Sugar Substitutes Curb Hunger?

In a turn of information that I thought was the real truth, that artificial sweeteners are actually bad for your appetite and even worse for your sugar cravings, newer studies are suggesting – and I do mean merely suggesting – that artificial sweeteners may actually help to curb one’s appetite.  It was found the when carbonated water laced with artificial sweeteners, it was not said which one it was in particular, it looked like it made the stomach release a lot more of a certain chemical in the body which is closely related to the curbing of hunger and satiety.

Artificial sweeteners like aspartame have long been criticized for actually helping to increase cravings for sugar, and of course also they are criticized heavily for their suspected link to causing cancers of different sorts in the human body.  They have been shown many times to have links to cancer development in animals that have been tested, but supposedly this link has never been conclusively proven in the human body from their consumption.  So, what does this supposed new finding mean to the average diet soda drinker?

Well, it’s not exactly clear yet, since what I read indicated that the study suggested it was only a hunger suppressant when it was paired with carbohydrates. I don’t see how that’s possible if it’s just soda water and aspartame or splenda or something like that, because then there would not be any carbs to speak of in the drink.  Plus, I thought about when I drink diet soda.  I’m not sure if it really makes me feel fuller, but I can tell you that soda seems to make me feel fuller faster. I had always thought that was just because it was the carbonation and fizz though, and had nothing to do with the sugar substitute.

I still think that the reason it helps fill me up is the carbonation though, since it seems like I could eat something with artificial sweetener in it and be starving an hour later.  I guess we’ll see if there is anything to this study, but honestly, I wouldn’t increase my intake of sugar substitutes unless it’s something healthier like stevia, just for the sake of decreasing the appetite, there are far too many other potential health implications, and much better ways to suppress your hunger naturally to bother with this one!