by Isabel De Los Rios
http://www.yourdietsolution.com

After a quick look at some of the emails I received last week I noticed there were many questions and concerns about Artificial Sweeteners. As many of you know, I am a big advocate of being "au natural" as much as possible and artificial sweeteners to me are, well, "artificial".

Here was one reader’s question::

"Isabel. It seems that there are no definite studies that prove, hands down, that artificial sweeteners can be hazardous to our health. Do you still recommend we stay away from them?"

My answer to this question is YES but more importantly, I would like to explain a little something about just about every health study out there. There are so many factors that we will never know about each and every study that is conducted. For example: Who funded the study? How were the results interpreted? What if the time frame used was too short? Too long? Was the scientist having a bad day? You get my point.

Yes, I do agree. There are so many studies that show artificial sweeteners not having any detrimental effects on health. But there are also many studies that show tumor growth, increased incidence of cancer, and liver damage in the specimens used.

Who is telling the truth? Or, better yet, who is right? We may never know. But do you know what is the one thing you can always rely on to tell you exactly what is right or wrong for you? Your body! When I personally gave up drinking diet coke and using artificial sweeteners in my tea and coffee, my stomach pains went away, I stopped feeling hungry all the time, I began to consistently lose weight and I no longer had such strong sweet cravings. I’ve had thousands of my readers and clients tell me the same. On the flip side of that, I’ve never, in all my years of experience, have had someone tell me they switched to artificial sweeteners and then no longer craved sweets or were less hungry. Nope. Never heard that. What can I say? I only call it like I see it.

For me, staying away from anything "artificial" just seems like the best choice for ME. Remember, as with any health advice, you always want to do what seems best for you and your health. If the sound of putting a man made chemical into your body seems like a bad thing to you, stay away from them. If you think your body seems to not be affected by a few chemicals every now and again, then go for it. All I am suggesting is that you keep yourself informed, educated and make choices based on what your body tells you and shows you is best for you.

Here is an article I wrote that presents some of the research and facts I have found regarding artificial sweeteners and how they may be affecting your fat loss efforts:

http://www.thedietsolutionprogram.com/articles.aspx?article=How-Artificial-Sweeteners-Are-Making-You-Fat

Feel free to share this article with your co-workers, friends and family as I know many people are reading their emails right now with a Diet Coke in hand. They just may put it down after they read this:

Isabel