Sugar is one of the major things which can make your diet bad. It harms the teeth as it does your oral hygiene. There have been plenty of research done on how sugar harms the teeth. There has been a long history of how sugar damages the teeth and makes a huge negative impact on your health. This is why artificial sweeteners exist.

But this type of alternative has been part of a huge debate for a long time. While some people consider it to be the best choice. For others, it is not so. There are some differing views on the same. As there have been some reports on how it can increase the risk of you having you cancer and is also known to impact your blood sugar.

But there have been quite the stance where some health figures suggest how they are safe to take. And many people have also said that how this can help in keeping your sugar intake in control and also help you in losing weight.

So which one is it? What are the true facts relating to it? In this article we will be talking in detail about where do artificial sweeteners stand?

So let’s begin:

What are Artificial Sweeteners?

These are also called sugar substitutes . These are basically the chemicals that you add into some of the foods and beverages. This is done to make them sweet. And it is used as a substitute for sugar. So when you are opting for something which is artificial, you want to make sure that it has the similar taste to the real thing but is not impacting the health in the same way.

There are also some intense sweeteners out there. And while some don’t give the same taste as others, many people use them as they was something which tastes similar to how sugar tastes. In fact in some cases, the taste is actually even sweeter than real sugar.

Now you might be wondering aside from being a good substitute for the sugar taste, how do these artificial sweeteners rank when it comes to the amount of calories that come with them.

Yes in some cases there may be some calories, but these calories are very small in amount so they won’t be harming you in any way. You can almost consider them to be as no calories even.

So how do these work anyway?

Getting the Most Out of Artificial Sweeteners

understanding the impact of sweeteners

Did you know that the top of your tongue actually consists of a range of taste buds. This is what allows you to taste and understand what is needed the most.  All of these taste buds consist of what we call taste receptors and they help you to detect the different flavors.

Whenever you consume something, the first thing that happens that your taste receptors will be detecting the food molecules. This is what we call a good fit between the two. And then the signal gets sent to the brain. It will then allow you to taste the food and make a judgment on how it goes.

When you are consuming sugar, it fits well with your taste receptors that identify the sweetness. And when they do, they will define the sweet taste and make sure it reaches the brain in the same way.

Same Taste -Different Structure

is there a difference ?

This is where the similarity lies between the two. Artificial sweeteners have very similar structure to sugar molecules. So when you are having artificial sweeteners, they give the same message and alertness to the brain.

But here is where the similarity also ends. As they may be tasting the same but structure wise, they are different. It takes them more time to actually break down into calories. And this is how you can have the similar sugar taste. But you don’t need to go through the same added calories to it.

There is only a small minority of artificial sweeteners which actually have a similar structure to sugar. And can break it down in a similar format. So now that you know that there are only a small amount of artificial sweeteners needed to make the food tasty, it is like you are consuming no calories at all.

And this is probably where the biggest incentive lies for you to consume artificial sweeteners.

Now I want to talk about some of the most common artificial sweeteners out there:

Types of Artificial Sweeteners

Here are some of the most common kinds which are known to not just taste good but are also a good substitute for taking in on sugars. This includes the following:

  • Aspartame
  • Advantame
  • Cyclamate
  • Neotame
  • Neohesperidin
  • Sucralose
  • Stevia
  • Candrel

These are now widely accepted and used worldwide for their powerful impact. Aside from this, there are also others that exist but how they are used and efficient is still not proven.

Sugar Substitutes Impact on Appetite

One of the major uses of artificial sweeteners is that it helps you in losing weight. But as it turns out that there are also some other impact it has on your appetite aside from your weight.

In some cases, people also say that using these kind of sugar replacements actually increases their appetite and also can encourage weight gain. The main idea here is that they may not actually be activating the food pathway for you which you do need when trying to feel satisfied when eating.

The reason for this may be that whole they do taste similar to sugar, they are actually empty calories. So this in a way confuses the brain. Hence it doesn’t always mean that you may be full, and your brain gets in the notion that you are still feeling hungry.

So in that case, you may end up eating more from the artificial food to feel full and this actually causes more harm than good. In some cases, you may even end up craving for more sugary items. However this usually comes up certain individual cases and cannot be said about the masses.

Now let’s talk about it makes an impact on your weight:

The Effects on Your Teeth

So this is one of the major questions and concerns people have- how does consuming artificial sweeteners impact your teeth?

So it turns out that they are not as of a healthy option as you may presume them to be. There have been some recent studies that suggest that consuming too much of it actually also lead towards weight gain.

Also when it comes to heavy consumption, they also impact your teeth by causing you to suffer from tooth decay and also have heavy cavities.

This is why you should consider using alternative sweeteners as they work better. But this is relating to you just making a switch. When you take on artificial sweeteners, you should not be adding more onto your plate.

Just make use of it as a substitute and not more. They impact your teeth and health in so many ways. You just have to make sure you are understanding as to how.

The Study on Sugar and Teeth

Sucrose or sugar is definitely the most harmful of the lot. While this causes you to have tooth decay. Did you know that there is bacteria in your mouth and this means you have to breakdown the sugar and this turns into acid.

When the acids actually combine with the bacteria, it actually leads to the creation of plaque. This is the element which gets stuck into your teeth and when that happens, it actually starts to wear down your tooth enamel.

When that happens, it can actually cause you to have cavities. So this is why you should be cutting down on your sugar intake.

So the good news is – artificial sweeteners are what we call non-cariogenic. This means that they will not be causing tooth decay. But under some circumstances and individual cases, it means that you may be have a chance of getting tooth decay. This is when your pH level in the mouth drops. And that happens when the acid level in the mouth increases actually. However when that happens, you may have a higher salivary pH and this leads to you getting a control on the decay-causing bacteria that exists in the mouth.

Takeaway

natural or artificial ?

People have been using artificial sweeteners for a very long time. They are considered to be a good substitute to sugars. Sucrose is actually one of the leading materials which can lead to tooth decay. But when it comes to these replacements, they actually help your teeth more than they harm them.

However this needs to be done with control. You are using it as a replacement. That does not mean you need to add them into everything. Whatever the situation may be, moderation is the key.

Remember your oral health matters a lot and you need to know what you are getting into. Artificial sweeteners are a good option but you need to be well-prepared and ensure that you are using it in limited means.