Sweeteners help some lose weight

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STANFORD, Calif., July 10 (UPI) -- Using sweeteners instead of sugars may help the overweight reach and maintain a healthy body weight if they don't eat more to compensate, U.S. researchers say.

Substituting non-nutritive sweeteners for added sugars in beverages and other foods has the potential to help people with diabetes with glucose control, a statement from the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association is a published in the journals Circulation and Diabetes Care.

Christopher Gardner, an associate professor of medicine at Stanford University said high intake of dietary sugars contributes to cardiovascular disease and obesity, which can then contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes.

The American Heart Association recommends most women eat no more than 100 calories per day and men no more than 150 calories per day of added sugars. Additionally, food and beverages high in added sugars tend to displace nutritious foods.

"While they are not magic bullets, smart use of non-nutritive sweeteners could help you reduce added sugars in your diet, therefore lowering the number of calories you eat," Gardner said in a statement.

The research on non-nutritive sweeteners -- aspartame, acesulfame-K, neotame, saccharin and sucralose and plant-derived stevia -- is inconclusive to date on whether non-nutritive sweeteners displace caloric sweeteners, such as added sugars, and reduce carbohydrate intake calorie intake or body weight, benefit appetite, or lower other risk factors associated with diabetes and heart disease in the long run, said the statement authors.