Artificial sweeteners are great for maintaining taste while cutting the calories, but they can work against you if you鈥檙e not careful.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved as safe for consumption. Maggy Boyd, a registered dietitian with Parkland Hospital System, says they can help with blood sugar control or weight loss plans when used correctly. But if not, weight gain and even some health risks are possible.
Interview Highlights
Health benefits of artificial sweeteners: I don鈥檛 know if there鈥檚 necessarily health benefits, but these artificial sweeteners can be used to optimize your blood sugar control by consuming less real sugar, or it can help promote weight loss when substituting these sugar-free, calorie-free sweeteners for their counterparts that are the real sugar versions.
Any we should avoid: All eight sugar substitutes are safe for consumption as long as you aren't exceeding the acceptable daily intake. For each of those, there鈥檚 a maximum amount you can consume in a day. For instance, you would have to eat 75 packets of Equal or 25 packets of Splenda in a day to even reach those amounts.
Health risks: If you鈥檙e over-consuming those sweeteners or using some not approved by the FDA, there could definitely be health risks. These artificial sweeteners aren鈥檛 entirely absorbed by the GI (gastrointestinal) tract, so you could have GI symptoms: diarrhea, bloating, nausea, vomiting, if you consume too much of these.
Weight gain: Sugar-free substitutes don鈥檛 contain calories. Sometimes when individuals use them, they think they have "saved" calories. That can lead to weight gain when you鈥檙e using the substitute as an excuse to eat more. But if you them in an overall calorie restricted plan, you can lose weight.
Resources
Interview responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
