Humans have a natural fondness for sweet-tasting things. Because of the sweetness receptors on our tongues, sweet food is generally regarded as pleasurable.

But ultimately, we do not eat food just for pleasure. We eat to supply our bodies with energy — and artificial sweeteners do not provide energy.

Sugar, on the other hand, can be broken down into energy.

But it is important to get the right kind of sugar.

It comes in both refined and unrefined forms. As noted, refined sugar is the most common type. Table sugar, or sucrose, is a form of refined sugar.

Other types include: agave, brown sugar, high fructose corn syrup, powdered sugar, and turbinado sugar.

Use of refined sugars is associated with a host of health problems, including diabetes, obesity, and cancer.

Unrefined sugar contains a plethora of nutrients, including vitamins and minerals. Examples of unrefined sugar include:

• Coconut palm sugar

• Maple sugar and syrup

• Molasses

• Rapadura

• Raw honey

• Stevia

• Sucanat

• Xylitol

When we ingest sugar, a signal is sent to the pancreas to release insulin, which causes cells to take in glucose in order to stimulate the creation of energy-bearing molecules called adenosine triphosphates (ATP).

To achieve your optimal health, you need the body’s natural machinery working to produce ATP.

Artificial sweeteners are unnatural substances that disrupt the energy-production process.

When artificial sweetener hits the tongue, the pancreas thinks that glucose is entering the body and it is time to release insulin.

But there is no glucose load for the cells to take up.

Instead, the glucose already circulating gets absorbed by the cells, resulting in a lower blood sugar.

Low blood sugar sends the signal that it is time to eat, resulting in hunger and overeating.

Many studies have correlated the use of artificial sweeteners with obesity and overeating. For the vast majority of people, artificial sweeteners have not resulted in weight loss.