By Geneviev Decatur, News Correspondent

Countless studies have shown that with artificial sweeteners come serious health risks. Yet on the other hand, studies show that regular sugar is known to cause health problems as well, such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes. So which is it? Next time you get your morning coffee should you reach for the Splenda, or the real stuff? The answer is the real stuff.

For reasons of vanity, sugar has become a less attractive alternative to sugar substitutes, due to the fact that it contains calories not found in the substitutes. Sugar substitutes, or artificial sweeteners, can be found in foods such as ice cream, yogurt, pudding, baked goods, gum and candy, as well as in many soft drinks and powdered drink mixes. Their purpose is to create an alternative to sugar by replicating the sweetness found in natural sugar, and can actually be hundreds of times sweeter.

The health conscious turn to these “diet” and “sugar-free” foods and drinks to cut calorie intake, without having to give up sugar’s sweet taste. When suffering from a constant sugar craving, who doesn’t love the guilt-free feeling of a Skinny Vanilla Latte from Starbucks? Or cracking open an ice cold Diet Coke after a long day in the sun? Or perhaps emptying three packets of Sweet’N Low in that unbearably bitter coffee of yours, without completely ruining the low-calorie beverage.

However, Katherine Tucker, a professor of health sciences and specialist in nutritional epidemiology and public health nutrition at Northeastern, said, “Recent data suggests that they are not particularly helpful with weight control, and may lead to dysregulation in appetite.”

While artificial sweeteners may curb your sugar craving in the moment, they can actually increase the amount of cravings you get for sugars and carbohydrates later, and throughout the day.

In fact, Tucker recommended avoiding artificial sweeteners altogether. Sugar is not necessarily the enemy, but rather preferable, especially in small quantities like the amount we put in our coffee. Our bodies are designed to know how to handle real sugar. We can digest and store real sugar it for energy usage, unlike the overly processed sweeteners that are made in labs out of various chemicals most can’t even begin to pronounce, she said.

According to the National Cancer Institute, there is no scientific evidence to prove that artificial sweeteners can lead to serious health problems like cancer, and the Food and Drug Administration approves them as being a “safe substance.” However, artificial sweeteners are not a healthy alternative to real sugar because we are unaware of its chemical effects on the human body after long-term use.

“Despite the lack of proof, there is no firm evidence that any of these are safe when used frequently over many years,” said Tucker.

Not to mention the fact that our bodies simply cannot digest and process these unknown, chemically formed substances the same way we do natural foods.

So next time you get that sugar craving, don’t beat yourself up. Instead, think of how you can satisfy that craving with a small amount of real sugar. Substitute the bag of sugar-free chocolate that you end up completely devouring with a bag of the real stuff and enjoy a square of rich chocolate every now and then. Who knows, maybe you’ll even treat yourself to that real vanilla latte next time instead of the “skinny” loaded with sugar-free syrup without feeling so guilty about it.