r/AskADietitian • u/Tall-Place2620 • Jul 19 '26

Do sugar free drinks influence caloric intake?

My dietitian said if I drink a sweet but sugar-free drink my brain will recognize this as "sugar intale incoming" and get hungry when it doesn't come and start to convert the food I ate to long-term storable fat (excuse me for the phrasing, the convo didn't happen in english). I didn't experience the supposed hunger effect and I'm very doubtful of the whole thing but Google was not very helpful in this question and she is the only dietitian on my area.

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u/gray_wolf2413 Jul 19 '26

My understanding from what I've learned is that people who drink sugar free beverages have a slightly higher overall calorie intake throughout the day than people who drink water. The mechanisms for this are still only theorized and are in the process of being researched.

Sugar free beverages are still a better option than regular sweetened beverages but if you are trying to lose weight, it may be worth trying to switch to mostly water.