Should You Use Fat Substitutes in Your Diet?

Fat-substitues and artificial sweeteners have become more popular in the past 30 years than the have ever been before. Our country is very focused on losing weight and eating healthier. Consumers believe that if you use fat substitutes in your food, or sweeteners with no calories, you will lose weight. But do they really work the way they are supposed to?

A lab experiment relating to this information was performed on rats. Some rats were given regular potato chips- high in fat and calories. Other rats were given regular chips on some days, but low-calorie chips on other days. The low calorie chips contain a synthetic fat substitute. This synthetic actually passes through the body without being digested. Most people would think that this would be good for you, since the fat is not absorbed by your body. However, scientists have found that fat substitutes actually disrupt normal digestive function, and can lead to weight gain and obesity.

This fact would be proven in the results of the rat experiment. The group of rats that consumed both types of chips actually gained weight, ate an increased amount of regular rat food, and developed a high amount of fatty tissue. The rats that ate just the regular potato chips actually had better results. Obviously, we cannot always relate experiments performed on rats to humans, but both mammals' eating patterns and digestive systems are similar in nature.

Why are the fat substitutes and artificial sweeteners not as effective as you thought? Well, as brought out before, scientists have found that they disrupt your normal body's digestive system. When you start to eat something sweet, or something fattening, your body is responding before you even know it. As soon as the food touches your tongue, your body secretes hormones and your metabolism changes. By eating a fat substitute, though, you play a trick on your body. The body expects to ingest calories and fat, but instead, gets neither. Thus, your body's digestive system may be affected for the worse.

I enjoyed reading this article because I am highly interested in nutrition. Recently, I have heard many people talk about artificial sweeteners and give their opinion on them. My opinion is that regular sugar and regular fat is good for your body- in moderation. Natural foods with low calorie and fat levels are always better than synthetically produced fat substitues and artificial sugar.

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