Does Diet Soda and Other Artificially Sweetened Foods Maintain a Healthy Weight or Hurt?
A healthy weight is essential to heart health, but consuming diet foods and drinks may be working against you. Sweetness is a natural cue to the body, signaling incoming calories and the need to ramp up digestive processes.
A study in the Journal of Behavioral Neuroscience found artificial sweeteners appear to short circuit this natural cue. Rather than ramping up, your body begins to ignore the sweetness cue and does not process extra calories or signal fullness. As a result, you not only use less of the calories you take in, causing more fat to be produced, but also take in more calories without the signal of fullness. Don’t let your body be tricked into gaining weight and increasing your risk of heart disease.
Here are some tips to kick the artificial sweetener habit:
Ban the packet:
Rather than dumping chemicals into your coffee or tea, sweeten it with a small amount of sugar instead. Choose natural brown sugar with just 15 calories per teaspoon which is more flavorful and less processed than regular table sugar. Alternatively, try a sprinkle of cinnamon or nutmeg or a splash of real vanilla.
Treat soda as a treat rather than a beverage:
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