Artificial Sweetener - really a diet aid?

Artificial sweetener is considered a good thing in our society because it doesn't have any calories and thus, people feel they can have their sweets for free.

Well, seems nothing is for nothing.


Here is something the diet industry did not publish but it's in the Congressional record:

>>>>From
the Congressional Record, Senate, Page S5511 (protest of the National Soft Drink Assn against the use of aspartame):

"Aspartame has been demonstrated to inhibit the carbohydrate induced synthesis of the neurotransmitter serotonin (Wurtman affidavit). Serotonin blunts the sensation of craving carbohydrates and thus is part of the body's feedback system that helps limit consumption of carbohydrate to appropriate levels. Its inhibition by aspartame could lead to the anomalous result of a diet product causing increased consumption of carbohydrates."
<<<<

A couple of epidemiological studies have shown that people actually gain weight when they consume diet soda.... perhaps this is one reason.

Another thing I have read about artificial sweeteners is when your body senses the sweetness in your mouth, it starts producing insulin to handle the increased (what it thinks was) sugar. But when no sugar is forthcoming, the higher insulin levels can cause carb craving and actual weight gain.

This is true of ALL artificial sweeteners - it's the nature of the beast.

Finally, here is another side effect I've noticed. If you eat small amounts of sugar, you lose your taste for super sweet stuff. But I have noticed that folks who regularly consume diet soft drinks, have - if anything - a heightened taste for sugar and can consume super sweet stuff with nary a blink of the eye.

Probably why manufacturers have felt it necessary to put stuff like "high frutose syrup" into non diet foods - because consumers of artificial sweetener (which is SUPER sweet) would not find NATURALLY sweetened products, sweet enough.

There is no winning a battle with mother nature.... she always wins....