Many people consume zero-calorie drinks, but how good or bad are they? Is it true that they make you fat or are they harmless to our health? Having no calories, in theory they shouldn’t do either good or bad, on the contrary, zero calorie drinks should be a help for those on a weight loss diet.

So far, studies on their effect have been conflicting: in some studies it has been seen for example that zero-calorie drinks would increase the sense of hunger, but these studies have not been carried out on human samples, but on mice and flies. In other studies, there has been a correlation between increased BMI and consumption of zero-calorie beverages , but a correlation is not enough to establish that those who use these beverages are fatter.

Today, however, new research is coming out linking the consumption of zero-calorie beverages to the risk of eating more and gaining weight as a result. The research is by Dr. Dana Small, a neuroscientist at Yale University, which has been trying for years to study the effects of zero-calorie sweeteners on human metabolism. By feeding a (human) study sample several drinks and analyzing their responses in terms of gratification and metabolic signals with brain scans and other diagnostic tools, Small realized that zero-calorie beverages produce responses similar to those. sweetened normally, or rather gratifying. But when these drinks are associated with a consumption of carbohydrates that have calories, their power on the metabolism is greater, in the sense that they stimulate greater hunger and create addiction. For example, many light products are not totally zero calories:many diet fruit yogurts have a mix of zero-calorie sweeteners with fructose or other “calorie” sugars, same thing for cookies sweetened with stevia.
In short, it is better to drink a calorie-free drink on an empty stomach, or with a protein or fat meal, rather than associate it with a carbohydrate meal because this association triggers greater hunger, and creates more addiction.