Many people drink artificially sweetened coffee drinks, sodas, and other beverages in the belief that it´s just as effective a way to prevent fat gain or promote fat loss as drinking plain water. They´re wrong. A recent study from Purdue University found that rats fed artificially sweetened yogurt ate more and gained more fat than rats fed yogurt sweetened with glucose.
The researchers who conducted the study speculated that the lack of calories that follows the sweet taste of artificial sweeteners may confuse the brain–based mechanisms that regulate appetite, triggering a drive to get the calories that were expected from the artificially sweetened food. In other words, artificial sweeteners may increase appetite. They also shut down the serotonin production that comes from eating a satisfying meal, which also leads to more appetite.
Sugar Is Not Better
Does this mean you should drink sugar-sweetened beverages instead of those that are sweetened artificially? No way. The sugar calories in regular soft drinks may be "honest" calories, but they are just as likely to cause weight gain. A Harvard University study that followed the eating habits of women for four years found that those who drank more than one serving of soda or fruit punch a day gained more than three times as much weight as those who did not (10.3 pounds versus 3.3 pounds).
Better Choices
So what should you drink? For regular hydration and thirst–quenching, nothing beats plain water. When you want a drink that tastes great and is good for you, blend a ProEnergy whey isolate shake, which provides the appetite–reducing, metabolizing–increasing benefits of all–natural whey protein isolate and is sweetened with all–natural, zero–calorie stevia leaf extract. You can also mix it with Greenergy or drink the Greenergy alone in water or with a splash of fruit juice.
