Kate Gibbons
The Times
Gerry Gajadharsingh writes:
“Another example of unintended consequences, in this case, the use of diet products in the role of weight management, may actually be having the opposite effect, by increasing appetite and making weight management more difficult.
The latest research below suggesting that the use of artificial sweeteners, in this case the research focuses on sucralose, may well not be helpful for metabolism, in particular, weight reduction, management of type 2 diabetes and other metabolic conditions.
For the research, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, 74 participants consumed 300 millilitres of a drink sweetened with table sugar, a drink sweetened with sucralose or water as a control at different times. The outcome was that women ate more after having the drink containing sucralose than they did after the drink with sugar.
We’re just about to launch Gerry’s ® range of functional drinks that I’ve been developing over the past few years. We know that too much sugar is not good for us but that doesn’t mean replacing it with artificial sweeteners is any better. In fact, it could well be worse. I took the decision to use organic coconut sugar and raw cane sugar, at levels below the UK government sugar tax level, in one of our products, Gerry’s Daytime and the smallest amount of the natural sweetener stevia. Not only does this avoid the artificial taste common in many other commercial drinks, it also does away with the negative side effects associated with artificial sweeteners.
If you wish to register your interest in Gerry’s ® you can do so via my website
And we will let you know when the products are available, hopefully over the next few weeks.”
Dieters should avoid some sugar-free drinks, meal replacements and sweeteners because they could increase their appetite, researchers say.
Sucralose, an artificial sweetener, increases food cravings and appetite in women and people who are obese, according to one of the largest studies of its kind. Anyone wanting to lose or maintain weight should “reach for a glass of water” instead.
Sold under the brand name Splenda, sucralose is one of seven artificial sweeteners approved for use in Britain.
Researchers in the United States studied the effects on brain activity and appetite responses of an artificial sweetener. After having a drink sweetened with sucralose the area of the brain responsible for food cravings and appetite became highly active in women and people who were obese.
Similarly, the hormone that signals to the body “I feel full” decreased after a sweetened drink, suggesting that products with sucralose may not be effective in suppressing hunger. This was seen in men and women of all weights.
Foods and drinks containing artificial sugar substances are consumed by many people as a way to avoid unnecessary calories, but there is no clear consensus on their effects on appetite, glucose metabolism and body weight.
Sucralose is used in diet drinks such as Monster Energy Absolute Zero and meal replacement powders by the brand Huel. It is used widely as a supermarket own brand artificial sweetener for tea and coffee and in some products in the Canderel range of sweeteners.
For the research, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, 74 participants consumed 300 millilitres of a drink sweetened with table sugar, a drink sweetened with sucralose or water as a control at different times. An imaging tool measured activity in parts of the brain responsible for food cravings and appetite when participants were shown pictures of a doughnut, burger and other highly calorific foods.
Researchers also measured levels of glucose, insulin and other metabolic hormones in the blood and recorded how much food participants ate later from a snack buffet. Women ate more after having the drink containing sucralose than they did after the drink with sugar, whereas snack food intake did not change for men.
Kathleen Page, the lead author and an associate professor of medicine at the Keck School of Medicine, said: “There is controversy surrounding the use of artificial sweeteners because a lot of people are using them for weight loss.
“While some studies suggest they may be helpful, others show they may be contributing to weight gain, type 2 diabetes and other metabolic disorders. Our study looked at different population groups to tease out some of the reasons behind those conflicting results.”
Gavin Partington, director general of the British Soft Drinks Association, rejected the findings. “Non-sugar sweeteners are safe, according to all leading health authorities in the world, and that’s why they have been used in a vast array of food, medicine, dental and drinks products for several decades,” he said.
“In the case of the latter, their use enabled soft drinks manufacturers to reduce take-home sugar from soft drinks by 43.5 per cent between March 2014 and March 2020.”
He added: “This study does not provide evidence of cause and also contains a number of limitations, with one of the authors even suggesting that the findings — based on a tiny number of participants — should be treated with caution. Additionally, the study participants fasted the night before the intervention, which may be a confounding factor in their perception of hunger.”