Artificial sweeteners do not promote weight loss. Saccharin saves calories, but causes weight gain because it stimulates the secretion of insulin, which encourages the deposit of fatty acids into fat cells. In one trial against controls who drank sugar-sweetened drinks with a low-calorie lunch, consumers of saccharin-sweetened drinks who ate the same lunch were more motivated to eat and more pre-occupied with food for the rest of the day. Using aspartame decreases appetite, but also causes weight gain. Aspartame hinders protein digestion. If less protein enters the bloodstream from the digestive system, the body tends to store glucose as fat. The net result is that eating less food can result in storing more fat.

Fake fats do not help in weight management programs. In a double-blind clinical study (study in which neither the participants nor the researchers knew which foods contained fat substitutes), children were offered a variety of foods prepared with traditional cooking oils or with fat substitutes consumed almost exactly the same number of calories. Using fat substitutes reduced the amount of fat consumed, but bottom line the calories consumed stayed the same.


Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes and is not meant to diagnose or treat illness. The author, publishers cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage suffered by individuals as a result of following advice in this article.

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