Artificial sweeteners are chemicals added to some foods and beverages to make them taste sweet.
People often refer to them as “intense sweeteners” because they provide a taste similar to table sugar but up to several thousand times sweeter. Although some sweeteners have calories, you get almost no calories because the amount used to sweeten the products is small.
When you eat, your taste receptors encounter food molecules. The perfect match between a receptor and a molecule sends a signal to your brain, allowing you to identify taste. Artificial sweetener molecules are similar enough to sugar molecules to fit into the sweetness receptor. This provides a sweet taste without additional calories.
Relationship between artificial sweeteners and appetite and weight
Artificial sweeteners are popular among people trying to lose weight. But their effects on appetite and weight vary between studies.
Effects on appetite
Some people believe that artificial sweeteners can increase appetite and increase weight gain The idea is that artificial sweeteners make you feel satisfied after eating. is that it cannot activate the food reward pathway required for Given that they taste sweet but don't have the calories found in other sweet-tasting foods, they are thought to confuse the brain to still feel hungry.
Additionally, some scientists have found that artificially sweetened foods are better for feeling full than the sugar-sweetened version.
It's even been suggested that sweeteners may stimulate cravings for sugary foods.
However, many recent studies do not support the idea that artificial sweeteners increase hunger or calorie intake.
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In fact, several studies have found that participants reported less hunger and consumed fewer calories when they replaced sugary foods and drinks with artificially sweetened alternatives.
Effects on weight
Weight control Regarding artificially sweetened beverages, some observational studies However, randomized controlled studies, the gold standard in scientific research, report that artificial sweeteners can reduce body weight, fat mass, and waist circumference.
These studies report that artificial sweeteners can reduce body weight, fat mass, and waist circumference. It also shows that replacing regular soft drinks with sugar-free versions can reduce body mass index (BMI) by up to 1.3-1.7 points. What's more, choosing artificially sweetened foods over those containing added sugar can reduce the number of daily calories you consume. Various studies ranging from 4 weeks to 40 months show that it can lead to weight loss of as much as 1.3 kg. For those who regularly consume soft drinks and want to reduce their sugar consumption, artificially sweetened beverages can be an easy alternative.
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