Although artificial sweeteners provide little to no calories, research suggests that these faux sugars could fuel your hunger, thus resulting in a higher food intake. As a good number of people with diabetes may be wondering whether substituting conventional sugar by artificial sweeteners constitutes a “healthier” choice, I thought I ought to share a recent study on the matter.
Sucralose is more commonly known under the brand name Splenda.
Over the summer, a research article published in the journal Cell Metabolism found that fruit flies fed with a diet containing sucralose had a higher food intake than those who did not consume it. Gregory Neely, the lead researcher of the study, shared that the taste of sweetness is closely linked to the “energy content” of foods. “When sweetness versus energy is out of balance for a period, the brain recalibrates and increases total calories consumed,” said professor Neely.
Here are some of the findings from his team:
- Consumption of sucralose over a long period stimulates appetite.
- Sucralose messes with the brain via neuronal pathways, resulting in a sweet/energy imbalance.
- Long-term sweet/energy imbalance is associated with higher food and calorie intake, hyperactivity, greater perception of sweetness, and insomnia.
“Our data show that chronic consumption of a sweet/energy imbalanced diet triggers a conserved neuronal fasting response and increases the motivation to eat.”
Source: Wang et al. (2016)
It is important to point out that the brain does more than just “tasting” the sweetness of foods: it also assesses the calorie content. The fact that artificially sweetened foods taste sweet without providing any calorie fools the brain into believing that the body is in a fasting state. This mechanism triggers various biological pathways that increase food intake.
My Thoughts
Truth: Artificial sweeteners satisfy our sweet tooth without adding any superficial calories to our diet and affecting the levels of blood sugar. When they were first introduced in the market, people held high hopes for them. However, research conveys much controversy surrounding the health benefits of artificial sweeteners, be it for weight loss or diabetes.
One of my concerns about consuming artificial sweeteners involves the maintenance of the taste of sweetness. For the same amount of sugar, the intensity of sweetness perceived by someone who is used to eating high-sugary foods compared to another person who is not is different.
The best way to wean off sugar is not by substituting it with artificial sweeteners, but rather reducing the intake gradually. In other words, train your taste buds. Trust me, they will grow accustomed to having less sugar.
