Weight loss is a condition-specific phenomena for most. It only occurs when you are commented upon, can't fit into favorite clothes, your health parameters go for a toss or you simply don't like your image in the mirror. Once you hop on this kilo shedding bandwagon, you also start omitting foods from your diet and start consuming healthy foods to keep yourself going. One food that many ditch right away is sugar.
Sugar is known to increase your waist size, lead to skin issues and causes other issues like tooth decay. However, sugar also comes with its own set of pros such as metabolism boost and its abundance of vitamins and minerals. This does not refer to the refined and processed sugar you find in desserts and beverages, but rather natural sugars you get from sugarcane, date palm, honey, and fruits. Quality sugar is the trick and not the white sugar you get in the market.
Many experts believe that completely eliminating sugar can lead to rapid weight loss, better skin and improved health parameters. This may be true in most cases, however, sticking to sweeteners is not the answer for the sweet tooth fans. Sweeteners are often prescribed by experts so that chai or coffee addicts are not deprived of their favorites. But are sweeteners the right way to go? The answer is both yes and no.
There are two types of sweeteners, natural and artificial. Natural sweeteners include stevia and date sugar, while artificial sweeteners mean commercial products which contain aspartame and sucralose (both sweetening agents). Synthetic sweeteners also come under the umbrella of artificial sweeteners. Sweeteners are lesser in calories and are healthier replacements for the regular white sugar.
Do sweeteners aid weight loss?
As per experts, weight loss entirely depends on how you design your diet and exercise. Just sticking to sweeteners may not be helpful. Consuming sweeteners should not be considered an alternate for a healthy diet or exercise. They certainly contain lesser calories, but long time use can hamper your health, especially if you consume artificial sweeteners that contain aspartame.
Weight loss is a combination of diet and exercise in the right proportion. Solely depending on sweeteners is not a good option because this in no way ensures that you will lose weight. You may not eat many calories and this perhaps leads to weight loss during this time, but once you will get back to your normal foods, it means you gain all that lost weight.
Read the label carefully
Stevia is a plant-based sweetener and hence, is not harmful. However, if you are purchasing a processed sweetener that contains stevia as one of the products, it can be harmful. There have been numerous studies on how consumption of sweeteners have led to appetite increase in many or how taste buds have been disrupted due to the constant intake of sweeteners. Having said that, there is still research going on and as of now, limiting your sweetener consumption is ideal.
When consuming a sweetener, it is advised to read the label carefully. Whether the product contains trans fats, saturated fats, sodium, cholesterol and/or any foreign word you do not understand, should be taken into consideration.