Can Aspartame Cause Weight Gain?

Yes, aspartame can cause weight gain. The body doesn’t recognize aspartame (or any chemical sweetener for that matter) as food, so it's less likely to satisfy your body’s need for nourishment, which in turn increases your craving for more food.Simple carbs (manmade diet sugars) pass through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream. For you, this may lead to weight gain, increased fat and elevated blood sugar that can lead to even further weight gain.Carbohydrates are the most abundant source of energy found in nature. They are products of plant photosynthesis, which provide the plant’s fuel for life in the form of sugar. When we eat complex carbs, we are eating the plant’s energy, which in turn becomes our energy. Natural sugars are complex carbs as opposed to refined and artificial sugars that are simple carbs. When we eat the right kind of carbs, we are providing our bodies with fuel to perform daily activities. If you are eating a balanced diet with reasonably sized portions, carbohydrates from natural sugars should not cause weight gain. Unfortunately, these days we are victims of the “fear of carbs and sugar” fad, and the artificial sweetener manufacturers are taking advantage of this with a marketing frenzy.

Dr. Janet Starr Hull