Diet drinks, diet foods and sugar free edibles are everywhere. Most people have probably consumed at least one of these at some time in their life. It's lower calorie and approved by the FDA, so it has to be good for you and safe, right? Well, maybe not. Artificial sweeteners, namely Saccharin, Aspartame, Acesulfame potassium (Ace-K), Sucralose, Neotame, Advantame, Steviol glycosides and Luo Han Guo fruit extracts, are non-nutritive sweeteners because they add few to zero calories to food. They are also much sweeter than sugar. Some studies indicate horrifying side effects to partaking of artificial sweeteners: Weight gain While many people use artificial sweetener for the benefit of lower caloric intake in hopes of maintaining or losing weight, the opposite may actually be true. One study collected data from women and men for seven to eight years, showing that obesity and weight gain were significantly higher in those who drank diet drinks than those who didn't dr...