Unlike many commercial beekeepers, Mr. Alvarez says he does not feed his bee colonies sugar syrups or artificial pollen.

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Students who rinsed with sugar, rather than artificial sweetener, were significantly faster at responding to the color rather than the word.

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They are generally less sweet than sucrose (table sugar), so they are often mixed with very sweet artificial sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose and acesulfame potassium, to form a palatable substitute in low sugar, low carbohydrate, and diabetic or "diet" products.

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Finally, there is some evidence suggesting artificial sweeteners, which are often used in conjunction with sugar alcohols, may actually contribute to obesity by promoting energy intake.

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Indeed, the mutants were no more interested in a dilute sugar solution (or, indeed, a solution of artificial sweetener) than they were in plain water though they did respond to concentrated solutions of sweetness.

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The average American eats four times as much artificial sweeteners as he did 20 years ago -- and 15% more real sugar, too.

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