Sugar-free foods and drinks are lower in calories than their full sugar alternatives, but are they good options for weight loss? While sugar substitutes are generally safe, the debate about how they should be used continues.
Other sugar substitutes are being developed, and many products contain a mix of sugar substitutes to enhance flavor. Each sugar substitute is several thousand times sweeter than sugar, but has a slightly different flavor. Whether you reach for the pink, blue, or yellow packet to sweeten your coffee is a matter of personal taste. Sugar substitutes are now so common that many people use them without consciously considering their use as a weight-loss strategy.
As part of an overall healthy diet, sugar substitutes are believed to reduce calories and the risk of cavities. Interestingly, controlled studies that compare weight loss between people who use sugar substitutes and those who consume sugar show very little difference in weight loss between the two groups, although over the long term, sugar substitutes can help maintain weight loss.
Conscious calorie-cutting strategies can include sugar-free products. Replacing a sugary drink with a sugar-free drink will reduce your calorie intake, and cutting back by just one full sugar soda a day could result in losing over 1.4 pounds in 18 months. The key to losing weight using sugar-free products is to use them strategically.
Sugar Substitutes: How Much Can You Have?
A big question surrounding sugar substitutes is how much diet soda is safe to drink. Though you might never consider consuming this much in a day, the FDA says these are the maximum amounts allowable for daily consumption, listed by type of sugar substitute:
* Aspartame: 18 to 19 cans of diet soda
* Saccharin: 9 to 12 packets
* Acesulfame-K: 30 to 32 cans of diet soda
* Sucralose: 6 cans of diet soda
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