Guest viewing limit reached
  • You have reached the maximum number of guest views allowed
  • Please register below to remove this limitation

Artificial Sweeteners and Insulin

rodefeeh

rodefeeh

Well-known member
What's everyone's thinking on how artificial sweeteners effect insulin? I watched a Diary of CEO video where a nutrition expert explained how artificial sweeteners trick the brain to thinking something sweet is being ingested and causes a release of insulin. This really caught my attention because most everything I drink is artificially sweetened besides a cup of coffee in the morning. This is so frustrating because I have cut so much crap out of my diet and now artificially sweeteners might be causing my insulin to spike. A quick google search returns studies that show both a correlation and no conclusive evidence. So I don't know what to believe. I'll probably try to cut out some artificial sweeteners April-May for my up-coming cut and see if the weight comes off any easier.
 
There are so many directions you could go with this, so I apologize if this is scattershot.

First, I tried to look for the specific episode with this claim, but honestly after the first nutrition "expert" that popped up and a quick scan of his kind of guests I noped out, so I apologize if this isn't able to specifically address the exact claim (since I didn't find it).

Second, if insulin was being spiked with artificial sweeteners to a significant degree and you aren't eating anything wouldn't you expect them to cause hypoglycemia? Some studies concerning blood glucose measures below.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28502831/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31258108/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12205327/

Next, lets say it does. We would then expect studies to show negative effects when using them during periods of weight loss. Which we definitely do not. They don't decrease weight loss effectiveness and seem to be a great tool during weight loss.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35285920/

I'm resisting writing too much more because I don't think you are asking too much. I think you have to be careful because people love to sell fear because it is engaging. Artificial sweeteners still likely need more studies and it is generally good to be skeptical so no harm there.

I'd say if you haven't really noticed issues with weightloss while ingesting them in the past I wouldn't even be worried, if you are you could maybe just cut back and try, but again plenty of studies show people still lose weight when ingesting them and it might be hard to totally avoid (and hard to give up some of the various other supplements and foods to have to totally avoid :cry:).

I can provide more studies or nuance as needed.
 
I think that this is an example of how people sometimes talk about something that realistically won't happen to 99.9% of cases just to have something new to talk about and get clicks.

I would not think a thing in the world about it. I'm sitting and drinking a drink with Sucralose and Acesulfame Potassium in it as I type this.
 
This is the problem with this form of content. He can say things, but there is literally no references so you just have to "trust" everything. His overall message (I watched another few minutes) wasn't bad, but it just hurts your message when you have lies in there so then how can I trust the other stuff you say?

He says they don't seem to help with weight loss (lie) and they are more metabolically harmful than sugar (another lie).

I linked it above, but this study directly counters that and even though this video is a few years old this study was available before it was posted:

Association of Low- and No-Calorie Sweetened Beverages as a Replacement for Sugar-Sweetened Beverages With Body Weight and Cardiometabolic Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Conclusions and relevance: This systematic review and meta-analysis found that using LNCSBs as an intended substitute for SSBs was associated with small improvements in body weight and cardiometabolic risk factors without evidence of harm and had a similar direction of benefit as water substitution. The evidence supports the use of LNCSBs as an alternative replacement strategy for SSBs over the moderate term in adults with overweight or obesity who are at risk for or have diabetes.
Click to expand...

He cites WHO, but their own evidence doesn't support his claims. They don't recommend non-sugar sweeteners for long term weight loss, but this is one of those issues that tends to confuse lay public because the barrier for a recommendation is going to be pretty high (and idk if I'd want them "recommending" their use either, but thats a difference between a wide recommendation and also saying they are harmful). It also is because they are looking at studies that show increased risk of diabetes and non-sugar sweeteners, but often this is correlative (people with these diseases may be more likely to drink them since they are trying to eat less sugar, as an example) and not causative.

From the research they specifically cite in their meta-analysis:
The results of this review suggest that, in shorter-term RCTs, those consuming NSS had lower
body weight and BMI at the end of the trials than those not consuming NSS, particularly when
compared with sugars (including when NSS were explicitly used as replacements for sugars), but
not when compared with water. Those consuming NSS also exhibited a significant reduction in
energy intake, primarily when NSS were compared to sugars. Therefore, NSS may be effective at
assisting with short-term weight loss when their use leads to a reduction in total energy intake.
Results from prospective cohort studies suggest the possibility of long-term harm in the form of
increased risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and mortality. Further research
is needed to determine whether the observed associations are genuine or a result of reverse
causation and/or residual confounding. Further research is also needed in children and pregnant
women, the latter for which prospective cohort studies currently suggest possible unfavourable
effects of NSS consumption on birthweight and adiposity in offspring later in life.
Click to expand...

Bolded for my emphasis. Even their own study shows it may be effective at short term weight loss (again refuting his claim and he specifically brings up WHO). Long term weight loss is very complicated and beyond the scope of this post for explaining possible reasons (and there aren't specific studies addressing this specific topic yet).

Again water is likely better, but we live in the real world where things are complicated and messy, fear mongering is annoying and nuance is important.
 
rodefeeh said:
It really irked me when he said that.
Click to expand...

Ya it sucks because (from what I briefly gathered) his overall message is fine (potentially even good), there are lots of issues with the food industry. But when you start with falsehoods about things like that it makes it harder to pitch your entire message, because if you lie there where else is there incorrect information? Just makes it hard for me to trust either the ability to understand the research or if it is just to push a narrative (and make money himself) and weakens your entire stance.
 
I don't know for sure, I did read a study that shows artificial sweeteners tricked the brain by causing a increase in glp1, but it did not effect glucose levels. The study went on to show that it did have a effect on how the following meal caused a insulin response and it was basically saying that the artificial sweetener caused a neurological response that increases glp1 and then once insulin actually does become available it has a greater load than it otherwise would have without the artificial sweetener present that day.


Does anyone have a glucose monitor? Mine is shot, I need a new one, but I think you could test all of this with a couple cans of soda and a glucose monitor.

Day 1, upon waking have a can of coke, wait 30min and check your sugar. Write it down .

Day 2, upon waking drink a diet Coke and 30min later check your sugar and write it down. And then drink a regular coke in 30 minutes later check your sugar and see if those numbers are different from day one.

You can repeat this with different sweeteners.

Obviously this would be a sample pool of one but you'll know exactly how you are affected by it at least.

I personally use to have 4-5 of those zero cal artificial sweetener sticks everyday and there was artificial sweeteners in my Eaas and bcaas at that time and I never noticed anything abnormal.
 
Hey man, solid call on testing it out during your cut—personal experiments like that cut through the noise better than any study. The science on artificial sweeteners and insulin is mixed: some show a small "cephalic phase" response where sweet taste tricks receptors into a minor insulin bump (like with sucralose or aspartame), but most human trials and meta-analyses find no big spike or metabolic harm.



________________________________
justroll.it

CRPG to TTRPG - how to DIY - advices, games and more!

Discover ideas for transforming your favorite computer games into RPG systems and settings. Find your own way.
justroll.it justroll.it
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top