Weight Gain & Artifial Sweeteners

How can a zero calorie soft drink cause weight gain? Isn’t Equal, Truvia, Splenda, Sweet n Low, etc supposed to help us stay thin? Won’t fewer calories result in weight loss?

The answer is “NO”, not if your body is preparing for calories that do not arrive. Has your mouth ever “watered” with the smell of food? If not, google “Pavlov’s dogs” and you will learn that the digestive process begins in the mouth. Enzymes in our saliva break down food in response to vision, smell and taste. Taste buds detect sweet and alert other parts of the digestive system; “INCOMING” or “SUGAR”! The release of insulin lowers sugar levels and this hormone also promotes fat storage. What happens when the insulin is elevated, but there is no increase in glucose?

Zero calorie, artificial sweeteners have no glucose so the release of insulin causes low glucose or hypoglycemia. Symptoms such as fatigue, irritability and carbohydrate cravings ensue. Glucose is fuel for the brain and the body interprets hypoglycemia as a threat to survival. In response to the threat an “eat out of the ice cream container” or “whole bag of chips” type of hunger begins to ensure that the real calories arrive. After the brain uses the glucose that it needs, the rest goes into storage. The next time you reach for the pink packet, consider that this “storage facility” is your abdomen, hips or thighs!

I truly appreciate the feedback! thanks and be well,
Caroline MD