Sweet Words of Wisdom from Nutritionist Karen

Question: Artificial or the real thing? Sweetening that is. As in, should I be using that Splenda, Nutrasweet, etc., in my coffee and tea so long as it's in moderation? Or is it better to just use sugar? I mean, is my left ear really going to fall off from 2-3 packets of artificial sweetener a day?

Answer: The golden question real sugar vs. artificial sweetener, which is better? If only this could be answered with a cut and dry answer. Sorry guys no can do, but I will give you a little food for thought (pun intended), and hopefully you can make your own healthy decision. Sugar has gotten a bad wrap from the "diet industry" here in the last 30 years. Where some of the concerns are absolutely valid, others have us running as far as possible from anything that contains sugar. Sugar is not the enemy. Excess sugar and lack of self-discipline and self-control are the problems. We can switch to nothing but artificial sweetener and still gain weight. How is that possible? Again, it falls into the moderation and self-control category. I try not to use the word "diet" when discussing the topic of weight loss with my clients. Diet to most people means short-term fix. Not the case when it comes to weight loss. Weight loss is a LIFESTYLE CHANGE!! There are no short-term fixes in this case. You can lose 5 lbs before Suzy Smith's wedding by avoiding all sugar and consuming nothing but things with artificial sweeteners. You will look great that day. But when Sunday comes and Suzy's on her honeymoon and all eating goes back to "normal" here comes those 5 lbs back and most likely 5 more. Now that being said, how do we make an educated decision on what to choose? Moderation is the key to all weight loss. If you can't drink your coffee without 1 tsp of sugar in the morning, then have the coffee with the sugar. If you only like oatmeal with a TBSP of brown sugar, eat it. Simple as that. Now, if you do have your sugar coffee and brown sugar oatmeal, learn to cut out the extra added sugar you may be eating in other foods. Become a label reader. Look for the added sugars in foods. We are a society that has gravitated to "Fat Free" yummies. While it looks good on the shelf, once you read the nutrition panel, it should probably go right back on the shelf. They are fat free of course, but to make up for that fat and make it taste good it is LOADED with added sugars. Here are a few numbers for you to consider. The World Health Organization recommends no more than 10% of your daily caloric intake from added sugars. That would mean 37 grams on a 1500 calorie-a-day plan, 40 grams on 1600 calories, 43 grams on 1700 calories, 45 grams on 1800 calories, 50 grams on 2000 calories and 64 grams on 2500 calories. Now let's take a look at some information on artificial sweeteners. Right now three common brands come to mind, Equal, Sweet n Low and Splenda. Sweet n Low has been around the longest and is 300 times sweeter than the real thing. Sweet n Low (or saccharin), which is commonly found nowadays in toothpaste and some diet soda, tends to have a bitter aftertaste. Next, there is Equal (or aspartame). Equal is 180 times sweeter than the real thing and leaves less of the bitter taste that Sweet n Low does. Finally, we have the new Splenda (or sucralose). Splenda is an amazing 600 times sweeter than sugar. That's why a little goes a long way with these products. Back in the 1970's we had a few little studies that were leading the general public to believe that saccharin was linked to the increased risk for cancer in rats. There have since been other studies that say that there is little evidence that this has caused problems for humans. There have been studies to show that some people do report headaches with the use of aspartame. So, if you are prone to headaches, you may want to avoid the little blue packets. Sucralose is pretty new, but there have been no negative reports out that I can find. According to the February issue of Women's Health, the FDA has established maximum intakes for sugar substitutes - a 150-lb person can take 8.5 packets of Sweet n Low, 87 packets of Equal, or 25 packets of Splenda daily with no adverse effects. So here you go guys, enough information to make an educated decision on your sweetener of choice. Just remember, whatever you choose, do it in moderation and all will be fine.

Karen Halter
AFTA Certified Personal Trainer
AFA Certified Sports Nutritionist