Sweetness can be a weakness

It seems too good to be true, sugar substitutes that can give us all the sweetness, and more, of sugar, but without the calories…well now new research has been published that supports the fact that for some types of sweeteners it is, although for others maybe not!

‘Non nutritive sweeteners’ are those that contain zero calories and they are effectively not absorbed by the body. In principle this sounds fantastic and allows us to add sweetness to foods and drinks without having to worry about also adding the extra inches to our waistlines, but it appears there’s a twist. Research is starting to show that when our bodies taste sweet food they expect to get calories; so they respond like they’re going to, releasing the relevant hormones and nervous signals that prepare us for the energy intake. When this doesn’t arrive however we’re left feeling hungry and unsatisfied and end up snacking more and putting on weight. Or that’s at least one of the explanations that scientists thought might explain why artificial sweeteners seem to be adding to the obesity problem rather than aiding it.

The new research shows there could be even worse news for artificial sweeteners however. It appears artificial sweeteners are effecting our weight in other ways. The study showed that rats fed yoghurt sweetened with artificial sweeteners aspartame or saccharin, put on more weight than those fed yoghurts sweetened with normal sugar. What was really interesting was that this weight gain wasn’t due to the rats consuming more calories i.e. they weren’t eating more because of the sweetness. Scientists theorized that the sweeteners must in some way be affecting energy expenditure i.e. the rats weren’t burning as many calories or the sweeteners made their bodies retain water. Either way they certainly weren’t aiding weight loss.

It’s not all doom and gloom however as there’s also evidence to show that some sweeteners do help with weight loss. Studies have been carried out on xylitol, which does contain calories, but 40% less than sugar, that show those that eat foods sweetened with the natural sugar alternative go on to eat ‘less’ later in the day. This is thought to be down to the fact that the calories that xylitol contains are released slowly, rather than sugar which releases them all in one go, and therefore keeps us feeling fuller and more satisfied for longer.

So, as many nutritionists have been saying for years, it appears that some calories, rather than none, is the best way to lose weight.