Live experiment part 4: pure erythritol

(Alec) #1

Ok, here we go again. This time I am testing my BG and therefore insulin response to pure erythritol.

5 mins ago, I tested my BG level, and you can see the result. A rather pleasing 4.7 (lower than in previous tests). I then ingested 6g of pure erythritol, pics below so you can see what it is.

An interesting observation today is that this 6g of erythritol did not seem anywhere near as sweet when I was ingesting it as the 6g of the stevia/erythritol mix, or the xylitol. So maybe I might need more than 6g to achieve the same amount of sweetness. But I will worry about that later. For now, I am testing the standard 6g.

See ya soon for the T+30 results.

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Blood Glucose Monitoring for Dummies
Watch this video on artificial sweeteners
(Alec) #2

T+30. BG at 4.9. Nothing to see here, this is normal noise.

See ya in 30 for T+60. That is normally when stuff starts happening.

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(Alec) #3

T+60, reading is 5.0. So I have had a slight increase in BG, so this suggests no insulin effect at all. T+60 has previously been when the insulin effect has kicked in. So, provisional result is that erythritol is not insulogenic for me. But things could change. See ya in 30 for T+90.

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(Alec) #4

T+90, down to 4.8. But I see this as normal noise, and not significant. At the moment, this confirms the provisional result that erythritol is not insulogenic for me. If anything, it has boosted my blood sugar. You could argue it has driven my BG from 5.0 at T+60 to 4.8 at T+90, but i think this is not a significant move. This is where I might consider a higher level of ingestion of this for the next test. This might amplify whatever effect is going on here. But with current data, this is the sweetener for me.

One more test to come at T+120. See you in 30.

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(Alec) #5

T+120, and, drum roll, 4.4.

Eh? What’s going on there? Well that puts the cat amongst the pidgeons. Not what I was expecting. That is a significant move. So it throws my provisional result into serious doubt. Bugger, that’s not what I wanted. Bloody science! :rofl::rofl:

I think for this one I will do a further reading at T+150 to see what it does.

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(Alec) #6

T+150, it keeps going down! Not quite sure what to make of that. Might need to do some more testing.

Anyway, that’s enough testing for today.

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(Ron) #7

I might suspect that at T60 you had an ever so mild increase in BG. Enough to prompt an insulin release, but since insulin cannot exactly regulate itself to directly correlate to an exact level, it has overloaded a slightly higher level than needed thus causing the lower number of BG flowing in the stream. :thinking:

(Alec) #8

Ron
That sounds like a sensible interpretation, albeit one that I don’t like much, as it means erythritol is insulogenic for me as well. :cry:. I think I might repeat this one to see if the same happens. Thanks for the input.
Cheers
A

(Alec) #9

Ron
It’s interesting your comment about insulin being a blunt dose mechanism. That explains why I got a similar reaction to both 50g and 5g of the stevia/erythritol mix. Does it always pulse with the same dose, and then wait to see what levels of BG result?

(Ron) #10

Although there is always a low level of insulin secreted by the pancreas, the amount secreted into the blood increases as the blood glucose rises. Similarly, as blood glucose falls, the amount of insulin secreted by the pancreatic islets goes down yet I don’t imagine it is so precise as to match number to number.

(Todd Gamel) #11

I would categorize that as a pretty small insulin response, or at least a small fluctuation in your blood glucose. Especially since your blood glucose prior to taking the sweetener as actually higher than it was 120 minutes after consuming the sweetener. The range in blood glucose seems pretty tight and there could be other factors that have influenced your readings. Essentially though, at 90 minutes, your blood glucose was equal to or less than your reading prior to your ingesting the erythritol.

4.7 mmol/L = 84 (prior to erythritol)
4.9 mmol/L = 88 (30 minutes later)
5.0 mmol/L = 90 (60 minutes later)
4.8 mmol/L = 86 (90 minutes later)
4.4 mmol/L = 80 (120 minutes later)
4.2 mmol/L = 76 (150 minutes later)

Having said all of that, 6 grams is equal to what? It looks about like 1 – 2 tablespoons, but it is had to see in the picture. I wish there was a good home meter that would actually monitor insulin in the blood, that would be an awesome tool for us diabteics.

(Alec) #12

Todd
Thanks for your thoughts. And you are right, the changes are not high, they are quite subtle.

I think your conversions are slightly off. 5.0 = 90.

6g = 0.212oz
Cheers
Alec

#13

I am loving your live experiments, thank you for sharing them.

Might I make a suggestion for another experiment? I have read numerous times that just thinking about food will create an insulin response. I’d be curious to see if there is any truth to that.

ETA maybe think of deferent types of foods. First bacon, then eggs, then potato chips etc

#14

When your blood glucose went down how did you feel? Did you feel hypo at all

(Alec) #15

No, not at all. Quite normal.

Normal BG AFAIK is 3.5-5.5, so I was still well within normal range.

(Alec) #16

I will give that a shot when I’ve nailed this sweetener thing. I have a few other ideas on BG testing as well. If people like you tell me it’s interesting and useful I will keep posting results. :grinning::+1:

(What The Fast?!) #17

I’ve heard Jason Fung say that sweeteners can cause an insulin response even if you don’t see a change in blood sugar. He was speaking specifically of Stevia, but I imagine it’s applicable for all sweeteners. I just downloaded Ali Miller’s podcast about non caloric sweeteners.
I also made the decision to eliminate them but that’s mainly because I want to get rid of all variables to figure what the eff is going on and why I haven’t lost weight.

(Alec) #18

This is indeed what I am testing here. The theory is that erythritol should not raise BG (although it did raise mine a bit), and if the sweetener causes an insulin response, then BG will go down. This is exactly what I saw on this test at T+120 and T+150, which to me looks like a pretty delayed response. Does that indicate IR or something else, I am not sure. But it does suggest that this sweetener is insulogenic for me. :weary:

(karen) #19

Two things.

  1. Thank you for all those stabs! Awesome to have someone doing such diligent N=1 and sharing it.

  2. When was your last meal before you started the experiment? Have you considered doing an EF until your blood glucose is low and stable and then trying the experiment? I’m wondering if your body might still have been processing residual glucose when you started.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #20

Hey, Alec! Couple of questions: first, how did you come to settle on the 6 g amounts for testing? Second, what is the accuracy of your meter? Third, how many times do you repeat each test?

I ask because (1) dose might affect response, (2) some people have said their meters are accurate only to within 20%, and all your readings on this test fall within that margin of error, and (3) repetitions would add power to the result.

Thank you for undertaking this effort; it’s fascinating.