This Weight Loss Method, Practiced by Millions, Can Lead to Weight Gain

The American Heart Association and American Diabetes Association stress the significance of making educated dietary decisions.

Replacing regular sugar in food and beverages with different artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, acesulfame-K, and neotame can be advantageous for controlling weight and blood sugar levels in individuals with diabetes.

While this strategy may appear sensible, scientific proof contradicts its efficiency. In fact, individuals adhering to this suggestion might encounter weight gain and worsening of diabetes.

Furthermore, the impact is not confined to sweeteners only; similar outcomes can arise from flavorings too. Let's explore the specifics. . .

Palatants and Weight Increase

In the domain of industrial agriculture, animals often need to gain weight quickly. To achieve this, farmers may feed them high-calorie diets. But what happens if the animals are choosy eaters?

In his book, The Dorito Effect, Mark Schatzker discloses how farmers tackle this problem by introducing a substance known as a palatant into the animals' feed.

Palatants effectively boost appetite, resulting in a significant rise in food consumption, which translates to notable weight gain over time.

For example, when sheep were fed hay treated with a palatant named Sucram, their food intake increased by 15%. The sweet and milky taste of the additive deceived the animals into thinking they were nursing from their mothers.

A similar phenomenon occurs in humans, where these appetite-enhancing chemicals are typically referred to as flavorings, not palatants.

It appears the saying "Eat like a pig" has taken on a new meaning.

Artificial or natural flavors can trick our senses into perceiving a product as genuine and nutritious. For instance, a strawberry-flavored yogurt without real strawberries or an orange drink containing artificial orange flavors can give the impression of consuming authentic ingredients. In blind taste tests, distinguishing between real and artificial flavors becomes challenging.

But why do these products drive us to consume more? The mere tastiness of these flavors does not entirely explain the inclination to overeat or overdrink beyond our caloric needs.

The root cause may lie in the nutritional deficiencies of artificially flavored products, lacking essential vitamins, minerals, and fats. As a result, we unknowingly overeat in an effort to acquire these vital nutrients that the product's taste and aroma imply should be present.

Animal studies have supported this phenomenon.

For example, despite the absence of vitamin C in a fake-orange-flavored treat, our bodies detect its presence due to the flavor, prompting continued consumption.

Yet, there is another factor elucidating our inability to resist nutritionally deficient "fake" foods.

Whole Foods and Feeling Full

Professor Fred Provenza from Utah State University presents a compelling hypothesis: "Eating in excess essentially stems from the inability to feel satisfied."

Real food caters to various human needs and instills a sense of satiety on multiple levels.

While our interaction with flavor begins in the mouth, it extends beyond. Taste receptors dispersed throughout the digestive system can recognize proteins, fats, sugars, hormones, pathogens, and plant compounds.

Plant flavonoids not only provide taste but can also be harmful beyond a certain threshold. Whether it's the oleocanthal in olives, myristicin in parsley, or bitter compounds in grapes, blueberries, and broccoli, once the toxic limit is reached, hormonal signals urge us to stop eating.

In contrast, flavor-enhanced processed foods like chicken nuggets or soft drinks lack these natural cues. While they may be chemically enhanced, they lack toxic elements that would signal satiety, leading to calorie accumulation.

Flavorings may deceive our taste buds, but they fail to deceive our bodies, akin to artificial sweeteners.

Artificial Sweeteners and Inflammation

In animals, artificial sweeteners evoke a response contrary to that of flavonoids, triggering the release of a digestive hormone signaling increased intake.

Research by Dana Small from Yale underscores how artificial sweeteners disrupt the link between sweet taste and calorie consumption.

Brain scans unveiled distinct activation patterns in the amygdala, responsible for emotions and motivation, among individuals consuming zero-calorie sweeteners compared to those consuming sugar.

Another study demonstrated that high concentrations of sweeteners stimulated the creation of human fat cells.

Scientists Eran Segal and Eran Elinav from the Weizmann Institute of Science conducted thorough research on mice to investigate the effects of artificial sweeteners.

These studies disclosed significant changes in the gut microbiome of the animals, resulting in metabolic alterations associated with obesity, diabetes, and related issues in both mice and humans.

In a human trial, half of the participants developed glucose intolerance, a precursor to diabetes, after just one week of consuming artificial sweeteners at normal levels.

The researchers oppose the prevailing guidance from medical organizations advocating the use of these chemicals for weight management and blood sugar regulation. They suggest avoiding both sweeteners and sugar for optimal health.

Additionally, it is crucial to steer clear of flavorings in processed foods.