Don't Use Artificial Sweeteners if you Want to Lose Weight and Look After Your Health

THIS IS ALARMING TO SAY THE LEAST!

Several large-scale studies have now found positive correlations between artificial sweetener use, weight gain and diminishing health in both adults and children. Here’s an overview of just a few. Please feel free to contact me should you wish links to the studies...

• 3,682 adults over a 7-8 year period were found to have consistently higher BMIs at follow up.
• 78,694 women using artificial sweeteners gained weight compared to non-users matched by their initial weight.
• 31,940 women gained weight over an 8 year period when using saccharin.
• a positive association between diet soda and weight gain was seen in 11,654 boys between the ages of 9 and 14.
• 3,111 children and young adults had a significantly elevated BMI when their diet regularly included diet soda.

I have lost count of the number of people who tell me (and understandably believe, thanks to brilliant marketing) that because their fizzy drinks are always 'diet' or 'zero' it's all good and they are keeping their sugar consumption down. Not so fast! Sadly, the brain doesn't do a particularly good job of distinguishing between natural sugars and chemically-distorted, artificial sugars - it's all just sugar of one sort or another! And whilst too many natural sugars from the food we eat and the drinks we consume are likely to get it all charged-up and happy for a while (whilst not necessarily doing our waistlines much good if we overdose) the above studies rubber-stamp my continuing advice when it comes to sweeteners.....

If you really, really need something sweet on occasion, make sure it's 'the real thing' and leave the artificial stuff to reach its sell-by date and be trashed!  

Don't fall into the 'artificial sweeteners' trap!

When I am giving talks at health events and having a rant about the crazy amounts of sugar in fizzy drinks there are always a few in the audience who (sometimes smugly) report that they only ever consume 'diet' or 'zero calorie' versions of their favourite pop so added sugars aren't an issue. This generally leads to me having another rant - often more spirited and vehement than the previous one! They are not the answer. Why? Because non-caloric artificial sweeteners (saccharine, sucralose, aspartame etc) may not be as benign as the manufacturers of diet drinks would like you to believe and may prompt glucose intolerance (ie our ability to metabolically manage the sugars in our diet) which can lead to increased body weight and prediabetes. Read Managing Director and Head of Research & Development at Nutri-Link, Michael Ash's informed review and comments on the latest research here.

MY ADVICE? Do yourself a big health and weight loss favour, ditch the fizzy diet drinks and instead, opt for the following for a refreshing drink and always have a bit of protein or fat alongside to slow the absorption of sugars and maintain healthy blood glucose levels:

• have a glass of fresh fruit juice watered down 50:50 with still or sparkling water with a couple of scrambled eggs in the morning
• have a refreshing, pure fruit smoothie that includes yoghurt or a mixed fresh fruit and/or vegetable juice combo alongside a small pack of fresh nuts or a chunk of hard cheese
• get yourself a fruit fusion bottle (fabulously inexpensive), be experimental with fruit combinations and nibble on some hummus and raw baby vegetables along the way
• keep a couple of bottles of pure fruit (no sugar added) cordials in your store cupboard/desk drawer, add lots of ice and sparkling water and have a couple of mini oatcakes with nut butter alongside
• play around with fruit teas - they are great either piping hot or super-chilled and marry very nicely with a mini bar of very, very dark chocolate!
• and when a super-busy day prompts the need for a stress-relieving alcoholic drink of an evening, head for extra dry champagne if funds allow (pretty light on sugar) or a dry white wine spritzer with a few olives and salted, roasted almonds to munch on!