A recent study has tied Artificial sweeteners to an accumulation of fat within the body. Obesity is on the rise and the overabundance of artificial sweeteners could be the cause. For those who are obese or on the border of being obese, artificial sweeteners could cause even more fat accumulation.
Dr. Sabyasachi Sen | Artificial Sweetener Study
The artificial sweetener study was conducted by Dr. Sabyasachi Sen, an associate professor of medicine and endocrinology at George Washington University. The study’s findings were presented at ENDO 2017, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting. Based on the studies findings alternatives to natural sweeteners appear to promote metabolic dysfunction.
In a nutshell the body converts foods into blocks of energy, either proteins or sugars. Proteins are used to build and maintain muscles and sugars are used for energy. When the body has excess calories, it will store the excess in the form of fat. In essence, eat too many calories and the excess turns to fat.
The study suggests that since these sweeteners are man made, rather than natural, the body has a harder time breaking down the complex molecules, which in turn causes havoc on the body’s metabolism.
Artificial Sweeteners Are Linked to Weight Gain
The artificial sweetener study was conducted on 8 individuals. The study broke down the test subjects into 2 groups. 4 individuals consumed the artificial sweeteners and the others didn’t. The study found that the group who consumed the sweeteners had evidence of increased transport of glucose into their cells. This suggested that people who are overweight and consume artificial sweeteners have a higher likelihood of increased fat accumulation.
Another Artificial Sweetener study was conducted out of Canada and found similar conclusions, with results leaning towards health issues like weight gain, obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
So do like the Doctor says and remember “An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctor Away” and steer clear of artificial sweeteners.