Artificial sweeteners are supposed to be the solution to the age-old problem of how to have your cake and eat it too. They offer people the sweet taste that they crave without any of the calories to dread. All in all, it should add up to an effective weight loss ingredient. Take soda for example, a 12 oz can of Coke has about 150 calories. The majority of these calories almost all come from sugar. A 12 oz can of Diet Coke on the other hand has zero calories and no sugar. On paper, this sounds like the perfect healthy alternative for those with a sweet tooth.
But artificial sweeteners are not as healthy as it has been led to believe. They affect health in a few ways:
Create Bad Eating Habits
A big concern with artificial sweeteners is that they stop you from making good diet choices. It is very common for people to reward themselves for eating healthy for a short period of time. If you do use artificial sweeteners, make sure that you’re not replacing the Coke you were drinking with other high calorie, low nutrient foods.
Increased Risk of Developing Disease
There have not been enough significant studies done on artificial sweeteners to say for sure if they give you cancer or not. There are quite a few that are suspected of contributing to cancer however. Besides potential cancer, artificial sweeteners have been associated with other diseases. Regular consumption of diet drinks has been linked to a 36% greater risk for metabolic syndrome and a 67% increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
No Nutrients
Another big concern with artificial sweeteners is that they are empty calories. Although they are sugar free, they still don’t provide your body with nutrients. Avoid making sweeteners a regular part of your diet for this reason.
