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?
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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180 comments - add yours
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.
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! :-) )
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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...