Q: I am on a diet and use artificial sweeteners in my coffee and tea. A friend told me that it may not help and could make me gain weight. How can this be if there are no calories in sweeteners? Are drinks containing natural fruit sugar or fructose better for you?
A: Susan E. Swithers and Terry L. Davidson of Purdue University studied rats’ behaviour and weight after consuming a high calorie meal and one containing no calories with an artificial sweetener.
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“The data clearly indicate that consuming a food sweetened with no-calorie saccharin can lead to greater body-weight gain and adiposity than by consuming the same food sweetened with a higher-calorie sugar,” wrote the authors in the journal, Behavioral Neuroscience.
It sounds contradictory, but the rats seem to have suffered from a blunted response, which led to overeating behaviour and made it harder for them to burn off calories.
The psychologist felt the sweet taste of the saccharin signalled that a lot more calories were about to be eaten.
This caused the body to gear up for more food intake by increasing the feeling of hunger, with less energy expended in the digestive process.
Interestingly, people who drink more diet drinks seem to be at a higher risk of becoming obese and having insulin resistance, leading to illnesses such as heart attacks, high blood pressure and diabetes.
Because of health concerns, some schools have started to ban pop machines in favour of those giving out only diet pop. They may wish to rethink this policy.
These findings do not mean that you should give up counting calories in your diet. A small teaspoon of sugar has about 20 calories. You could try gradually reducing the amount of sugar in your diet rather than using sugar substitutes. That way, you will be more likely to keep the weight off as you lose your sweet tooth.
Animals given drinks with fructose compared to those given glucose were found to have increased insulin resistance plus higher levels of blood cholesterol and fats.
Another small study using obese human volunteers found that the fructose drinking group had an increase in belly fat and bad cholesterol levels after only 10 weeks. The group consuming only glucose sweetened drinks did not.
They are the healthier choice, but still contain many calories.
Arsenic and severity of flu
Doctors have been wondering why certain groups of people in Mexico are seeing a higher percentage of severe H1N1 cases requiring intensive care. Researchers at the Dartmouth Medical School in Massachusetts believe it might be due to higher than normal levels of arsenic in the well water.
They found that exposure to levels between 10 and 100 parts per billion reduced the immune response in the lungs of mice. Mice were fed arsenic and then exposed to the flu virus and compared to mice that did not get arsenic.
The first group developed significantly more weight loss after a 10-day period, while the second began to regain weight about a week after the infection began.
Arsenic or heavy metal contamination of drinking water could be a factor in the flu outbreaks in northern Manitoba native communities, where there have been problems with the water supply.
These substances are naturally occurring in some parts of the world. If there is a gold mine nearby, it is possible that arsenic used in the extraction process could leach into the surrounding groundwater.
Clare Rowson is a retired medical doctor living near Belleville, Ont. Her columns are intended for general information only. Individuals are encouraged to also seek the advice of their own doctor. She can be reached at health@producer.com.
