Burn Belly Fat

Surprising Research

To burn belly fat many people turn first to artificial sweeteners. This seems like a logical first step toward losing belly fat and obtaining flat abs. After all, sugar is loaded with calories and artificial sweeteners have little or no calories. Therefore, reducing your calories from sugar will lead to weight loss. Right?

Well, maybe not. There have been studies that indicate that artificial sweeteners may not be effective in helping you lose belly fat. In fact they may have the exact opposite effect. You won’t burn belly fat but you will build belly fat.

In 2005 Nutrition Research Reviews published a study by Dr. David Benton. The conclusion of his study was that artificial sweeteners may result in weight gain. He discussed the theory that there may be an increased consumption of fat when using artificial sweeteners.

In the February 2008 issue of Behavioral Neuroscience , a journal of the American Psychological Association, is an interesting study of artificial sweeteners. The researchers suggest that it is the sweet taste of foods that helps us regulate our food intake.

They studied laboratory rats and not human beings. But their study is certainly worth considering. They compared two groups of rats being fed yogurt. One group received yogurt sweetened with sugar while the other group received the artificial sweetener, saccharin.

The rats consuming the saccharin-sweetened yogurt consumed more calories, gained more weight, added more body fat, and in the long term did not reduce calorie consumption.

There was another finding in this study that may affect your ability to burn belly fat. Typically when an animal gets ready to eat, the metabolic rate increases. This will raise the core body temperature. When the researchers gave the saccharin-fed rats a high calorie meal there was no elevation in their core temperature.The net result, conclude the authors, is that artificial sweeteners make it harder to burn belly fat, and can actually lead to greater body-weight gain and increased body fat.

The effect of artificial sweeteners on body fat requires further study. However, it is worth considering if artificial sweeteners should be a part of your daily diet.

We usually seek the easiest way to reach a goal. This is the real lure of artificial sweeteners. It just seems so simple: drink the same drink with an artificial sweetener everyday and lose weight. Eat the same ice cream everyday with artificial sweetener and lose that belly fat.

Shortcuts rarely are effective in anything. Now we are discovering that this nutritional shortcut is ineffective and has the opposite effect on our desired result. Maybe the answer is to eliminate most foods that require sweeteners, real or artificial.

There is a way to lose belly fat. It requires a sound program of healthy eating and exercise. It is not quick but it is effective. It requires changes in diet and lifestyle. It’s the real, not artificial, way to lose belly fat and get flat abs.