Study: Artificial sweeteners have no effect on blood sugar

[Dan_Dan]

a “no” answer to the above questions is not bad.

If we choose to follow Scientific consensus the answers to the above questions is Yes

YMMV is the exception not the rule

[IceNine]

Here are some questions I ask myself

• Do artificial sweeteners lower insulin?
• Do artificial sweeteners reduce cravings for more sweetness?
• Do artificial sweeteners accelerate weight loss?
• Do artificial sweeteners produce any positive health outcomes?
• Do artificial sweeteners produce any benefit besides a temporary gratification of an urge exacerbated by the consumption of an artificial sweetener?

How I wish everything was that…boolean. But sadly, those aren’t really questions that command boolean-type answers.

For instance: “Do artificial sweeteners lower insulin”. WIthout extensive post-prandial testing, how would you know? You can claim to know by whipping out a BG meter and seeing your BG dip - which might indicate an insulin response. But without testing free insulin, how do you really know?

And even if you DID know, how specific was your testing? Too many times have I seen people say “OH well, I was eating these Quest bars that had Sweetener X, and ever since I stopped eating those, my stall ended, therefore it must have been Sweetener X.” This happens all the time despite the fact that there’s “other stuff” in that Quest bar that could have been equally liable.

I don’t know, I am just not at all sold on the whole “artificial sweeteners cause stalls” thing, and I doubt we’re going to see any quorum on it. Not with all those pesky anecdotes flying around

[Daves_Not_Here]

How I wish everything was that…boolean. But sadly, those aren’t really questions that command boolean-type answers.

I hereby declare all things may be classified in a boolean context. For example, all things are either boolean, or they are not. All people can be divided into two groups - those who divide people into two groups, and those who do not.

Seriously, as to the questions I ask myself about artificial sweeteners, I don’t claim to know the answers with rigorous scientific certainty. And, I don’t need to. I can move forward based on my best guess and limited information and see how things pan out. And just because I get certain results does not mean someone else will.

That said, my anecdotal experience is the less artificial sweeteners I eat, the less I crave them. Others may find this information helpful. Or they may not.

[Steve_M]

I wonder if that scenario is what causes Xylitol to be fatal in dogs.

[Callisto]

Yes, it is exactly why xylitol is toxic in dogs, and that’s why I have always found it surprising that artificial sweeteners are reported to cause a similar effect (insulin response with no rise in blood glucose) in people with no significant risk (not severe hypoglycemia and death, anyway). Maybe it’s a matter of degree, at this point I’m guessing it’s much milder in people. But still, some people use a lot of sweetener so I’m not sure.

[KHAN]

Too many times have I seen people say “OH well, I was eating these Quest bars that had Sweetener X, and ever since I stopped eating those, my stall ended, therefore it must have been Sweetener X.” This happens all the time despite the fact that there’s “other stuff” in that Quest bar that could have been equally liable.

I don’t know, I am just not at all sold on the whole “artificial sweeteners cause stalls” thing, and I doubt we’re going to see any quorum on it. Not with all those pesky anecdotes flying around

I had stalled for 4 months, and I decided to drop all alcohol, and HWC in my coffee. In the last 3 months I’ve dropped 30 more pounds!!! Am I sticking with this? Absolutely.

Do I know if this was the sole catalyst? No. It’s likely a combination of the lower fat and energy intake and long term keto lowering insulin.

We’re all an n=1 and need to experiment to find things that work for us “at that time”. Over time things change and we need to keep tweaking things.

[cyndimarie]

I had someone tell me today to stay away from Splenda cuz it spikes insulin (she’s a weight-loss nurse). She recommends Stevia only.
I don’t want to give up my Torani or Davinci sugar-free syrups to sweeten my coffee or smoothies.
Any opinions on this???

[Mangusdog]

If you are having good results then I wouldn’t worry about it too much. If you are stalled or concerned about your blood glucose levels then you could try leaving it out for a couple days and see how you feel.
If you have a blood glucose meter you could do an n=1 experiment. There’s a few threads on here where people have tested their reactions to various sweeteners, as well as some you tube videos if you want to know how.

[PaulL]

Splenda may spike insulin for her, but the only way to know whether it will do so for you, is to do the experiment. Everyone’s reaction seems to be idiosyncratic, where these non-caloric sweeteners are concerned.

[GentleBen]

So, after reading all the posts in this thread, I think I might just skip all the sweeteners and just go enjoy my monthly chocolate malt from Dairy Queen and then fast for a couple of days afterward.

Probably no more harmful than taking in the sweetners daily.