The effects of five different sweeteners on weight gain/loss

The effects of five different sweeteners on weight gain/loss

The effects of five different sweeteners on weight gain/loss

By Prof. Gene Bruno, MS, MHS, RH(AHG)

Huntington University of Health Sciences

Both public and health care professionals have always had a love-hate relationship with low-calorie sweeteners – especially artificial sweeteners. Many like the fact that these sweeteners have no calories, but don't like that they are synthetic. I understand the feeling. This is my 40th year in the healthcare industry, and when I started I took the philosophical position that if it's natural, it's good for you, and if it's synthetic, it's bad for you. However, after extensive undergraduate and postgraduate training in nutrition and herbal medicine, my position shifted to a more integrative approach. Now I always try to look at new studies with an open mind and let the science speak for itself rather than making a value judgment based on naturalness and synthetics. After all, not everything natural is good for you. Poison ivy is natural, but I don't recommend making a salad with it. And wearing prescription glasses is synthetic, but I still wear them because I like being able to see. Now to discuss the sweetener study.

The studyThe 12-week study1 was recently carried out in theAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutrition, and consisted of 154 participants ages 18 to 60 who were overweight or obese. Participants were divided into five groups, each consisting of 28-30 people, with each group receiving one of the five sweeteners consumed in Kool-Aid. The researchers took care to adjust the amount of sweetener to the sweetness intensity. The results were fascinating. As expected, people in the sucrose group gained weight (about 4 pounds). Surprisingly, however, those in the saccharin group also gained weight (about 2½ pounds). Aspartame and the stevia sweeteners also resulted in very small weight gain, but this was so small that it was not considered statistically significant. In other words, aspartame and Stevia Essential had a neutral effect. Perhaps most interestingly, those in the sucralose group actually lost weight (about 3 pounds). Another interesting result is that the sucralose group also consumed fewer calories. Glucose control was not significantly affected by any of the sweeteners.Sucralose and glucagon-like peptide-1In case you are wondering, there is no definitive answer as to why using sucralose would result in weight loss. However, other research2 has shown that sucralose is able to stimulate the release of glucagon-like peptide-1, a peptide produced in the intestines whose function is to regulate appetite. So that can be the reason. In any case, sucralose (also known as Splenda) seems to be the sweeter choice for individuals trying to lose weight.ConclusionOver the years I have done many studies on natural and synthetic sweeteners. While I think it's a good idea to try to limit your intake of sweeteners, advice we give our patients (and many ignore), I recognize that they will still use sweeteners with some regularity. If these patients are overweight and obese, sucralose may be a reasonable option. My opinion on the studies I have read shows that sucralose is generally a safe sweetener. Personally, I would certainly rather use it than adding sucrose to any of my foods.References:

Professor Gene Bruno, MS, MHS, provost for Huntington College of Health Sciences, is a nutritionist, herbalist, author and educator. For more than 37 years, he has educated and trained natural products retailers and healthcare professionals, researched and formulated natural products for dozens of dietary supplement companies, and authored articles on nutrition, herbal medicine, nutraceuticals, and integrative health topics for trade and consumer magazines and peer-reviewed publications. He can be reached at gbruno@hchs.edu.

• American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
• Appetit
• künstliche Süßstoffe
• Aspartam
• Glucagon-ähnliches Peptid-1
• Glukosekontrolle
• Darm
• Kool-Hilfe
• kalorienarme Süßstoffe
• fettleibig
• Übergewicht
• Prof. Gene Bruno Blog
• saccharin
• Splenda
• stevia
• Studie
• Sucralose
• Süßstoffe
• Synthetik
• Gewichtszunahme
• Gewichtsverlust

Read original article in English.