A lot of people, especially overweight people, turn to diet soda to reduce their caloric intake. The appeal is that it is a sugar-free, carb-free, fat-free, zero-calorie beverage. It does, however, contain aspartame, which is about 200 times sweeter than regular sugar. So why is it that a calorie-free drink makes you hungrier?
Let’s remove diet soda from the equation for just a moment. It stands to reason that if you are hungry, you eat something and the hunger goes away. Unfortunately, it isn’t that simple. You have more than likely eaten meals that fill you up more than others, even if you’ve eaten the same amount of food. For example, you go back for chow mein when you’ve already had a full serving.
Sometimes, it’s not the nutrient density (or lack of nutrients) of the meal that gets in the way of satiating you. It can often be the beverage you drink alongside your meal. A new study found that non-caloric sweeteners that are typically found in diet sodas interfere with the brain’s hunger responses. Basically, these sweeteners make it more difficult for the brain to discern if you are actually full or not. They may even make you feel hungrier.
How Do Non-Caloric Sweeteners Mess With Hunger Cues?
Aspartame, sucralose, stevia, and erythritol are the most popular sugar substitutes used in diet sodas and some low-calorie processed foods. Unlike regular sugar, these substitutes do not add additional calories. The problem is that consuming these types of sweeteners confuses the brain. In an ideal situation, the brain perceives calories coming in when you consume a food or beverage. That isn’t the case with diet soda, so the brain increases appetite in order to obtain other calories.
To put it in simpler terms, non-caloric sweeteners confuse the brain. The body is programmed to expect some calories when it consumes something sweet. Zero-calorie sweeteners do not fulfill that expectation, so that mismatch stimulates the brain’s hunger cues and you end up eating more than you normally would as a result.
Although artificial sweeteners can confuse hunger cues for every person, some people don’t experience as severe an effect as others. During the study, researchers noted that men and women with obesity had a heightened response to non-caloric sweeteners. The difference in reactions between people with obesity and people without obesity was quite evident. People with obesity had a very strong response in the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that regulates hunger. If people with obesity drink diet soda, they are more likely to overeat than people without obesity who drink diet soda.
How To Better Understand Hunger Cues
Why do people with obesity experience a greater impact? Researchers don’t exactly know at the moment, but they suspect it to be a consequence of obesity. Being overweight is just the tip of the iceberg regarding obesity. Many bodily functions and processes influence how a person responds to food. The only thing you can do to fight back is to better understand the body’s hunger cues.
All dietitians and researchers recommend avoiding diet sodas and other non-caloric sweeteners whenever possible. Ideally, avoid sugar as well, but it can be difficult to do that. Sugar consumption is linked to weight gain, but so is non-caloric sweetener consumption. Hunger and thirst are also easily confused. The body sometimes sends the same signals for hunger and thirst, due to overlapping mechanisms. This can result in unnecessary snacking, so with that in mind, make sure you maintain proper hydration levels.
If you feel hungry all the time, you most likely are not consuming satiating nutrients, including protein, healthy fats, fiber, and complex carbohydrates. Focusing on foods that contain these nutrients, such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds, can help you get more of those nutrients. Practice mindful eating, chewing each bite slowly to savor the flavors. Additionally, try to have a dedicated space for eating and don’t sit on the couch, for example, as that can cause mindless eating, so you’ll consume more than you need to without realizing it.
Vincent Stevens is the senior content writer at Dherbs. As a fitness and health and wellness enthusiast, he enjoys covering a variety of topics, including the latest health, fitness, beauty, and lifestyle trends. His goal is to inform people of different ways they can improve their overall health, which aligns with Dherbs’ core values. He received his bachelor’s degree in creative writing from the University of Redlands, graduating summa cum laude. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.
