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Joel, definitely do an article on Stevia and other natural sweeteners. You do some great stuff man. I appreciate the work you put into this.
Yesterday we covered much of research regarding the safety of aspartame and most other non-nutritive sweeteners, but what about their affect on weight loss?
Are artificial sweeteners keeping you fat?
Again, let’s take a look at what the RESEARCH has to say:
1. Kanders BS et al. An evaluation of the effect of aspartame on weight loss. Appetite. 1988; 11 Suppl 1:73-84.
In this study, two groups were analyzed: diet only and diet plus aspartame. In the end, the diet plus aspartame group resulted in 33% greater weight loss over a 12 week period.
2. Blackburn GL et al. The effect of aspartame as part of a multidisciplinary weight-control program on short- and long-term control of body weight. Am J Clin Nutr. 1997 Feb;65(2):409-18.
In this study, researchers at Harvard Medical School analyzed aspartame’s impact on weight loss and long-term maintenance of lost weight. Over a 19-week period, study participants regularly consuming aspartame lost more weight than those abstaining from its use. Moreover, the aspartame group was able to better maintain lost weight over a 2 year follow-up period when compared to the non-aspartame group.
3. Renwick AG. Intense sweeteners, food intake, and the weight of a body of evidence. Physiol Behav. 1994 Jan;55(1):139-43. Review.
A comprehensive review of the research done on HUMANS “does not support the concept that the consumption of intense sweeteners results in a paradoxical increase in calorie intake and body weight”
What about the idea that non-nutritive sweetener intake triggers one to eat more because it’s sending a sweet signal to the brain without the calories?
4. Van Wymelbeke V, et al. Influence of repeated consumption of beverages containing sucrose or intense sweeteners on food intake. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2004 Jan;58(1):154-61.
In this 2004 study, participants were given either sugar sweetened or aspartame sweetened beverages for one month; effects on food intake were analyzed. The result: the aspartame group did not experience an increase in food intake to “make up” for the calories not consumed in the beverages they drank (i.e. the sugar group consumed more total calories, and obviously, significantly more sugar).
And for those health professionals taking the stance that the use of nonnutritive sweeteners will lessen dietary adherence by causing dieters to crave other sweets, you’d also expect these individuals to recommend avoiding fruits and anything else both sweet and extremely healthful-but they’re not, leaving a huge inconsistency in the argument.
Simply put, in everything I have seen, the exact opposite has been true-the use of nonnutritive sweeteners increases dietary adherence by giving individuals a no-calorie outlet to satisfy the occasional sweet craving. Nonnutritive sweeteners provide a great alternative to sugar-laden beverages and other counterproductive sweet products and further lessen the temptation of resorting to such products to satisfy a sweet craving.
And as you can see, the research on non-nutritive sweeteners and weight loss back this up many times over.
A couple of important things to note:
1. If you are using “packets”, be it blue, pink, or yellow – all of these have calorie-containing, insulin spiking “carriers” (the most common being maltodextrin). Because there is less than one gram of these calories (really .8 grams or so), manufacturers are allowed to round down and claim zero grams and zero calories. This is not a big deal at all assuming you are using one or two packets, but for those who add 10 packets of Equal to their cereal, sorry, you’re only fooling yourself.
2. I still recommend the bulk of your fluid intake come in the form of good old fashion water.
With that, I’ll wrap up our discussion of artificial sweeteners, aspartame, safety, and weight loss. In summary, people can talk theory and anecdotes all they want, but the research simply doesn’t validate it.
At least 100 comments and I’ll be back before you know it with more content (perhaps I’ll even do a post on Stevia and Agave)!
Talk to you in the comments section!
Joel
P.S. My friend Isabel kind of bashes artificial sweeteners in the below video, and while I do NOT agree with that stance, I do agree with just about everything else she shares for losing up to 10% of your unwanted body fat in the next 30 days. You can check it out here for some eye-opening, actionable tips:
How to lose up to 10% of your unwanted body fat in the next 30 days <——- Click here
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Diet Coke keeps me happy :) Well, that an other positive things in my life. I am glad you dug so deep into this and spread it over a few posts. I have read all of the comments and people have some strong views on this topic.
I simply drink a diet coke every now and then when I’m craving something sweet. It is an easy way to curb cravings when dieting.
Solid stuff!
Rusty
My personal experence definiately supports these studies. Before I started dieting and eating healthy I was totally addicted to refined sugars. I would get up in the morning and have a bowl of fruit loops. For lunch I would usually snack on cookies and have icecream for both lunch and dinner desserts. I would also drink a good litre of pop everyday. At that point I weighed 220lbs. I decided to start living my life healthy and I totally cut out all refined sugar. It was hard because I was addicted to it and actually went through withdrawal (I was irratable, got headaches, constantly tired) for about 3 days. One thing to help take off the edge was diet pop. In the evening when I would usually have a bowl of chocolate icecream and a litre of pop, I had some diet pop and celery. The celery would make me fill full and the diet pop would help take my sugar craving away. However, I always drank at least 8-10 cups of water everyday. By doing this, eating healthy and excersize I now weigh 165lbs. I don’t think I would have been able to accomplish this without diet pop. Now I drink very little diet pop (maybe 3 or 4 a week) but it sure helped when I was first dieting. I appreciate this discussion group and it seems that the evidence supports what I personally found
Interesting – I am one who lost nearly 60 lbs when I switched to diet drinks when I was losing weight. I now use mostly Stevia for personal use but it is good to hear this stuff.
For how many years America drinks dies stuff? If it was so bad wouldn’t we all be dead by now? But instead Americans live longer and longer lives.
Artifical sweetners won’t make you fat and I have no problem using them in moderation.
BUT I don’t think people should think Diet drinks are healthy because of this. I enjoy the occasional diet soda, but I try to limit my intake. Before I decided to get healthy and get lean I averaged at least 3 cans of diet soda a day. The first week I stopped drinking it, I dropped 6lbs. Why? Although the sweetners in the soda won’t make you fat, the sodium in the sodas are not good. It made me retain a lot of water.
Just because it says 0 calories (and as Joel mentioned above, it may not really be 0 cals) that doesn’t make it healthy for someone to consume large quantities.
Joel, I drink around 8-10 cans of Diet Dr. Pepper or Diet Coke each day. Everyone says that it is basically poison and that it will soon kill me. Do you think drinking this much diet cola will actually hurt me, even though I also drink about 2 glasses of milk each day, and over a gallon and a half of water each day? Please give me some feedback.
I use one “yellow” pack in my morning java and only drink an occassional non carbonated drink/water made with Splenda. So I think I’m good and it keeps me happy! :)
Thanks for all the great info!
I’m a big sweet tea drinker so it’s good to hear I can use a little artificial sweetener without worrying any about it
Thanks!
Good post man! I appeciate the effort and care you take into researching and studying each subject! Cheers
I have not had a good experience with artificial sweeteners at all. They gave me numbness in my hands and totally blocked my fat loss. In fact I was listening to Alwyn Cosgrove’s talk about artificial sweeteners once and he said that in the hundreds of cases he has studied, he found that those that used artificial sweeteners somehow had trouble with fat loss. After reading Joel’s research, I kind of had the feeling he’s taken his ‘research’ from companies promoting aspartame.
I used to drink 3-4 diet pops a day, until I heard that it leaches calcium out of your bones.
Alrite Joel! nice info there. keep it coming aites.
From what I understand artificial sweeteners cause a false insulin spike…meaning your bodys ability to burn fat is blocked. Now the interesting thing is your body is preparing for the sugar it thinks it going to get….when it doesnt get any results…whamo….carbohydrate cravings set it because your body is looking to now satisfy that false insulin spike. Now for the die-hard pop drinkers, the interesting thing is our blood is more alkaline…pop is extremely acidic. No worries drinking your pop….just know that you need to drink…oh…about 30 glasses of water to neutralize the acid you just put into your body. The pancreas produces bicarbonate to neutralize acid. If the body cannot keep up with neutralizing the acid by its natural buffers, the body begins to form fat as an insulator to help protect the vital organs from being eaten by the acid. Even if you are not fat from drinking your pop you are still putting strain on the pancreas…thus potentially leading to diabetes. However, I digress….artificial sweeteners are setting you up for weight gain.
Originally Posted By Lisa
From what I understand artificial sweeteners cause a false insulin spike…meaning your bodys ability to burn fat is blocked. Now the interesting thing is your body is preparing for the sugar it thinks it going to get….when it doesnt get any results…whamo….carbohydrate cravings set it because your body is looking to now satisfy that false insulin spike. Now for the die-hard pop drinkers, the interesting thing is our blood is more alkaline…pop is extremely acidic. No worries drinking your pop….just know that you need to drink…oh…about 30 glasses of water to neutralize the acid you just put into your body. The pancreas produces bicarbonate to neutralize acid. If the body cannot keep up with neutralizing the acid by its natural buffers, the body begins to form fat as an insulator to help protect the vital organs from being eaten by the acid. Even if you are not fat from drinking your pop you are still putting strain on the pancreas…thus potentially leading to diabetes. However, I digress….artificial sweeteners are setting you up for weight gain.
I’m wondering if you even read the post and the research I presented.
I think that your recommendation that moderation is key is very well taken here, Joel. I’ve never understood the claim that diet soda will keep you fat. I once read a blog that stated that you never see healthy people drinking diet soda. I responded with, actually I used to work at a store next door to a gym, and you’d see all kinds of health nuts coming in and buying diet drinks, even the trainers. One guy was among the most muscular, cut guys I’ve ever seen. I have yet to read a statement about the evils of non-nutritive sweeteners that wasn’t clearly a distortion or baseless. I guess we can add you to the list of healthy people who do occasionally consume sweeteners, huh?
@Galina –
The answer to your question is around 30 years.
And yes we are living longer. The quantity of life is more but but what about the quality?
I guess next it will be a few cigarettes a day are ok.
Hi Joel
Love the post. Just want to let you know that I’ve been on your “Cheat your way thin” program for almost three weeks now and I’ve lost 9.9 pounds and 7.5 inches in the first two weeks !!!
I’m also a great supporter of sweetner and i find that a cup of tea does the trick for me when I feel like something sweet !
yup, i completely agree.
been told over and over again diet coke does more harm than the original fizzy drink itself!
I like research, thanks for that Joel.
Everyone in health and fitness is agreed that we should make pure natural foods plus water the mainstay of our diets, but it’s human nature to like sweet things isn’t it?
I am in the UK and, like America, heart disease and obesity related cancers are the biggest killers. So, if the occasional sweetner helps people to reduce their calories and therefore their body weight (fat) that can only be a good thing.
Individual senstivities should be taken into account – if Aspartame makes you feel ill, don’t have it!!!
Nuts are an excellent health food but would kill my husband within minutes, strawberries make me swell like a balloon……
We should go with what suits us individually.
Thanks again :-)
i’m very interrested about stevia and agave!
I am a huge sweetner supporter. I use it in coffee, drink crystal light and sugar-free red bull, that is full of aspartane. I have yet to crave “sugar” and feel that this subsitute is a great way to kick any sugar cravings. Too bad aspartane isn’t good for you.
Your pragramm rocks Joel! Thanks for your great post on sweetners. So I guess I’ll be using them again moderatly without feeling guilty about it. Where do you get all these study results? I’d like to make a few reaserch myself. Do you start with internet search machine or is there a drug and food adminstration webpage?
Thanks alot for your great work,
Why do I get the feeling that Joel is getting paid by someone working for the artificial sweetner industy? Hey Joel, is it all about fat loss? I mean, I know you’re trying to sell a fat loss product but is total HEALTH not on your mind when you promote the use of these man-made chemicals? Let’s not forget that if you go into a study already knowing what you want the outcome to be you’ll probaly get it… If you don’t than do it again! These arn’t scientific studies, this is statistics! I mean damn, 100 yrs ago STUDIES showed that cigarettes didn’t cause harm. I wonder who paid for the study?
Hey Joel, give us both sides of the research man, this crap damages people all the time… Forget fat loss, these are excito-toxins you’re giving the green light to. You might think twice about that when those head-aches start creeping in and hands start shaking. Yeah, you might be ripped up but with Parkinson’s Disease?
I hate to be a conspiracy theorist but I have always felt that in order to judge the impartiallity of research it is essential to know who funded the research. Am I the only one who finds it strange that the results of research tends to support the point of view beneficial to the funder?
Joel,
I have the sense that you’ll find and read the science you want to find and read, i.e. that backs up your arguments. Sometimes I wonder if you’re maybe sponsored or something.
You know as well as I, that there are research to back up the opposite as well. Why not include them aswell?
Thanks for this post! I’m tired of reading opinions, it’s great to see some DATA! One problem with the brave new world of blogging, digging, youtubing, etc., is that one opinion gets linked to, embedded, and repeated over and over until it becomes ‘fact’. Thanks for putting some discipline into the process by starting with research.
msa83
I’ll bet you think twice about drinking this crap that Joel is promoting after watching this… The research is out there if your looking for it!
Joel,
Good to hear that diet drinks are back in, you get pretty tired of water and tea all the time. What about the contents of the high fructose corn syrup though still in these drinks?
I am glad you touched on this topic. What does the research say about artificial sweeteners and cancer? It’s hard to think that something that is ‘artificial’ is not doing damage to the body. Maybe not to weight loss but to your health.
Ok, so aspartame is ok. but I still feel better with stevia as it is ‘natural’. is there any validity to this?
and on the negative side, what about the funny after taste in stevia?
Hi Joel,
great stuff! Would love to hear about Stevia.
Good to hear some new info Joel. Thanks for the hard work on this topic. I personally don’t drink any pop (maybe 1 every 6 months), I’ve been very much into tea lately. I used to sweeten with Splenda, but started using honey, but now I don’t need any. Keep the information coming!
Hi Joel and other readers,
For me, the best sweetner is Stevia, in powder form and dried leaves. I use the powder in my coffee and boil the dried leaves to make granadilla or guava drinks. It tastes great and above all, Stevia is a natural sweetner, not man made or contain chemicals.
Cheers,
Brian
Joel – I have to disagree – and isn’t that opportunity what makes America great. We don’t have to see eye to eye, and when we don’t, we usually will do more research to understand why we don’t. In fact, every one (each individual body) is different: different tolerances, view points, morals, etc. And by process of trying/elimination – we learn what our bodies can/will handle. I can not tolerate anything that has any chemical induced artifical sweetenter, due to migraines and other reactions. I do agree – it is all about MODERATION. I also can not handle excessive sugar, as it causes excessive muscular and joint pain. And if a person chooses to ingest these chemical laden products – well that is up to him/her.
I do not believe that you researched thoroughly. And looks like what you cite in from science research, reviews, etc. You state in some recent posts that apparently the person has not noted your research, but, did you even bother to read some that were presented to you? Several, including me, listed mercola.com (in search box: type in aspartame, nutrasweet, splenda, stevia, etc). Also, check your library: Excitotoxins – The Taste That Kills by R.L. Blaylock. I would rather trust a doctor who has patients health concerns in his best interest and a former scientist who doesn’t agree with pharma companies, than the pharma companies themselves who are only interested in turning a profit.
Anyway – I hope you continue your quest to come to the truth, and i look forward to your post on stevia.
Originally Posted By Matt
Why do I get the feeling that Joel is getting paid by someone working for the artificial sweetner industy? Hey Joel, is it all about fat loss? I mean, I know you’re trying to sell a fat loss product but is total HEALTH not on your mind when you promote the use of these man-made chemicals? Let’s not forget that if you go into a study already knowing what you want the outcome to be you’ll probaly get it… If you don’t than do it again! These arn’t scientific studies, this is statistics! I mean damn, 100 yrs ago STUDIES showed that cigarettes didn’t cause harm. I wonder who paid for the study?Hey Joel, give us both sides of the research man, this crap damages people all the time… Forget fat loss, these are excito-toxins you’re giving the green light to. You might think twice about that when those head-aches start creeping in and hands start shaking. Yeah, you might be ripped up but with Parkinson’s Disease?
Sorry, I have no hidden agenda and I’m certainly not being paid/sponsored by anyone in the artificial sweetener business.
Believe it or not, a billion dollar company doesn’t give a crap what little ol’ me blogs about.
I just present the facts. And when you say “both sides”, these are review papers of ALL the research. They are looking at ALL sides.
Seemingly the only “other side” people have presented here is inconclusive anecdotal stuff posted on other peoples websites.
I would love to see the someone post review papers or multiple studies in HUMANS using moderate amounts of artificial sweeteners (not the equivalent of 2,000 cans of diet coke fed to a rat that weighs a half pound).
You won’t find that review paper, simply because a review of 25+ years research does not show that.
Joel
Originally Posted By Stoobz
I hate to be a conspiracy theorist but I have always felt that in order to judge the impartiallity of research it is essential to know who funded the research. Am I the only one who finds it strange that the results of research tends to support the point of view beneficial to the funder?
There are plenty of independent studies included within the review papers.
Originally Posted By Fred
Joel,I have the sense that you’ll find and read the science you want to find and read, i.e. that backs up your arguments. Sometimes I wonder if you’re maybe sponsored or something.
You know as well as I, that there are research to back up the opposite as well. Why not include them aswell?
Again, I’m not sponsored (billion dollar businesses don’t care about what I’m doing or saying), and I have looked at all the available research. I don’t pick and choose.
If you can show me the review paper showing the opposite, I’d surely take a look.
And I’m also not “promoting” anything…I’m not pro-artificial sweeteners and am not saying that you “should” use them.
If you don’t use them, that’s certainly more than fine. But if you do, the safety and weight loss issues (again, todays post is about their affect on weight loss) aren’t issues that should make you feel guilty about having a diet beverage once or twice a day.
Joel
Originally Posted By Matt
I’ll bet you think twice about drinking this crap that Joel is promoting after watching this… The research is out there if your looking for it!
Again, I’m not promoting anything. Whether you or anyone else uses artificial sweeteners does not matter to me in any way.
I’m just presenting the research so people can make an informed decision on their own.
If the research on artificial sweeteners was even one one-thousandth as conclusive as the research on trans fats, I’d be recommending you stay away from them like the plague (as I do with trans fat).
That said, people seem to treat artificial sweeteners like trans fats when the research doesn’t even come close to showing that.
Joel
Hey Joel, Keep these provocative subjects coming our way. It’s appreciated in its totality.
I’ve seen a former pro wrestler sic. trainer stay rotound on a straight articificial sweetner “diet” regimen. And in(the)same house his significant other is ‘rail thin’ on same artificial sweetner regimen. Etc. My only conclusion besides feeling sorry for both of them, based on their eXtreme opposite physique’s is-
Its so individual & unique to each person. That’s my end-result conclusion.
If it feels healthy it probably is in some degree. If not than one adjusts accordingly to that. Thanks again for your intelligence & provacative blog here.
All the best. ~
I my self don’t use sweetner but that was a good talk on it thanks jole
I drank a bunch of Diet Coke last nite and this morning I feel nauseous, my head’s not clear, I feel bloated and I’m starving! Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I had a bartender add a bunch of RUM to each of those Diet Cokes, so maybe that has something to do with how I’m feeling! Sheesh people – get over it! You’re gonna believe what you wanna believe – admit it and move on. You’re going to find whatever ‘evidence’ that backs up the belief you already have and therefore proove what you thought all along. Let’s face it – aspartame affects some people differently than others. Some folks it seems to have a very adverse affect, but does that mean it’s bad for everyone? Apparently so – IF you mix it with Rum!
@Galina – Someone posted that they are a big fan of artificial sweeteners, and that they never have sugar cravings. The fact is, though, that you are feeding your sugar craving with the artificial sweeteners, so you really never go without. You are not doing yourself any good by consuming chemicals. The BEST diet is one without sweeteners, real or artificial, not just for fat loss, but for your health. This stuff is poison, and it is marketed as “healthy” for you. Don’t believe it. The fact that so many people are sick now with health problems that did not exist years ago should tip you off that something is wrong with our diet.
Sorry to be a pain Joel but you have only presented one side of the story. I do not and will not take artificial sweeteners so it is of little consequence to me. However there are many people here using these products. Please present the research that does not agree with you too. I would be grateful if you could give us some constructive analysis on the reports that disagree with your position as you have for the studies that do agree with your position. This would give us the best opportunity to make a decision based on two sides of the argument. It is easy to be convinced if all you see is one side.
Keep up the good work
Damien
Adelaide Australia
@Galina –
This is true but it took 40 years to see the dangers of asbestos and mesothelioma usually takes 20+ years to surface. How about thalidomide? It took 10 years to draw the connection. These sweeteners are deemed safe for now and I am not predicting anything at this point, but be careful with this type of statement as time will be the only real judge on this topic and as far as I am concerned the jury is definitely still out on this one. But I have no vested interest in them either way, except I wont allow them in my house, if time proves them to be safe my kids and wife are never going to listen to me again…..That assumes they listen to me now of course :)
Hi, Joel,
This is harder than learning negative number math or the square of infinity. There are so many apparently wise folks (including MD’s) who say the opposite (or intimate it) that it is hard to accept the summarized research, but I am impressed with where the research came from (peer reviewed, etc.). So I’m going to try it because I drink too many cups of coffee with sugar (and honey) per day. Do the Stevia analysis, too, and advise which brand of Stevia is best tasting in coffee, because that is what I will use it for.
@Matt – Okay, this link provides a great history of Aspartame’s entry into the market place (mildly interesting). Can we also have a link to the actual studies showing problems and damage that resulted from its use by humans? I’d like to see a study of stats showing the difference between a control group and a use group so we can clearly see the problem(s) of its use. I’d think after 25+ years of use by humans, we’d now have enough data to easily produce such a study.
I agree that using this in moderation is the key. I also believe there are folks out there that are actually allergic to Aspartame – just like some of us our allergic to peanuts. However this doesn’t mean we should completely eliminate it from use by anyone. We just need to manage our own personal choices – if you’re allergic to it, don’t use it!
I refuse to live and limit my life based on here-say and anecdotal speculation – I want more solid facts to back up the claims of danger in using on these things. I’m kind of wondering if the stress and fear we live under about these things is more damaging to us than the actual artificial chemicals we induce!
Originally Posted By MattI’ll bet you think twice about drinking this crap that Joel is promoting after watching this… The research is out there if your looking for it!
Oops, okay this is the link I was trying to refer to in my last post above (ahhh.., guess I’m just a “newbee” here! :-) )
There is two questions in my mind:
1)
I read that sucralose leaves the body completely (and contaminates lakes and so on), but how is it with the other sweeteners? Even if you only consume small amounts, if it stays in your body it accumulates within time (like arsenic).
2)
There is this saying: No smoke without a fire.
So where does those warnings and fear for artificial sweeteners originate from?
I think: Better safe than sorry.
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Doina on 
Hey, it’s Joel! So you want to know a little more about me, huh? Well, I’d be happy to oblige :-)
I guess it all started back in 2001 (my freshman year of college) when I was just a “skinny fat” 19-year old kid. At the time, I was spending close to 2 hours a day in the gym (now my workouts last about 30 minutes), and despite my efforts, you’d probably never guess I worked out a day in my life by looking at me...