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Artificial sweetener tied to weight gain
Herald Sun ^ | February 11, 2008 | Reuters

Posted on 02/10/2008 9:22:11 PM PST by neverdem

USING an artificial, no-calorie sweetener rather than sugar may make it tougher, not easier, to lose weight, US researchers said today.

Scientists at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, studied rats that were fed food with the artificial sweetener saccharin and rats fed food with glucose, a natural sugar.

In comparison to rats given yogurt sweetened with glucose, those that ate yogurt sweetened with saccharin went on to consume more calories and put on more weight and body fat.

The researchers said sweet foods may prompt the body to get ready to take in a lot of calories, but when sweetness in the form of artificial sweeteners is not followed by a large amount of calories, the body gets confused, which may lead to eating more or expending less energy than normal.

"The data clearly indicate that consuming a food sweetened with no-calorie saccharin can lead to greater body-weight gain and adiposity than would consuming the same food sweetened with high-calorie sugar,'' Purdue researchers Susan Swithers and Terry Davidson wrote in the journal, Behavioural Neuroscience, published by the American Psychological Association.

"Such an outcome may seem counterintuitive, if not an anathema, to human clinical researchers and health care practitioners who have long recommended the use of low- and no-calorie sweeteners as a means of weight control.''

Other artificial sweeteners such as aspartame that also taste sweet but do not lead to the delivery of calories may have similar effects, the researchers said.

"Animals may use sweet taste to predict the caloric contents of food. Eating sweet noncaloric substances may degrade this predictive relationship,'' the researchers wrote.

"With the growing use of noncaloric sweeteners in the current food environment, millions of people are being exposed to sweet tastes that are not associated with caloric or nutritive consequences,'' the researchers added.

The...

(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: aspartame; calories; diabetes; glucose; health; nutrition; obesity; saccharin; sugar; sweetener
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To: reagan_fanatic

See post 56 that should have been directed to you in the first place.

There are carbonated pop diet or not alternative recipes.


61 posted on 02/11/2008 4:38:59 PM PST by Global2010 (Election 2008 like playin Shoots and Ladders (ages 5 and up))
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To: Global2010
Well, I don't know what those cholesterol numbers are presently, and I'm not all that worried about it. No high BP.

Whether I die tomorrow or live for another 40 or so years; the constant is: I'm going to die. Not a whole lot I can do about it. So I'm not going to spend my time worrying about every little thing that might kill me, cause lets face it; life is the number one cause of death. So why not just enjoy it while you can.

62 posted on 02/11/2008 5:11:25 PM PST by AFreeBird (No Romney, No Rudy, No McLame, No Huck, No Paul! Toss the GOP into the ashcan of History.)
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To: edweena
“Researchers have found a correlation between drinking diet soda and metabolic syndrome — the collection of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes that include abdominal obesity, high cholesterol and blood glucose levels — and elevated blood pressure.”

Correlation is not causation. The people with metabolic syndrome may well have selected diet soda AFTER they had a problem as a means to avoid making it worse.

63 posted on 02/11/2008 5:17:12 PM PST by Myrddin
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To: AFreeBird

Me too. Everything I eat and drink contains the real stuff. It’s not natural to the body to do the fake crap, no matter what it is.

Me thinks someone doth protest too much on this thread. :-)


64 posted on 02/11/2008 5:26:26 PM PST by Kodie39 (Mitten for Romney! Purrrrrrr....)
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To: AFreeBird

I would agree but I have going on 29yrs now a quadroplegic son (trach/g tube) medically fragile son who requires 24/7 care and just finding someone at an RN trained level for a break is not easy let alone if I die no facility could give him the level of care or even except him due to that level of care.

So I have a dif agenda for sticking around.

If I am ever left alone on this earth without him I will live a bit freer and die hard. ; P


65 posted on 02/11/2008 5:27:14 PM PST by Global2010 (Election 2008 like playin Shoots and Ladders (ages 5 and up))
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To: Mase
[ You have to wonder how that's possible when aspartame is broken down into three compounds that occur naturally in foods and beverages we consume every day. ]

I think you are missing something.. "the dose" of it.. the quanitiy of it.. and maybe aome other interactions not included here.. Aspertame does not occur naturally in food in such large doses..

66 posted on 02/11/2008 5:28:55 PM PST by hosepipe (CAUTION: This propaganda is laced with hyperbole....)
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To: Eva

“I believe that it was recommended in the Atkins diet that you limit the amount of artificial sweetners because they can fool the brain into thinking that they are sugars, but I think that Splenda was different. I don’t remember why. Atkins also said that the other sweetners like equal are particularly bad for migraine headache sufferers.”

Interesting, there’s also a wide-spread consensus in the lo-carb community, or what’s left of it, that large amounts of artificial sweeteners would stall weight loss...which might be what this finding is about.


67 posted on 02/11/2008 5:29:28 PM PST by ByDesign
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To: reagan_fanatic

“My problem is, I’m a pop junkie and I’m hooked on it. I don’t want to go back to sugared soda (I can’t stand the sugary taste anymore) but I just don’t see anything else out there that would take its place. Flavored waters use the same diet sweetener that the sodas do and that now is the subject of many serious concerns regarding its safety.

What’s a soda junkie to do?”

Get to like a tall, frosty, cold, ice choked glass of pure, clean water.

Really. :)

If you HAVE to have fizz, get some soda water, and some Crystal Light. The Orange flavor works really well. It’s just carbonated water.

For a treat, do the same with tonic water - but be careful of tonic water, and drink the diet, but note that it has a LOT of sodium.

You’ll go through caffeine withdrawals, too, be forewarned.

Another treat, but don’t drink it like soda, is good old iced tea. A little lemon, no sugar, and weak brew, over ice - heaven!

Your teeth, your blood sugar, your blood pressure, and your waistline will thank you for switching. Caffeine can stall people’s weight loss in a lot of cases, and if you’re taking in a lot through soda, that could explain your situation.


68 posted on 02/11/2008 5:36:35 PM PST by ByDesign
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To: neverdem
Say what you want, but it is very obvious what has led to a nation of fatasses: high calorie diets with low activity life styles. Blame it on whatever you want, but that’s the way it is. I was a bit overweight for a while and I am now in very good physical shape. It’s called exercise. Hard exercise to be precise.
69 posted on 02/11/2008 5:41:12 PM PST by ItisaReligionofPeace
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To: luckystarmom

Kids don’t really need soda. In fact, other than pizza night or something like that, I wouldn’t give them any myself.


70 posted on 02/11/2008 5:42:16 PM PST by ItisaReligionofPeace
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To: Global2010
Sorry to hear about your son, and I do appreciate you have that responsibility.

So do all you can to care for him as long as you're able. Part of my point though, was that stressing over a lot of the health stuff in the news these days, adds stress, and stress is more of a killer.

I eat what I want, when I want, and I eat until I've had my fill. Even if that means leaving food on the plate. And I usually eat more smaller meals day than a few large ones. And the meals themselves are not balanced per se, at least in one sitting, but over the course of the day.

If you look back on human history, you find we're pretty much acclimated to a feast and famine sort of existence, with most of the middle time being eating small meals of whatever is available.

It is really a recent development that gives us the 24/7 availability of food we enjoy today.

I don't really follow my eating habits out of any particular conscience program; it's just how I feel. Meaning, my body tells me what it needs and when. I try to listen. Not that I don't over indulge in thing from time to time. And I'm not saying such a philosophy is for everyone, but I think it works for me.

71 posted on 02/11/2008 5:46:29 PM PST by AFreeBird (No Romney, No Rudy, No McLame, No Huck, No Paul! Toss the GOP into the ashcan of History.)
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To: neverdem

nice correlation with the diet soda :)


72 posted on 02/11/2008 5:50:12 PM PST by traviskicks (http://www.neoperspectives.com/Ron_Paul_2008.htm)
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To: Global2010

The seltzer idea sounds pretty good - I may try that.


73 posted on 02/11/2008 5:52:58 PM PST by reagan_fanatic (Another liberal will be infesting the White House. Great.)
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To: ItisaReligionofPeace

“Say what you want, but it is very obvious what has led to a nation of fatasses: high calorie diets with low activity life styles. Blame it on whatever you want, but that’s the way it is. I was a bit overweight for a while and I am now in very good physical shape. It’s called exercise. Hard exercise to be precise.”

Definitely part of the problem is lack of exercise, I would’nt even try to dispute it - especially with the kids.

The other half of the issue is the diets of most people. High calorie, lots of carbs from bleached wheat, corn, and fructose syrup. Basically, the stuff you’d fatten up a cow with.

The link provided before points to the issue I’ve been saying for years, the epidemic of obesity and diabetes in this country can be tied to the rise of fructose syrup being used in EVERYTHING. A person who’s in good shape, who works oiut regularly, and who has’nt abused their metobolism for years and years eating crap can tolerate some (and let’s face it, people in shape don’t eat crap).

Add fructose in frightening quantities with a sedentary lifestyle, and *boom* - everyone is fatter.

It’s not proven yet, but it’s my gut feeling that’s where the problem is. That, along with our massive portion sizes when we eat, the fact that everyone probably eats more snacks and desserts than they do fresh veggies, meat, and dairy, and too much of our diet is carbs, carbs, carbs.

Yet the idiots in the media and the nutritional field have been fobbing off the idea that dietary fat is the most evil thing in the world, and has been trying to stamp it out, meanwhile selling “fat free” garbage that’s loaded with bleached white flour (no nutritional value at all), and fructose, served with potatoes (sugar bombs) and corn (cow fattening food).

Dietary fat doe not mean body fat, not in moderation. FINALLY people are seeing that. Not enough, though.

I watch my friends, family, and coworkers struggle, and one by one they go on cholesteral medication, develop diabetes, gain weight with no hope of controlling it, thinking that the plate of pasta (white flour) with the packaged sauce (fructose syrup for flavor) with a glass of diet Coke (artificial sweeteners) is “healthy”. They sneer at my low gluten/zero fructose/low sodium/low carb way of eating, and think I’m lying when I tell them that I have perfect blood pressure, no cholesteral issues at all, I have no prescriptions at all, I keep advil in the house and that’s it, and I have no health issues at all.

I gave up preaching, but I ask them to try and reduce fructose as much as possible, but they don’t. It’s too good, they’re too addicted to it, and they’d rather microwave something than cook fresh, raw food, or graze from the vending machines or snack shop at work.

We’re truly our own worst enemies, when it comes to food. I used to be one of them, and I know it doesnt have to be that way, but I know how hard it was for me to break the sugar/fructose habit.


74 posted on 02/11/2008 6:00:06 PM PST by ByDesign
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To: AFreeBird

No reason to stress over meal planning.

Like research it is something that I enjoy doing.

I enjoy it so much I share with neighbors.
I am very picky and have had the problem of not eating at all which puts ones body into starvation mode that can cause no weight loss.

So you are right 4-6 small meals throughout the day keeps ones matabalism working well.

You know what I miss is Ice Milk ice cream....when did the stores stop selling that?

When we go into town every other week during the summer McDonalds sells a dang good vannilla soft serve for $1....the other Ice Cream parlor Tillamook charges $3 bucks (tourist town).

Lunch today was fresh strawberries/fresh asparugus over herb baby greens topped with a bit of gargonzola on the straberry side and plain goat cheese over the warm asparugus side topped with pecans/pomagranate dressing and for that extra zing black berry viniger.

Picky picky.
And a piece of Godiva Dark for a snack. Post holidays Godiva does a 50% off on selected items.


75 posted on 02/11/2008 6:16:03 PM PST by Global2010 (Election 2008 like playin Shoots and Ladders (ages 5 and up))
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To: Dasaji
Once aspartame is heated to over 85 degrees, it breaks down into formaldehyde and woodgrain alcohol. Searle tried to cover this up in addition to the adverse side effects (tumors, MS-like symptoms, neurological seizures) experienced by test animals.

True. And if you drink only 5,000 Diet Cokes, without going to the bathroom, you will accumulate enough formaldehyde in your blood to KILL YOU!

Do you know that EVERYTHING you eat is converted in your body into something that will kill you? That's why you have a liver, kidneys, and there's urination and defecation.

76 posted on 02/11/2008 6:36:00 PM PST by Arthur McGowan
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To: earglasses

Most pesticides are harmless to people. I’ll bet there are chemicals in practically everything we eat that are “chemically similar to pesticides.

Stevia tastes like crap—and there are health dangers!!!

Diet sodas contain dihydrogen oxide, too—and that’s a chemical they use in abortion clinics!


77 posted on 02/11/2008 6:38:56 PM PST by Arthur McGowan
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To: Global2010
When we go into town every other week during the summer McDonalds sells a dang good vannilla soft serve for $1....the other Ice Cream parlor Tillamook charges $3 bucks (tourist town).

History channel "Modern Marvels" had a segment on fast food. They mentioned Mickey D's "shake", and while they didn't tell the recipe; words such as milk products/solids/whatever didn't instill a lot of confidence.

For a fast food shake, I'll stick with a real ice cream(hand dipped & blender mixed)/chocolate/malt shake with real whipped cream and cherry, from Steak n Shake.

It's more than a $1, but worth it.

The sweet tooth will not be denied :)

78 posted on 02/11/2008 6:42:37 PM PST by AFreeBird (No Romney, No Rudy, No McLame, No Huck, No Paul! Toss the GOP into the ashcan of History.)
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To: Arthur McGowan

Please share what are the dangers of stevia leaves?


79 posted on 02/11/2008 6:50:04 PM PST by Global2010 (Election 2008 like playin Shoots and Ladders (ages 5 and up))
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To: Defiant
Splenda, on the other hand, is a gift from the gods

Not for me. I have an allergic response (immediate) when Splenda is ingested. I stay away from it, which is a bummer because out of all the artificial sweeteners, I think this is the only one that has an okay taste to it. But, my body says, no way.

80 posted on 02/11/2008 6:52:50 PM PST by LibertarianLiz
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