To avoid the guilt of downing a regular soda, dieters often grab a diet brand when searching for something to drink. They have less sugar and fewer calories. Therefore, they must be okay for a weight loss regimen.
Think again.
Researchers at the Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health recently investigated national patterns in the caloric intake of adult diet soda drinkers. They found that diet drinkers actually consume more calories from solid food and have a higher Body Mass Index (BMI) than their regular, non-diet-drinking counterparts.
The reason behind this counterintuitive correlation stems from the supposedly healthy ingredient of diet soda: artificial sweetener.
Regular sugary foods activate the putamen, insula and rolandic operculum, brain structures that are associated with the body’s food reward system, a pathway that controls our appetite and desire for food. This activation tells the body food has been ingested so it begins to curb the appetite. However, when someone ingests artificial sweeteners, activation of these reward centers are altered in such a way that they cannot control the appetite in a normal fashion. So counterproductively, ingestion of diet soda actually stimulates appetite.
Moreover, many researchers believe that artificial sweeteners, particularly Aspartame, can lead to cancer. However, research has yet to prove this claim.
Many professional health nutritionists agree with the results of the Bloomberg School of Public Health study, but for a different reason.
With so much conflicting information about artificial sweeteners in the market, it may be best to curb our sweet tooths.
