The Truth About Artificial Sweeteners & How They Make You Fat
Tyson John Faulkner
September 02, 2009
If you've bought into the whole "diet" soda thing and drink a lot of 0 calorie drinks so you don't go over your calorie limit, then you may want to reconsider. The artificial sweeteners they put in that stuff isn't actually food, so they say it doesn't have any calories in it. However, your body says otherwise.
Artificial sweeteners like aspartame, saccharin, and splenda are dangerous chemicals that just taste sweet to us. These chemicals have been linked to problems like cancer, developmental problems in children, headaches, cravings, and many more bad side effects.
So even if they were "free" calories, would it be worth it to eat and drink products that contain these chemicals? No way! Not unless you like the idea of cancer or headaches anyway.
The truth is though, these chemical sweeteners actually metabolize in the body much like normal sugar or high fructose corn syrup. They have been shown to spike your blood sugar and increase your insulin levels, which promotes fat gain. Eating these artificial sweeteners can also increase your cravings for junk food and other carbs, which will cause you to eat more anyway. So you probably aren't saving any calories by eating foods with artificial sweeteners in them instead of sugar.
So what do you do about it?
Realistically you should just stay away from eating a ton of sugary substances. If you want to eat yogurt or even a snack food, opt for the kind with good ol' fashioned sugar. Try your best to stay away from high fructose corn syrup when you can as it's not much better than the chemical sweeteners.
If you want to sweeten your coffee or tea, try stevia or honey. These are both naturally occuring sweeteners that are much better for your body and still provide a nice sweet taste.
For more tips on eating healthy and shedding body fat, grab my 7-day Six Pack Abs mini-course. Each day I'll send you a new strategy that will explain everything from ab workouts to eating healthy in our crazy world. By this time next week you could be fully equipped to slim down and finally get that tight stomach.
Artificial sweeteners like aspartame, saccharin, and splenda are dangerous chemicals that just taste sweet to us. These chemicals have been linked to problems like cancer, developmental problems in children, headaches, cravings, and many more bad side effects.
So even if they were "free" calories, would it be worth it to eat and drink products that contain these chemicals? No way! Not unless you like the idea of cancer or headaches anyway.
The truth is though, these chemical sweeteners actually metabolize in the body much like normal sugar or high fructose corn syrup. They have been shown to spike your blood sugar and increase your insulin levels, which promotes fat gain. Eating these artificial sweeteners can also increase your cravings for junk food and other carbs, which will cause you to eat more anyway. So you probably aren't saving any calories by eating foods with artificial sweeteners in them instead of sugar.
So what do you do about it?
Realistically you should just stay away from eating a ton of sugary substances. If you want to eat yogurt or even a snack food, opt for the kind with good ol' fashioned sugar. Try your best to stay away from high fructose corn syrup when you can as it's not much better than the chemical sweeteners.
If you want to sweeten your coffee or tea, try stevia or honey. These are both naturally occuring sweeteners that are much better for your body and still provide a nice sweet taste.
For more tips on eating healthy and shedding body fat, grab my 7-day Six Pack Abs mini-course. Each day I'll send you a new strategy that will explain everything from ab workouts to eating healthy in our crazy world. By this time next week you could be fully equipped to slim down and finally get that tight stomach.
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