Think you’re being “good” on your diet when you use Splenda, Aspartame or buy low calorie sport drinks? A study published in Preventive Medicine confirmed that the more artificial sweeteners you consume, the more likely you actually are to gain weight. Yes, you read that right. Your brain registers the intense sweetness of the artificial sweetener and instructs the intestinal tract to prepare for an enormous intake of calories. Your body then creates enzymes to convert future calories into fat. So, even though the beverage contains only 1 calorie, you remain primed to create fat as soon as you eat real food. You can read more about this and caffeine, colas, sugar and sweeteners in the book Caffeine Blues by Stephen Cherniske.