There was an interesting study published recently by Swithers & Davidson that compared rats fed food with artificial sweeteners versus rats fed a similar chocolate goop with real sugar. The rats could eat all they wanted, and the researchers used a (probably very tiny) scale to weigh the rats.
Well, it turns out that the artificially sweetener group put on more weight than the sugar-fed rats. The researchers speculate that artificial sweeteners interfere with the body's signaling mechanism. When people (or rats, I guess although I dislike the comparison) taste something very sweet, our bodies get revved up for some pretty hefty calories and increase metabolism. After a while, artificial sweeteners serve to blunt this mechanism, and eventually the body has a harder time recognizing and adjusting to higher calorie content foods.
Being the ever-curious soul that I am, I decided to do my own experiment using the only rat available - myself (in the opinion of many). For my morning ritual oatmeal, I had worked my way up to 5 packets of Splenda sweetener, and decided to switch to sugar for awhile. Here is what I found...
Surprise #1: I had developed a monster "sweet tooth"! I had to heap a lot of sugar onto my oatmeal to make up for the sweetness of 5 packs of Splenda.
Surprise #2: I got satisfied a lot faster eating the sugar-laden oatmeal. Normally I wolf down 3/4 cup (measured dry) oatmeal like nothing. With sugar on it, I found myself dumping out at least a third of my breakfast because I felt full.
I realize that this is totally anecdotal evidence (meaning it's my personal experience pretty much devoid of any proven scientific procedures). However, I think it brings up some food for thought (bad pun intended) for people like myself who avoid sugar in favor of artificial sweeteners over a long period of time.
What I've done: Try as I might, I can't live with less-sweet oatmeal, but I have switched to a half-and-half mix of sugar and Splenda. I still find that I get satisfied faster and eat considerably less. I have also cut back to one a day on artificially sweetened soft drinks and am drinking mostly water. I've lost about three pounds in the 10 days or so that I've been doing this.
If I've piqued anyone's curiosity, I invite you to join my half-assed experiment. Use more sugar and less artificial sweetener for a couple of weeks and let me know what happens. Email me at jlaabs@firstamericanpublishing.com
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