Sweeten Your Life Without The Guilt By Sharon Bell At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Almost a century ago, medical and nutrition experts began searching for substances that can duplicate the sweetness of sugar but without the consequential amounts of calories. And so today, amid the cheers from lovers of soft drinks, candies, and pastries, substitutes for sugar have been in steady use. Everyone who has a sweet tooth can now indulge his or her craving for anything that can tickle the taste buds without worrying about the waistline.

The arrival of artificial sweeteners like aspartame, saccharin and acesulfame took away everybody's guilt about satisfying the sweet appetite. True enough, in a few years after the introduction of these synthetic sweeteners, these substances have become the popular choice for coffee and juice drinkers; snack manufacturers even make it a point to highlight the fact that their products only use artificial sweeteners instead of real sugar, as if the latter were a sinful ingredient.

Indeed, the good thing about artificial sweeteners is that they can provide the same taste that sugar can bring, but due to a unique molecular composition in them, they do not bring in additional calories into one's diet. And to top it all, since artificial sweeteners do not have the same chemical structure as sugar, they do not cause the same problems that are commonly linked to sugar.

Take the case of tooth decay. When you eat stuff that is rich in sugar, a certain bacteria inside your mouth builds up. These bacteria eventually release acids that can erode the enamel that protects your teeth, resulting to tooth decay. In the case of artificial sweeteners, the growth of these bacteria is not stimulated; so even if you indulge in food made with artificial sweeteners, you will have a significantly lower risk of tooth decay.

In another story, aspartame, saccharin and acesulfame can also be considered as a blessing for people who are suffering from diabetes. You see, sugar has been found to drastically induce blood sugar fluctuation in people with diabetes; while synthetic sweeteners hardly affect blood sugar levels. In short, these new sweeteners can allow even people with diabetes to continue enjoying beverages and desserts without aggravating their condition.

However, all these hype about artificial sweeteners have come under fire when it comes to weight gain. Despite the considerable lack in or absence of calories, these sweeteners have been pinpointed as one of the contributing factors in obesity here in America. Studies have shown that since the introduction of substances like aspartame, saccharin, and acesulfame, people have been getting fatter and heavier. In fact, nutrition experts have revealed that people who use these sweeteners outweigh people who use plain sugar by around two pounds on the average.

So what could be the problem? Later findings show that a sweet lover's habits, and not the artificial sweeteners, are the main cause in making him or her fat. It appears that people tend to use both regular sugar and synthetic sweeteners in their diet. Users of synthetic sweeteners think that they save a lot on calories, and so they reward themselves by using real sugar every now and then. The bottom line is that the consumption of both regular and synthetic sweeteners has been on the rise, which means caloric intake has also increased.

Apart from this, consumers should also consider other ingredients in their food that can make them gain unnecessary weight. For instance, even if you use aspartame for your cake, the chocolate, the eggs, and the flour you used for the cake can still give you the bulge. Always remember that being sugar-free is not always the same as calorie-free.

Artificial sweeteners can help you attain a more ideal weight only if you know how to use these substances properly.

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