PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Cherellyn Savoy had Gastric bypass surgery three weeks ago at Bayfront Health in St. Petersburg.
So far, she’s down 25 pounds.
“It’s going great. I feel amazing. I haven’t felt this good in years,” said Savoy.
Savoy said along with the surgery, she’s working on eating a healthy balanced diet.
One that doesn't include a lot of non-sugar sweeteners.
“This is a whole lifestyle change, so there’s not a whole lot of room for artificial sweeteners. I do sometimes have a water or so a day. I will use a sweetener or something,” said Savoy.
When it comes to those artificial sweeteners, The World Health Organization says you don’t use them to try and control weight because of the potential health risks.
The WHO said the sweeteners don’t help lose weight and increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even early death.
We talked with Dr. Alexander Ramirez at Bayfront Health’s Weight Loss & Bariatric Surgery Institute in St. Petersburg.
He said obesity in the U.S. is worse than ever.
“We have excess food available. We have too many free foods. We have too many opportunities to eat out. We are making lines in the restaurants every day,” said Dr. Ramirez.
Dr. Ramirez says the sweeteners in many processed foods lead to serious health problems.
“We are talking about empty calories. All the sugars are empty calories. They can provide you with energy, but there’s no nutritional factor.” said Dr. Ramirez.
The Calorie Control Council, a food industry group, said in a statement it strongly disagrees with the WHO’s recommendation and that the safety of non-sugar sweeteners has been firmly established and does have with weight management.
Meanwhile, Savoy said she still eats things she enjoys but concentrates on giving her body the fuel it needs.
“It’s more about taking care of myself and what’s going to get me through the day and what’s going to make me feel good,” said Savory
