Photo: Bekathwia, Flickr

If you're trying to lose a few pounds, trading your regular soda for the diet version could be doing more harm than good. True, swapping a can of Coke Zero for the regular kind slices 139 calories from your daily intake, but research from the University of Liverpool in England suggests that your body processes artificial, calorie-free sweeteners the same way it does regular sugar.

Just as your taste buds can't differentiate between regular and artificial sweeteners (aside that chemically aftertaste), the receptors in your intestines aren't able to tell the difference either. Once the intestines sense sweetness, they seek out glucose to absorb. So even though that Equal is calorie-free -- your body may still take calories from somewhere else if these receptors are activated.

"Artificial sweeteners can also activate the glucose sensor and increase the capacity of the intestine to absorb more sugar," Soraya Shirazi-Beechey, lead author of the study and a professor of Molecular Physiology and Biochemistry at Liverpool University, tells the Daily Mail. "If someone wants to lose weight, I don't think artificial sweeteners are going to help," she says. "My recommendation is to eat natural foods, but to eat less of them."

It's unclear from Shirazi-Beechey's research whether the amount of glucose absorbed after sensing an artificial sweetener would equal the calorie-equivalent of a regular soda.

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Can a spoonful of powder sprinkled over your meals help you lose weight? Absolutely, according to the founder of Sensa Tastants. Dr. Alan Hirsch, a neurologist from the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, is pretty sure he's found the answer to help the world lose weight, and it can be yours too for a mere $60 a month. So what's the deal with this magic potion, and can it work for you?

Sensa promotes itself as a diet-free, exercise-free, totally natural way to lose weight in a hurry. OK, so then how does it work? Apparently, Sensa builds upon findings that show that people who had lost their sense of smell and taste tend to gain weight. Given that information, it would make sense, then, that heightening the taste and smell of food might help people lose weight. And he's got it right, if his figures are to be believed. According to Dr. Hirsch's findings, nearly 1,500 participants in a six-month trial lost an average 30.5 pounds, around 5 pounds a month.

Trans fats are bad. But fiber is good. So maybe as you ditch the bad fat from your diet, you could replace it with some good fiber. It's never tasted better, says Prevention magazine. You might not even miss your fats when you give these fiber-filled foods a whirl.

• Grain: Air-popped popcorn, 3 cups, 4 grams of fiber

• Cereal: Quaker Oats (cooked), 1/2 cup, 5 grams of fiber

• Fruit: Blueberries, 1 cup, 4 grams of fiber

• Vegetable: Broccoli, 1 cup, 5 grams of fiber

• Protein: Black beans (cooked), 1 cup, 15 grams of fiber

• Other: Dark chocolate, 5 pieces, 3 grams of fiber
  
  

These are just a few ideas. The list goes on -- just hop on over here and you'll stumble upon tasty treats like orange juice, chickpeas, canned pumpkin, pears, whole wheat pasta, and so much more.

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Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly, our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy.

Mmmmmm. Just the mention of Chef Jens Dahlmanns's name puts my mind in ecstasy. His is the name of the man who created what I'd choose as my 'last meal.' He's the premier Chef of Disney's signature restaurant The California Grill, who also oversees a staff of award-winning chefs atop Disney's Contemporary Resort. Chef Jens was classically trained in European kitchens and worked for Le Cirque 2000 in New York City and Cafe 'L Europe in Palm Beach, Florida, before joining Disney in April 2004.

We first spoke on the phone a week before I was to dine at his spectacular grill. From a fitness trainer standpoint, he gave all of the 'right answers.' Not that he was contrived, but his stance on cooking is what I would wish to hear. If you've read my features before, you'll know that I preach the importance of lean fresh foods. Read on to see how dead-on Chef Jens is to that style of eating. From a regular gal's point of view, it was just really exciting and fun to hear Chef Jens talk about food. He described white asparagus the same way most men would describe a beautiful woman. I could imagine what each item tasted like as he described them.

My experience at The California Grill was almost indescribable. Chef Jens and his staff were pampering to say the least. He greeted me with a sample of the white asparagus he gushed about, and I knew I was in for something special. The combinations of flavors and textures were to die for! I relished every bite and cleaned each and every plate that landed in front of me (highly unusual for me). The man knows how to make fresh food taste divine. The advice he gave in this interview is exactly what I, as your online Fitzness Trainer, want you to follow. Chef Jens just knows far better than I, how to make all of the healthy stuff taste heavenly.

Fitz: How much does "healthy" influence the foods you create for your menus?

Chef Jens: Healthy actually has a lot to do with our menu. First of all, Disney has set an initiative for enhancing our menus in a healthy way, so across all of the Disney parks and restaurants you'll find better choices. On my part, I'm always driven by what's fresh in the market. We create meals based on the season. At the California Grill, our menu changes according to what foods are in season. Fresh food equals leaner and "cleaner" food. I never use processed ingredients.

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Forget expensive perfumes. When it comes to arousing men with scents, lavender, pumpkin pie, doughnuts, and black licorice top the chart. Break out the sweet stuff, my friends, and your men will respond.

Folk wisdom suggests that various aromas are sexually enticing, says Dr. Alan Hirsch of The Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation. Because no data previously existed on this very topic, Hirsch set out to investigate the effects of 30 odors on penile blood flow. What he found was that each odor produced an increase in flow in each of his 31 subjects. But some odors, and some combination of odors, increased arousal more than others. Here are the winners.

• Lavender and pumpkin pie together increased the median penile blood flow by 40 percent.
  
  

• Doughnuts and black licorice increased arousal by 31.5 percent.
  
  

• Pumpkin pie and doughnuts: 20 percent.
  
  

• Orange: 19.5 percent.
  
  

Some loser scents include buttered popcorn which came in at nine percent and cranberry with a low two percent.

What will you be serving your man tonight?

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If you're spouting off the health merits of wine as you defend your drinking practices, your defense may be weaker than you think. Why? Because it's now clear that alcohol-free wine has the same benefits as the real deal. It has only 15 to 25 calories per four-ounce glass too. Compared to the 90 calories found in a glass of chardonnay or cabernet sauvignon, this wine might just come out on top.

Although some health benefits of wine have been linked to alcohol, removing the alcohol is now considered a plus, says Joy DuBost, a food scientist for the Institute of Food Technologists.

"While it does appear that alcohol in moderation decreases the effects of cardiovascular disease," she says, "it can also increase your calorie intake; triglycerides, which is another blood lipid; your blood pressure; and possibly your cancer risk. You have to look at the total picture."

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Dieting? Hungry? Those two seem to go hand in hand. After all, diets are all about deprivation, right? Wrong. You don't have to be hungry when you diet. You just need to be smart about how you're eating. If you're hungry and trying to lose weight, here are some things to munch on from WebMD:

• Protein. It really is best for curbing hunger and keeping you full for a long time.
  
• Fiber. Fiber slows down the rate at which food gets processed in your body, which means it will fill you up and keep you full.
  
• Nuts. nuts add protein to your diet and they're a good source of healthy fat too.
  
• Exercise. If you get some activity in when you're hungry, you'll curb your appetite. Try it -- it works!
• Keep your hands busy. Eat something that requires some work -- think edamame or nuts in the shell. It will help distract you while you eat.
  
• Taste something. Sometimes pleasing your tastebuds will alleviate hungry. Try some herbal tea, a mint or some gum.
  

What do you reach for when hunger strikes?

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Chef Ethan McKee, like Darlene Dougherty, former president of the American Dietetic Association, has a few tricks for spicing up holiday recipes that won't clog arteries or pack on the pounds. McKee, who dishes out health-conscious cuisine year-round, says his technique tweaks can slim down a menu. Here's how he does it.

McKee braises his sweet potatoes in vegetable stock, herbs, and garlic so when he purees them, he can ditch the butter. He brines meats to boost flavor without adding loads of extra calories, and when he wants to create a creamy dish, he grabs some non-fat yogurt. Add some to your mashed potatoes, he says, and you'll get a nice little tang.

Is cauliflower on your holiday menu? If so, slice and sauté it with olive, some raisins and almonds and your dish will come out caramelized and crunchy. To lighten up your desserts, cut portion sizes and use Whey Low, an all-natural sugar substitute with a quarter of the calories.

See, it's possible to be jolly without abandoning taste. You just need to know what's naughty and what's nice, says McKee.

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Emily is an editor at Redbook magazine who is taking part in the Real Life, Healthy Life challenge. That means she's joining readers in their efforts to get real about diet and exercise.

Emily's keeping it real by writing about her ups and downs in a public forum, right on the Redbook website. There's nothing like revealing our triumphs and struggles with others -- it invites praise and recognition for a job well done, and it helps in the accountability department too. Hey, it's beneficial for onlookers too. While reading Emily's September 17 journal entry, I learned about the importance of really, really, tasting my food.

Writes Emily: "I read an article in a magazine (not ours) about learning to savor food -- to really TASTE it instead of shoveling it in. So last night as I was ravenously shoving matzo ball soup and salad into my mouth at 8:45 p.m. after a long day, I decided to pause and taste each little element in my salad. Here's a pea. Let me just taste this one little, tiny pea. Mmm. It's sweet. I will eat only this tomato. It's a bit crunchy. And before long, I had actually tasted everything in my salad. Feeling good about this, I also tasted my daughter's pita chips and two glasses of Pinot Noir. Mmm. Probably could have skipped the chips and one glass of the wine. But let's not Monday-morning quarterback. Let's move forward."

Emily may not have done a bang-up job in the tasting department on this one occasion but she did teach me something I'm planning on using. Come lunchtime, I'm going to be tasting -- really tasting -- every morsel I put in my mouth.

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I think this logic applies to adults and kids alike but the blurb I just read in the November issue of Family Circle puts the kid spin on diet foods and drinks. And this is what it says: Diet foods and drinks may actually lead to obesity.

Research suggests that kids who eat low-calorie versions of foods may develop distorted connections between taste and nutritional content. If they never really experience the good stuff, they are more likely to overindulge when they do get a taste of it. So it's best to skip the diet goods and instead teach kids to eat all foods in moderation. Like the kid who never gets to watch TV and then arrives in front of a television set and can't break away, kids who are restricted from regular foods may one day go way overboard.

This makes sense to me -- that's why I think we adults can also benefit from this little diet lesson.

For more on this topic, take a look at this article.

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Halloween is the time when the sweet tooth deep inside me takes control and causes me to make irrational decisions, like the one to eat most of the chocolate Halloween candy before the kids even knock on my door. Sometimes I really hate my sweet tooth, you know? But according to a Finnish study, a sweet tooth might be inherited -- that is, it's in your genes. In fact, there's even a specific chromosome variation linked to a love of sweets, and those who have it find sweet-tasting stuff much more pleasant than those who don't.

Makes sense to me -- my dad was a lover of sweets too so I know where I got it from anyway. But, does this mean that it's something I can't change? What do you think?

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My six-year-old had a friend over after school the other day, and I eagerly served up a variety of fruit for snack time. It went pretty well. My own two guys ate watermelon, apple slices, and strawberries. And although our visitor's first reaction was, "I don't like vegetables," we were able to coax him into consuming a little fresh fruit.

Our guest chose watermelon. And he had a special request: "Can I have some salt?" he asked. Joey jumped right up and grabbed the salt container we rarely use in our house. Our new friend was happy.

So, what's the deal with salt? Is it OK to indulge a little? Or is it becoming a no-no to sprinkle our foods with tiny, salty white granules? According to a recent study, we'd be wise to adopt a low-sodium diet. It could cut the risk of heart disease by as much as 25 percent.

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Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have made a pretty interesting discovery -- they've found that a specialized version of the taste receptors that detect sweetness on your tongue can also be found in your gut. You're probably thinking, hmmm, that is indeed interesting but how does it affect me? Here's how:

Your tongue can taste sweetness, whether it's real sugar or an artificial sweetener, right? Well, so can your gut. And since your gut is responsible for some of the hormones in your body that regulate insulin and fat storage, it's thought that perhaps your gut can't tell the difference between calorie-free sweetener and the real stuff, so they get processed the same way. Which could explain why using artificial sweeteners hasn't been shown to help with weight loss.

So my advice? Stick to real sugar and just use it sparingly.

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Life is too short not to be fully "tuned in." The Daily Turn On! is designed to wake up your senses, all six of them: smell, taste, touch, hearing, sight and intuition! Everyday The Daily Turn On! with That's Fit Life Fit expert Laura Lewis will awaken your mind, your body and your life!

Did you know ... Taste is the weakest of the six senses, which often results in only a small part of our consciousness giving awareness to the flavor of the foods we eat. This lack of awareness is one explanation for the human propensity for overeating.

Choosing mindful eating practices can help you have a deeper appreciation for your food more while consuming less of it.

Try it out ... Close your eyes. Consciously breathe in the aroma of your food or beverage (I love the first cup of coffee in the morning.) Take a sip or bite and focus on the flavor. Consciously breathe in and mindfully taste each sip or bite until you are satisfied.

Observe the experience ... How was this experience different from your typical experience in consumption? Did you consume more or less? Was it more satisfying? Did you find yourself becoming impatient or enjoy the experience?

Action Tips ...

• Do not multi-task while eating. Sit down to appreciate and enjoy your food.
• Be conscious of your food's origins.
• Develop an attitude of gratitude toward your food.
• Close your eyes when you take a bite of food and attempt to identify each of the flavors within your food. Try to identify the following flavors:

1. Salty
2. Sweet
3. Bitter
4. Acidic
5. Earthy
6. Bland
7. Spicy
8. Sour
9. Toasted or Roasted
10. Minty
11. Woody
12. Floral
13. Smoky
14. Fruity

Awaken your senses and experience mindful eating.

Turn On your senses ... live a fit life!

Are all waters created equal? I think not. While they're elementally the same, it's widely believed that there's a difference between the different tap bottled, spring and nutrient-infused waters. Which one is the best, and should you be spending money to get it? Glee Magazine has rated several aquas, including those coming from in-home filters, those coming out of bottles and those with added pizazz. The winners are:

• Brita and PUR water filtration systems, which are eco-friendly because you don't waste all those water bottles -- you just make it at home!
• Iceland Spring and LeBleu waters won the taste test for plain bottled waters
• San Pellegrino won the taste test for flavoured or carbonated waters

What's your favourite water? I guess I'm a bit of a simple sally -- I stick to drinking just plain old tap water.

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