Double post?! Yes. I feel compelled.

For anyone who still drinks or eats artificial "zero calorie" sweeteners thinking that they are doing themselves a service trying to lose weight... There is something you need to know.

There is a hormone that you produce that tells your body to store fat. It is called insulin. If you want to lose weight, you need to have normal insulin levels. If you want to gain weight, you need to raise your insulin levels.

Humans have something called the "Cephalic phase insulin response."

What that means is that your body releases insulin in response to certain stimuli.

Sweet taste is a stimuli.

The sweet taste that is in artificial sweeteners tells your body to release insulin the same way that real sugar does.

Eat/drink sugar or artificial sweeteners -> body releases insulin -> you get fat.

If you're going to eat or drink something with sugar, just use real sugar, preferably organic, or something like local honey or maple syrup. It's better for you.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/…/article/pii/S019566630800411X

"A significant increase of plasma insulin concentration was apparent after stimulation with sucrose and saccharin. In conclusion, the current data suggest that the sweeteners sucrose and saccharin activate a CPIR even when applied to the oral cavity only." DressAfford online items to wear in the evening