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Totally unscientific theory: sweeteners are to sugar what methadone is to heroin. If you're using them, you're still craving/addicted to sugar and your palate

Totally unscientific theory: sweeteners are to sugar what methadone is to heroin. If you're using them, you're still craving/addicted to sugar and your palate remains out of whack, so you're probably also drawn to sugary foods that don't use sweeteners (eg. most commercial pasta sauce, ketchup, fruit juice, many breads).

phil248 8y ago
It's true, artificial sweeteners have been shown to trick the brain and make people more hungry just like sugar does: https://sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2016/07/13/why-artificial-sweeteners-can-increase-appetite.html?cta=news https://sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2016/07/13/why-artif... But artificial sweeteners do not increase blood glucose levels, which are also linked to increased appetite. For me personally, avoiding sugar is a surefire way to decrease my appetite overall. It's so effective it almost seems like magic.
arh68 8y ago
But then why do they consume less fructose overall? It’s plausible but this study seems to suggest the exact opposite. > ...users consumed lower amounts of fructose and higher amounts of caffeine than non-users, but had similar diet quality.
eckza 8y ago
In my lived, anecdotal experience: I grew up eating “normal” foods and drinking non-diet soda. I am an average-sized guy. I fell in love with a sweetheart of a woman that was around 300lbs. I married her. She’s now less than half that. I eat what she eats. Diet, sugar-free everything. After a few years of tolerating it, I prefer it. Normal soda tastes like cough syrup, to me. Cake and donuts make me nauseated. I don’t crave sugar, at all. Also, ketchup has a shit ton of sugar in it, for the record. (I know this, because we use sugar-free ketchup.) Do with this anecdotal informaton what you will; but as someone who has fully transitioned to artificial sweeteners - I can’t say that my lived experience lines up with your claims.

phil248 8y ago

It's true, artificial sweeteners have been shown to trick the brain and make people more hungry just like sugar does: https://sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2016/07/13/why-artificial-sweeteners-can-increase-appetite.html?cta=news https://sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2016/07/13/why-artif... But artificial sweeteners do not increase blood glucose levels, which are also linked to increased appetite. For me personally, avoiding sugar is a surefire way to decrease my appetite overall. It's so effective it almost seems like magic.

arh68 8y ago

But then why do they consume less fructose overall? It’s plausible but this study seems to suggest the exact opposite. > ...users consumed lower amounts of fructose and higher amounts of caffeine than non-users, but had similar diet quality.

eckza 8y ago

In my lived, anecdotal experience: I grew up eating “normal” foods and drinking non-diet soda. I am an average-sized guy. I fell in love with a sweetheart of a woman that was around 300lbs. I married her. She’s now less than half that. I eat what she eats. Diet, sugar-free everything. After a few years of tolerating it, I prefer it. Normal soda tastes like cough syrup, to me. Cake and donuts make me nauseated. I don’t crave sugar, at all. Also, ketchup has a shit ton of sugar in it, for the record. (I know this, because we use sugar-free ketchup.) Do with this anecdotal informaton what you will; but as someone who has fully transitioned to artificial sweeteners - I can’t say that my lived experience lines up with your claims.