This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Artificial Sweeteners and Weight Gain

Potential Causes of Weight Gain With Artificial Sweeteners There are all kinds of artificial sweeteners on the market. It’s not possible to give a blanket statement for all of them. However, scientific literature has shown that various artificial sweeteners cause an insulin spike, while others do not have an effect on insulin at all (which is a selling point for diabetics). The emotional effects of artificial sweeteners are the biggest concern when it comes to weight gain. We all know of the emotional addiction to food that results from continuous processed food intake. Cravings for food are strong, and what you’re craving probably isn’t health food. By giving your body a taste of sweetness from artificial sweeteners, it can cause a want or desire to have more bad food. Artificial sweeteners provide no nutrition. They are empty “calories”. They are a processed man-made product. We can debate whether particular “natural” sweeteners like Stevia are OK to use, but the fact still remains that it’s processed food. You are better off using sugar or honey because they are natural.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?