigger a rise in blood sugar so you will not get a sudden burst of energy followed by fatigue and a need for another “fix”. It increases energy and aids digestion by stimulating the pancreas. Stevia also presents great advantages over saccharine and other artificial sweeteners in that it is not toxic. Stevia is a plant that is found in nature and is not man-made in a laboratory. Stevia can be found at almost all health food stores such as Whole Foods, and is listed under the “supplement” section. Stevia can be used exactly like sugar and artificial sweeteners to sweeten drinks and it can even be used in baking.
If weight loss or staying away from sweets has always been a problem for you, take notice of how much artificial sweetener you have been ingesting. That just may be the culprit. Make a resolution this year to give up the “fake” stuff and stick to natural alternatives like Stevia. You will not only be helping your weight loss efforts but you will also be benefiting your health.
If you or someone you know is addicted to sweet drinks such as sodas or beverages sweetened with sugar or artificial sweeteners, try this “Tea Juice” and you will see that weaning yourself off sugar or sweeteners will be much easier.
Tea Juice
- 5-6 bags of any caffeine free herbal tea of your choice (green tea, peach tea, berry tea, orange zinger, lemon, etc.)
- 3 quarts water
- Stevia powder or liquid to taste
Boil tea bags in a large pot. Add 1-2 full teaspoons of stevia while still hot. (You may add more or less, based on your desired sweetness) Let tea cool and then transfer to the refrigerator in Ice Tea pitchers or individual size water bottles.
This drink is a great replacement to Diet Coke or Diet Snapple.
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whats up everyone
great forum lots of lovely people just what i need
hopefully this is just what im looking for looks like i have a lot to read.
I’ve tried Stevia, and it’s awful. Can honey be a good alternative?
Raw honey can be used as a sweetener, but it needs to be used in moderation.
Can Agave be used instead? I also have used stevia and was not pleased with the taste.
I don’t recommend using agave as a sweetener. If you don’t like stevia, you could try xylitol. Or you could use raw honey.
Is Truvia toxic or is it OK as a sweetener?
John, I wouldn’t recommend using Truvia – pure stevia is still my sweetener of choice.
Thanks for the info. If we do not like Stevia or want to use honey…should we just use old fashioned sugar (in moderation)? Thx!
What is your take on Acai Berry Flushes and supplements to help lose weight?
How much Stevia do you use when baking? If it’s much sweeter than sugar – you need to cut down. Doeesn’t that affect the outcome of the cookies/cake as far as consistency or shape of the cookies or cake?
I looked at the Steviva site, and it also showed a product called Fructiva. What do YOU say?
The products listed on that “store” are all very expensive, as is Stevia. Some of us cannot afford a “natural” sweetener like Stevia.
You cannot use raw honey on dry cereal……
What about the unprocessed sugar called Sugar In the Raw? It tastes great! Is it a good alternative?
I made the summer salad recipe & added a dash of Stevia to make the salad dressing. The salad looked, smelled, & tasted amazing up until it sat the few hours recommended in the fridge. By the time my hubby got home & tried it, it had the most bitter taste to it. Do you think it had anything to do with the Stevia reacting with all the veggies? Has anyone else had the same problem with this recipe?
Hello everyone! I am new here
I was just wondering if there is a “brown sugar” version for Stevia and if not, could I make one?
Caldonia, there is not a brown sugar version of Stevia, but you can make one using molasses. Back strap molasses is the kind I would recommend, but remember.. only in moderation.
wow great read ive lost 28kg and have been struggleing to gat the last 3-5 off. Maybe this is the reason. I can go without sugar full stop so thats ok for teas/coffees but what do you recomend as a refreshment other than water. I’m also doing weight watchers and need to watch my daily points
I use stevia and I aquired a taste for it and it is good. You can ue it in power or liquid form. I think it is sweeter then splenda and xylitol or truvia. I’ve tried all of those. Somethimes we just need to get in our heads that we like it and soon you can aquire a taste for it. Thats my tid bites for the day!
I just sent back the free trial of Sensa. It a)gave me a definite headache b) a bit disoriented and when I didn’t use it I wanted to eat and eat. Reason a) & b) were enough. I think it is xylitol. That was my experience. I don’t like going to the PO and paying to send back but Sensa will take the money out if I didn’t. That was my experience.
I cannot eat sugar, xylitol, truvia, stevia, asperatame, etc. they give me an instant headache. The only sugar I can tolerate is agave nectar. The agave does not raise my insulin or something but it works for me and does not stop me from losing weight. Splenda also doesn not give me a reaction, however I have been told not to use it as I have switched to God made foods and not man made ones.
How much is overnight shipping?
Melvin, we don’t offer overnight shipping.
I thought Truvia was made out of Stevia…so why do you recommend not using it?
Karen, Truvia has other things added to the stevia. Steviva and other pure stevia products are much better choices.
I couldn’t stand the taste of Stevia but I discovered Stevia in the Raw at my grocery store and It taste a lot better to me.
My wife picked up some Agave Syrup at the supermarket. I tried about 1/4 teaspoon just to see what it tasted like. Less than five minutes went buy when I started getting a terrible headache, lightheadedness and shakey. Apparently I can’t tolerate anything about it nor did I care for the taste.
JD, agave syrup should be avoided.
I thought that was pretty evident from my experience with it. The product has been trashed.