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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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.
Originally Posted By Joel Marion
Originally Posted By MattWhy 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
But Joel,
There have been links to legitimate studies that show adverse effects posted here and you claim only “anecdotal”. I provided a link that had almost 100 studies sited by research institutions.
Here’s are some more: http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame//aspart.p20
http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/recent.html
It’s really a shame that you claim to be thorough when there are HUNDREDS of studies available and many EXPERTS that say: DON’T CONSUME IT!!!
Come on, Joel! you have not looked deeper. You’re losing credibility.
Oh, and please read Dr. Mercola’s and Dr. Roberts’ material. They have spent YEARS looking into this, not 15 minutes.
@Dan – Just because people spend a lot of time at a gym doesn’t mean they are healthy. or that they know anything about being healthy.
Aspartame killed my father, and raped our family pet. Joel has a silly haircut as well.
I like this post. However, I have mentioned on my own blog that the debate on artificial sweeteners to me has no relevance. I love my diet coke and I love drinking diet ginger ale as a substitute for alcohol!
I think its more relevant to decide if you want to lose weight/fat and accept that artificial “no calorie” sweeteners have their role in the process.
I have no problem with artificial sweeteners. If your diet is healthy enough, your body will flush out any of the nastiness in any event
I can answer that question even before reading the research…YES, Diet Coke keeps you fat! I was totally addicted to diet cokes, I did not just like them, I LOVED them. And I was only able to lose very small amounts of weight no matter what type of diet I did. BUT…I gave up diet cokes a little over a year ago and I have lost over 100lbs since then! 104.7lbs. to be exact. Now I will get off of my soapbox and read the research. Keep up the good work Joel, YOU ROCK!!!
you rock joel :)
@Chris
dude I don’t know about the effects of the diet soda but there was a case not long ago in the U.K. where a man drank 15 pints of water a day for 3 consecutive days and died because of his brain flooding. A gallon is 8 pints. So you’re drinking 12 pints of water a day, 2 glasses of milk AND 8+ cans of diets soda. Another post close to yours talked about diet soda and water retention so i’d say you’re running dangerously close to the limit. Take care.
hey people….what was everyone’s idea about health 30 years ago? it was probably the good old fashion 40-60 minutes of slow paced cardio a day…7 days a week …along with the low cal…no fat diets…..for example…the average person 30 years back will go and jog really slow for about an hour and when that person comes back home to eat…he/she will eat an egg white omelet fried in water to avoid adding extra calories….and that was what i used to do before i had the oppertunity to read mike geary’s e-book….my exersises are much shorter and more interesting than the average long boaring cardio…and my diet includes consuming 3000 calories a day…with a balance of healthy fats ( nuts…butter from grass fed cows…coconut oil…evoo), lean proteins ( grass fed beef…venison…turkey) and carbs ( fruits..veg) the point is….doctors and nutritionists couldnt help me but when i read mike’s book…i lost a huge deal of fat and i bulked up on a heck of a lot of mucsle…and 90% of what mike said in his book was contradicting to contrary beleife….but i gave it a shot anyways….and this is why i think everyone should give artificial sweetners a shot as well…im not saying it will work for everyone….but its 100% not as bad as people make it sound like…learn to examine and try other people’s ideas before attacking them…or else you can just respectfully disagree……anyways joel…keep up the great work and i want to hear more about stevia….thanks buddy
hey people….what was everyone’s idea about health 30 years ago? it was probably the good old fashion 40-60 minutes of slow paced cardio a day…7 days a week …along with the low cal…no fat diets…..for example…the average person 30 years back will go and jog really slow for about an hour and when that person comes back home to eat…he/she will eat an egg white omelet fried in water to avoid adding extra calories….and that was what i used to do before i had the oppertunity to read mike geary’s e-book….my exersises are much shorter and more interesting than the average long boaring cardio…and my diet includes consuming 3000 calories a day…with a balance of healthy fats ( nuts…butter from grass fed cows…coconut oil…evoo), lean proteins ( grass fed beef…venison…turkey) and carbs ( fruits..veg) the point is….doctors and nutritionists couldnt help me but when i read mike’s book…i lost a huge deal of fat and i bulked up on a heck of a lot of mucsle…and 90% of what mike said in his book was contradicting to contrary beleife….but i gave it a shot anyways….and this is why i think everyone should give artificial sweetners a shot as well…im not saying it will work for everyone….but its 100% not as bad as people make it sound like…learn to examine and try other people’s ideas before attacking them…or else you can just respectfully disagree……anyways joel…keep up the great work and i want to hear more about stevia….thanks buddyReply | Quote
OH! You’re my new favorite blogger fyi
Hi Joel,
Thank you for your hard work and research. I have thought about trying Stevia and Agave and would be very interested in learning more about these.
Thanks,
Diane
Thanks for the info. I myself will still steer clear of aspartame. The cost-benefit analysis just doesn’t do it for me. And frankly, I think it doesn’t taste that good. Has a sort of bitter/chemically after-taste to me. I prefer to drink my tea straight up!
I use ~11g of agave a day for my sweetener on my cream of oat-bran cereal. Other than that, I consume fruits if I want something sweet – except for my pre- and post-workout meals.
So glad to hear that!! I can’t give up my daily Diet Dr. Pepper!!!
Hi Joel
I would like to get your take on Stevia and Agave.
Thanks
Marc
Gotta love the truth!
Has anyone tried the new drinks from Coke or Pepsi made with Stevia?
How does it compare to say Diet Coke or Coke Zero?
Originally Posted By Roger FHas anyone tried the new drinks from Coke or Pepsi made with Stevia?
How does it compare to say Diet Coke or Coke Zero?
Joel,
Thanks for this research review. As you mentioned, caffeine is a huge factor here also. I’m glad to know I can use diet soda when I get the crave….
Please do an article on stevia and agave; I like to use these w/ iced tea and need to know if that is good for me!
Hey Joel,
really enjoying your e-mails and all the info within them. It would be of particular interest to me if u did talk about stevia, as i just bought some as part of an ingredient list for a pre-workout drink from Jeff “the muscle nerd” anderson, so I’m curious to your info on the science behind it as well.
Cheers Joel, Nico
good info keep it coming
here’s some more research, an interesting study
effects of long-term ingestion of aspartame on hypothalamic neuropeptide Y, plasma leptin and body weight gain and composition.
Beck B, Burlet A, Max JP, Stricker-Krongrad A.
Centre de Recherches UHP/EA 3453, IFR no. 111, Systèmes Neuromodulateurs des Comportements Ingestifs; 38, rue Lionnois, 54000 Nancy, France. bernard.beck@nancy.inserm.fr
The aim of this study was to determine the effects of the chronic ingestion of aspartame (ASP) on brain neuropeptide Y (NPY) concentrations, plasma hormones, food intake and body fat. Two groups of male Long-Evans rats, fed on a control (C) well-balanced diet, had to drink either a 0.1% ASP solution or water for a period of 14 weeks starting at weaning. Food intake and body weight were weekly recorded. At the end of the experiment, fat pads were sampled, leptin and insulin were measured in the plasma and NPY in several microdissected brain areas. Substituting ASP for water led to lower body weight (-8%; P<.004) and lower fat depot weight (-20%; P<.01) with no differences in energy intake or plasma insulin concentrations. Plasma leptin was significantly reduced by 34% (P<.05). Leptin concentrations were well-correlated with final body weight (r=.47; P<.025) and fat pad mass (r=.53; P<.01). NPY concentrations were 23% lower (P<.03) in the arcuate nucleus of ASP rats with no differences in other brain areas. The beneficial effects on body composition could be related to the decreased effects of NPY on lipid and energy metabolism, independently of insulin. The reasons for the NPY decrease (regulatory or toxicological) are not obvious. The constitutive amino acids of the ASP molecule might participate in the NPY regulation.
according to this, metabolism slows down, but weight loss does occur. interesting
Joel, Aspartame is a poison and non one with at least half brain functioning shouldnt be taking it. Aspartame is metabolised to formaldehyde, which is a toxin.
”Formaldehyde is an absolute toxin and is used mainly to preserve ’tissue specimens’ in laboratories. Formaldehyde poisoning symptoms include local irritation of eyes, nose, mouth, throat, respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts, and central nervous system causing vertigo, stupor, convulsions, unconsciousness, renal damage.”
http://www.naturalnews.com/024302.html
Ppl going blind because of it, especially diabetic.
ANd you took a few studies which probably was sponsored by aspartame manufacture.
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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...read more