If you use artificial sweeteners in hopes of cutting calories, you're more likely to increase the total amount of food you eat!

The argument that artificial sweeteners may have harmful effects on health is still raging. Substances such as saccharine are not recommended for children or pregnant women, an aspartate has been related to an increased incidence of migraine headaches and allergic reactions. While these are important concerns, one fact has been ignored: The use of artificial sweeteners is most often accompanied by an increase in consumption of food. In other words, those who use artificial sweeteners often end up eating more food in the long term.

Researchers are unclear why this happens, but certain factors seem to be implicated: 
1. It may be a learned process by the body. The tasting of sweet substances causes the body to store, rather than burn, fat. 
2. It may be related to the dehydration accompanying the consumption of artificial sweeteners. This may trigger the brain to increase the appetite and food intake as a means of restoring water balance. 
3. Eating low calorie substances will lower the body's metabolism. This will also activate the need to eat. 
These factors do not occur with regular or natural sugar. People generally eat less food, for example, when they consume sugared drinks. There are, however, many other problems associated with the intake of excess sugar.

Although the use of artificial sweeteners is increasing, sugar consumption is still much higher-over 125 pounds a person per year. Consider all those "hidden" sugars in breads, ketchup cereal, salad dressing, etc. Names such as sucrose, dextrose glucose, maltose, corn syrup and lactose are all forms of sugar.

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