Nice to see more doctors flat out saying sugar is a killer. The study the article is referring to is below, as well. Interesting that the body’s response to the artificial sweeteners causes the same issues with abdominal obesity, etc.
Sugar-Free, Sugar's Equally Villainous Side-Kick
valdivia.marc
(Marc)
#2
Yes, I would agree with this article. I think, however, that most of the people here use artificial sweeteners in some form. I’m of a mind that no sweeteners are needed, and that artificial sweeteners are not good for a person - as this study suggests. Over time our palate adjusts and we shouldn’t need any sweeteners.
From the article:
Canadian researchers, publishing in the journal PLoS ONE, followed close to 1,500 adults for an average of 10 years. They measured a variety of health markers, including weight, body mass index, and abdominal obesity, and followed the participant’s diets, paying particular attention to their use, or non-use, of artificial sweeteners.
In comparing those who used artificial sweeteners to those who did not, users showed a 53% higher incidence of abdominal obesity, a 2.6 cm larger waist circumference, and a fairly dramatic increase in body mass index.
At first, these results, and the results of similar studies, seem totally counterintuitive. But mechanistically, when considering the damaging effects that artificial sweeteners have on our gut bacteria, this all begins to make perfect sense.
WhoAteMyPsyche
(Ashley Haddock)
#3
While I agree that artificial sweeteners are horrid (some worse than others and several I won’t touch), this article didn’t get into the fact there are a lot of non-nutritive sweeteners that aren’t artificial (though I realize that point can be argued by some). It also didn’t say what the people who were using artificial sweeteners were eating. A lot of people who use artificial sweeteners buy them in things like diet soda and sugar free candy. I think this creates a “placebo” effect where they think they’re doing something good. If they then order a Big Mac, fries and a Diet Coke, obviously they’re going to get fat from that.
I have cut pretty much all sweets from my diet except for using some in my BPC and the occasional keto friendly treat (which I bake myself). I stick with stevia and erythritol because after much research I feel these are the safest. I can say that I’m 1000% healthier than I’ve ever been in my life. If I ever feel like the small amount of sweeteners I use is setting me back then I’d cut them but I don’t like how this article throws a blanket statement over everyone.
djindy
#4
While I do believe artificial sweeteners should be limited as well, as they frequently carry a variety of their own problems and as tying your palate to sweetness doesn’t help you change into a mode where you no longer crave sweet foods, I’d note a few things here:
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The linked study doesn’t say “artificial sweeteners”, it says “low-calorie sweeteners”. This was an important question I had immediately when reading the article, whether they meant only the artificial sweeteners or whether that included other sweeteners that are not artificial but are also low-calorie and commonly used.
-
Related to point 1, the study, unfortunately, never specifies what “low-calorie sweeteners” means. It never tells us which sweeteners or anything else along those lines. The best I could find was a reference to ‘diet soda’ as the most common example, though they note they studied the usage in the entire diet in contrast to other studies that exclusively look at diet soda. Well, that at least tells us aspartame is on the list, and that seems likely enough as that’s the most common alternative sweetener. I’ve seen reason to believe that aspartame in particular is problematic, which again leads me to wonder whether all low-calorie sweeteners are really a problem or not.
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This kind of long term, observational study is indeed necessary and good (contrary to some opinions), but just remember all the caveats that come with them. They aren’t the same as a well structured lab experiment in a controlled environment.
Something I did find pretty interesting from the study though was one of the noted possibilities for explaining what is going on that I don’t hear much:
Mechanisms for the association between low-calorie sweetener use and progressively rising
prevalence of abdominal obesity remain unknown. One potential explanation derives from the
physiology of the brain food reward system. Evidence from animal studies demonstrates that
dopamine signaling in the brain may function as a “central caloric sensor” that regulates nutrient
intake accounting for the caloric density of food [40]. Low-calorie sweeteners used as a
sugar alternative may reduce food specific calories, but because they do not produce satiety,
they can encourage more eating. Ageusic mice, lacking sweet taste sensation due to mutation
in the taste ion channel TRPM5, acquire preference for sucrose and show robust dopamine
release with sucrose but not with low-calorie sweetener ingestion [41]. This finding exemplifies
the hypothesis that the reward system in the brain normally links “sweetness” with absorption
of calories in the gut. Low-calorie sweeteners, with no caloric density, actually may cause the
brain to abandon sweetness as a calorie gauge. Therefore, individuals who consume low-calorie
sweeteners may compensate by over-eating in order to experience the expected satiety.
Brenda
(8 year Ketogenic Veteran)
#5
HEAR HEAR! Everyone needs to fuck off of my stevia etc. Lol
I’m no longer diabetic. Let’s not get super restrictive and pearl clutchy here. Lol
Bahrutile
(Dustin Cade)
#6
We’ve just gotta be smarter than the packaging of our food! Being able to read between the lines…
Msims
#7
Yes, I wish more people were worried about the toxic effect of sugar than artificial sweeteners.
Aqua_chonk
(Stickin' with mammoth)
#10
I’d much rather clutch the rock hard shoulders of a keto boyfriend. (tick, tock)
Aqua_chonk
(Stickin' with mammoth)
#11
I always saw sweeteners as a tool rather than a foodstuff, to be used as a gateway drug to sobriety while going off sugar. Once the chemical addiction to all the '–oses was gone (sucrose, fructose, grosstose), it made sense to me to dial back my tongue’s affinity until it disappeared.
A lot of keto desserts are works of art but I get a little nauseated when I look at them. I seem to have edited out the desire for that entire chapter of the cookbook. I associate sweet food with a craving I no longer have so it’s become a non-issue. The only thing that titillates me now is the blackberry season around here. (We can pick them off the side of the road in Oregon, neener, neener.)
I add a dash of stevia to my morning coffee these days but only because I buy nasty, cheap-ass coffee.
Roasting your own coffee beans
cansel
(Candace)
#13
I don’t have a problem with actual natural sweeteners, which I consider Stevia to be - although it is a bit bitter for me, I’m learning to balance it with one of the sugar alcohols, that are not too bad. Splenda is something I have issues with, and I’m flat out allergic to aspartame, stuff gives me migraines. So stick with your Stevia, it is a plant <3
carolT
#16
Diet Coke contains AceK, acesulfame potassium, which gives an insulin response in many people. Probably worth testing your glucose response, and ketones if possible, if you have a Diet Coke habit.