[Villages PL]

Both were on the front page of of the Lifestyle section of The Daily Sun.

July 3, 2012: Dr. David Lipschitz stated in his weekly column that artificial sweeteners lead to a craving for sweets. His statement was backed up by Harvard obesity expert, Dr. David Ludwig, who wrote in the Harvard Letter that no-calorie sweeteners contribute to weight gain.

July 18, 2012: A Daily Sun reporter wrote a "full page" feature story with the following headings: NO SUGAR ADDED / Village of Sanebel resident makes delicious, healthy desserts.

The woman in the story used Stevia, an artificial sweetener. She said she started doing this because her daugter had a condition that allowed for no more than 5 grams of sugar. But there was no mention of what this condition consisted of. Then she was quoted as recommending it for anyone who can't have sugar.

My Opinion: I think it's wrong to promote artificial sweeteners across-the-board to everyone, as being healthy, with no evidence to back it up. Especially after the July 3 column, by Dr. Lipschitz, suggests that artificial sweeteners contribute to weight gain.

Note: Refined (granulated) sugar is considered a processed food that contains empty calories and is not considered good for one's health. But I don't think artificial sweeteners are considered to be processed foods. They are imitations of processed foods. If they are not processed foods, what are they? They must be considered drugs, I suppose, made up by chemists in chemistry labs. They are highly addictive and reinforce one's addiction to all sweets.