Live experiment

(Alec) #1

Ok, I am right now experimenting on my reaction to this sweetener (pictures below if you are interested). Natvia is a mix of stevia and erythritol (it seems mostly erythritol). I have been eating quite a bit of this, and I want to find out what my BG reaction is going to be to ingesting 50g of this stuff.

10 mins ago, I tested my BG level, and it was 5.0. I then weighed 50g of this Natvia, mixed it with water, and drank. Yuk, way too sweet, took some effort to get it down!

I will be testing my BG every 30 mins for 2 hrs. I will post the results every 30mins and interpreting results each time. See you in 30mins.
Cheers
Alec

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Watch this video on artificial sweeteners
Studies showing Sweeteners that Raise Insulin Levels?
Blood Glucose Monitoring for Dummies
Enjoying carnivore but getting frustrated with lack of results
(Alec) #2

Ok, first checkpoint. I started at 5.0 30mins ago. So, drum roll…

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Interpretation: at T+30, I have zero effect on blood glucose level of ingesting 50g of this sweetener. It’s early in the experiment, and I won’t call it yet, but it looks like I may have zero insulin effect of this sweetener.

See you in 30.

(Alec) #3

OK, T+60, result below

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Interpretation: if I had an insulin effect of this sweetener, I would be expecting by BG to go down, not up. So I am interpreting this result as noise ie no change (same as last result). If anyone would interpret this differently, please reply, I would be interested in your opinions if you are experienced with BG tests.

See you in 30.

(Alec) #4

FYI, 5.0 mmol/l = 90 mg/dL
Cheers
Alec

(Bunny) #5

Being that you are technically an endurance runner/athlete you could probably eat regular table sugar and burn it 23x* (GLUT4 transports are functioning optimally) faster compared to what the average person would burn; resting and active state?

*RESEARCH:

Metabolic characteristics of keto-adapted ultra-endurance runners - Jeff S. Volek - Nov 2, 2015

The Effects of a Ketogenic Diet on Exercise Metabolism and Physical Performance in Off-Road Cyclists - Adam Zajac, Stanisław Poprzecki, and Grzegorz Zydek

Ketogenic diets and physical performance - Stephen D Phinney

Endurance athletes who ‘go against the grain’ become incredible fat-burners Elite performance on a diet with minimal carbs represents a paradigm shift in sports nutrition - November 17, 2015 Source: Ohio State University

(Alec) #6

Oh-oh! Just read the notice on the bottom of the blurb… “excess consumption may have a laxative effect” :scream::scream::scream::see_no_evil::running_man:t2:‍♂ :running_man:‍♂ :running_man:‍♂

(Alec) #7

T+90… OK, now this is interesting…

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Interpretation: at T+90, I am down to 4.5. I think this is a significant change (especially from the previous 5.2). So I am inferring that my BG has been driven down here by an insulin response, which I am also assuming was triggered by the sweetener.

See you in 30.

(Alec) #8

T+120. Back to 5.0.

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Final interpretation: now back to where I started at 5.0. So, I think that I had a mild-medium insulin response between 60-90mins after ingesting. The insulin drove my BG down from a T+60 of 5.2 to 4.5 at T+90. Some of this could have been noise, but I think that size of movement is significant. Interesting also that the BG depressing effect was very temporary, and was gone by T+120.

One additional point of note. I think this 50g of this sweetener has given me a mild headache, which is interesting in itself.

Conclusion: This sweetener is probably no good for me as it seems to give me an insulin response. I will do the same test tomorrow with another sweetener I use: xylitol.

I would be grateful for any comments, suggestions or observations.

I hope that these posts may also give some folks an idea of how to test the effects of sweeteners on BG and insulin.
Cheers
Alec

#9

Hahaha, enjoy! Thanks for taking one for the team, fascinating results.

(Wendy) #10

I think I used a similar sweetener when I made a keto cheesecake. I enjoyed it, didn’t test my glucose (no meter ) but I also get a mild headache from it.
I also find it a bit too sweet so think I can cut back ob the amount used to sweeten.
Thanks for the glucose test.

(Wendy) #11

Also, could the glucose/insulin response be because of the sweet taste? Just a thought.

(Brian) #12

A question I had…

You mentioned getting a headache from the sweetener. I had noticed I get a mild headache when I way overconsume erythritol.

Would you get the same or even a significant reaction if you had 5g rather than 50g? If you did want to consume some of it as a sweetener in a dessert or sweetener in your coffee, would you really be consuming 50g of it?

It makes me wonder if a more normal serving of it would give you anywhere near the response, or any significant response at all. I can think of a number of things that would make me sick if I ate or drank way too much of them.

(Alec) #13

It is possible, but I would have thought the reaction would be lower if it was just a sensory trigger. But you’re right: definitely possible. But that still makes this no good for me, I need a sweetener with little/no insulin response. Xylitol is the next go to. But if it is sweet triggered, that should result in the same :frowning:
Cheers
Alec

(Alec) #14

Brian
You make an excellent point. I used a significant quantity for the test to amplify the effect if there is any.

I would normally be using about 5-10g of the stuff a day (roughly), so I may repeat the test with that lower quantity.

Thank you for the great challenge.
Cheers
Alec

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #15

FYI: the brands Truvia and Pyure make stevia/erythritol blends. Interestingly, the serving size on the Truvia packet is 3/4 tsp, and on the Pyure package it’s 1/2 tsp. (???!!??) They both seem to be erythritol flavored with stevia, which makes sense, since stevia is so sweet.

(Ron) #16

I use a combination of Xylitol & Erythritol (Lite & Sweet) so will be following your next experiment.:slightly_smiling_face:

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(Wendy) #17

Yes I have the pyure one. I also have their organic liquid extract that I also get a headache from.