Zero Calories

Dr. Stephen Chaney once again brings up excellent facts on why people can't loose weight. 

"Are "zero calorie" foods making you fat?"

That question might seem like a no-brainer. Eating calorie-free foods rather than foods that contain calories has to be helpful in keeping your weight under control. Right? Let's look at calorie free soft drinks.

Between the years 1987 and 2000 the number of people drinking calorie free soft drinks in this country increased from 70 million to 160 million.

During that same period of time:
- the percentage of adults who were overweight increased from 52% to 66%.
- the percentage of adults who were obese (obese is defined as a BMI greater than 30) increased from 20% to 32%
- the percentage of children who were obese increased from 10% to 17%.
The answer is that we are using these calorie-free soft drinks to wash down Big Macs plus fries, Mrs. Fields' super-size brownies and Starbucks' chocolate chip muffins. 

The theory is that the high sweetness of both diet and regular soft drinks causes the brain to release chemicals that make us crave other sweet foods - so we eat more.

Before I knew how harmful aspartame is, I was just like that.  Big Mac and Diet Coke.

There is some evidence that they may even be making your weight control problems worse by encouraging you to eat high calorie foods to go along with them.  Also, aspartame has been linked to neurological problems. 

So the next time you reach for that "zero calorie" soft drink or the packets of "zero calorie" sweeteners to add to your coffee or tea, just be aware that there is no evidence that they are useful in helping you control your weight.

Now this is the short version of what Dr. Chaney has to say on Zero Calories.  Want the whole story?  Contact Mary Beth at marybeth1957@sbcglobal.net