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Light foods … make you fat!

Light and low-sugar products, such as 0% yogurts, or 0 calorie sodas … would not be as good for your health as claimed. In question:the perverse effects of sweeteners, these "false sugars" that are found in many culinary preparations. Because since they don't activate reward circuits like "real sugars" do, we eat more to be satisfied. A real trap.

A result provided by studying the behavior of flies and mice

Scientists from the University of Sydney and the Garvan Institute of Medical Research (Australia) conducted two experiments that allowed them to come to this conclusion; one was performed on flies, and the other on rodents. They fed them with products containing sucralose, a sweetener widely used in the food industry. This diet was followed for 5 days by the flies and 7 days by the mice. In a second step, the animals received a normal diet, with real sugars. And the result, published in the scientific journal Cell Metabolism , is uplifting; the animals ate about 30% more than before the diet imposed on them. The scientists explain that the fake sugars used stimulate the brain differently:"We found that the reward circuits of the brain associate the sweet sensation with an energy content", explains Professor Greg Neely, one of the authors of the study. Because when the sugar and energy balance is different for a while, the brain rebalances to increase total calorie intake. »

And that is precisely the purpose of sweeteners:to satisfy the craving for sugar without providing the calories that go with it.

Which sugars should be favored?

As part of a diet, we therefore avoid low-fat products based on aspartame, saccharin or sucralose. Also, these fake sugars cause a form of hyperactivity and can promote insomnia. For the good of your body and your health, you will therefore prefer natural foods, made up of real sugars, while maintaining regular physical activity and maintaining a certain lifestyle.