Alert! ‘Diet’ drinks stall slimming

Sipping sodas or iced tea made with the artificial sweetener sucralose drives up your appetite, say Belgian researchers. In their study, consuming drinks with sucralose increased the production of the hunger hormone ghrelin by 38%. “While many artificial sweeteners have 0 calories, they still taste very sweet, which can increase sugar cravings,” says Noel Maclaren, M.D. The researchers say sucralose confuses the brain so the body reacts as if it has consumed calories, but there’s no increase in energy. As a result, the brain dials down satiety hormones to encourage you to eat more so you can get more energy. For a delicious fizzy drink, Dr. Maclaren advises sipping sparkling water with a squeeze of lemon or lime.