Myth: Switching to diet foods containing no-calorie artificial sweeteners instead of sugar will help you lose weight.

Fact: Experts agree that eating foods with added sugar is not good for your health or your waistline, but there is little evidence that choosing foods with artificial sweeteners is a long-term solution for losing weight.

The reason: Most people apparently eat additional calories later as compensation.

Christopher Gardner, nutrition expert and associate professor of medicine at Stanford, described compensation as eating something with artificial sweeteners, and then thinking “I saved calories this morning, so I’m going to have a cookie with lunch.”

In a joint statement this month, the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association said that foods with artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, saccharin, sucralose and plant-derived stevia only have the potential to help people reach healthy body weight as long as the substitution doesn’t lead to the compensation trap.

“Choosing a product sweetened with a nonnutritive sweetener over a product containing added sugars would help reduce calories and sugar intake if all else remains equal, but if this choice leads you to reward yourself with a treat later in the day, the net effect could be to minimize, negate or even reverse the original benefit,” said Gardner, who chaired a committee that prepared the statement.

Interestingly, evidence shows that people are less likely to compensate with beverages than foods. Those who choose diet over regular soda or coffee sweetened with Equal or Sweet’N Low instead of sugar often do lower their overall caloric intake.

There is also evidence that choosing artificial sweeteners over sugar helps diabetic patients keep their glucose levels under control.

The American Heart Association recommends that most women eat no more than 100 calories per day and men no more than 150 calories per day of added sugars.

On the whole, Gardner recommends everyone reduce added sugar and artificial sweetener intake by eating more “real, good, wholesome, hearty, seasonal foods.”

“Nonnutritive sweeteners are primarily found in sodas and snack foods,” he said. “There’s no aspartame in broccoli.”