If I understand the study correctly, it's more a matter of behaviour, rather than an inherent property of the zero-cal sweeteners themselves. As long as diet and exercise are still monitored, there's nothing bad about the zero-cal stuff.
Unless, of course, you're allergic to the artifical stuff. :D Friend of mine even tastes aspartame and he gets a massive headache. I don't think he does too well with saccharine either.
Though personally, I'll take a nature-made chemical over a man-made chemical any day of the week.
Aspartame is a migraine trigger for me, too. And it tastes like metal. Bleh.
I'm doing well with sucralose (Splenda), but I only use it to replace the small amount of sugar I put in my coffee - I don't really "sweeten" my coffee so much as take the edge off of the horrible drip brew stuff I get at work, and sometimes in the morning at home.
It doesn't seem to be a hunger trigger with me, because I can still have just a cup of coffee in the morning and forget to eat for three or four hours... (and then I realize I haven't eaten when my blood sugar plummets to somewhere catastrophic and my hands start shaking).
Looking at that story, there's both the consious/semi-consious reaction and unconsious reaction - while you can probably override the "I'm not getting enough sugar, eat more to make up for it", you'll have a harder time persuading your body to not change its core body temperature, and thus put more fat on.
I can't stand the taste of the stuff either, and I've also avoided it because my mother (academic biochemist) said not to touch the stuff in the same breath as telling me I could stand to lose some weight.
I don't think it is way off to generalize from rats to North Americans humans. Most people are not aware of their underlying biological processes, and only vaguely of their food intake and calorie expenditure.
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(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-12 02:45 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-12 02:47 pm (UTC)Except of course that it tastes like ass juice.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-12 02:54 pm (UTC)Though personally, I'll take a nature-made chemical over a man-made chemical any day of the week.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-12 03:10 pm (UTC)Couldn't tell you which ones or if it's all of them. The paper I read was many years ago and I'm too lazy to go look it up. :-p
(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-12 03:18 pm (UTC)I'm doing well with sucralose (Splenda), but I only use it to replace the small amount of sugar I put in my coffee - I don't really "sweeten" my coffee so much as take the edge off of the horrible drip brew stuff I get at work, and sometimes in the morning at home.
It doesn't seem to be a hunger trigger with me, because I can still have just a cup of coffee in the morning and forget to eat for three or four hours... (and then I realize I haven't eaten when my blood sugar plummets to somewhere catastrophic and my hands start shaking).
(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-12 03:20 pm (UTC)Looking at that story, there's both the consious/semi-consious reaction and unconsious reaction - while you can probably override the "I'm not getting enough sugar, eat more to make up for it", you'll have a harder time persuading your body to not change its core body temperature, and thus put more fat on.
I can't stand the taste of the stuff either, and I've also avoided it because my mother (academic biochemist) said not to touch the stuff in the same breath as telling me I could stand to lose some weight.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-12 03:46 pm (UTC)North Americanshumans. Most people are not aware of their underlying biological processes, and only vaguely of their food intake and calorie expenditure.(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-13 04:02 am (UTC)