Hi everybody this is Monica Reinagal and you're listening to the nutrition

diva quick and dirty tips for eating well and feeling fabulous today's

episode was suggested by well a number of people actually, Lela, Lauren, and Kelly all wrote

to me with questions about artificial sweeteners and whether they can help you lose weight.

You've probably heard by now that we're having a bit of a fat problem here in the United States. In fact, it's quickly spreading around the globe.

Obesity seems to be one of our more successful exports.

In a country where two-thirds of the adults

and one-third of the kids are overweight,

it might seem that artificial sweeteners

would be a pretty good idea.

The average American eats about 20 teaspoons of sugar a day,

most in the form of soft drinks, sweets,

and other processed foods.

Well, that's about 300 calories a day. If we replaced that much sugar with zero calorie artificial sweeteners,

we could all lose 30 pounds over the next year without even trying.

And that's perhaps the main argument for the use of sugar substitutes.

Replacing sugar with artificial sweeteners can save you calories.

Another advantage to zero calorie sweeteners is that they have no effect on blood sugar levels,

and that can be helpful for people with

diabetes and of course unlike sugar artificial sweeteners don't cause tooth decay

but there's no such thing as a free lunch and artificial sweeteners have some downsides as well.

First, many people find that super sweet taste or bitter chemical after taste

...