A link between artificial sweeteners and Type II diabetes?

Bill's forum was the first! All subjects are welcome. Participation by all encouraged.

Moderator: Available

Post Reply
User avatar
Bill Glasheen
Posts: 17299
Joined: Thu Mar 11, 1999 6:01 am
Location: Richmond, VA --- Louisville, KY

A link between artificial sweeteners and Type II diabetes?

Post by Bill Glasheen »

The stereotype is out there. A fat tubby orders her double whopper, large fries, and tasty dessert, and tops it off with a large diet drink. Really? Why bother? You eat too much and you deserve the way you look.

Scientists have known for some time that there's an association between diet drink consumption and obesity, but they weren't sure why. Association doesn't necessarily imply causation; this is why we need randomized, controlled trials. Now they think they've found a possible mechanism, making the association a potential causal relationship.

The key finding was published in Nature - one of the most internationally-recognized journals.

..... Artificial sweeteners induce glucose intolerance by altering the gut microbiota

Scientists fed one set of mice a diet high in artificial sweeteners. They noted the change in glucose metabolism. They then took the bacteria from the gut of the artificial sweetener mice, and put them in virgin guts of another group if mice. They were able to reproduce the altered glucose metabolism just by implanting the bacteria. Treat the "infected" mice with antibiotics, and the problem is removed.

Obesity is a stubborn problem in Western cultures, and sugar alternatives don't seem to be helping people avoid the path of obesity to metabolic syndrome to Type II diabetes. Something other than a lack of exercise and good eating is coming into play. And now we think that those artificial sweeteners (e.g. aspartame, sucralose, and saccharin) may be part of the problem.

As a lover of Diet Mountain Dew, I am heartbroken. I don't have a weight problem and genetically I'm not at risk for Type II diabetes. But there's no point tempting fate. It looks like change may be in order.

What to do? Here are some suggestions.
  • Less diet soda; more UNSWEETENED coffee and tea.
    .....
  • Get your sweet from fruits and vegetables.
    .....
  • Always have protein whenever you have something sweet. See glycemic index.
    .....
  • As always, avoid processed food. Shop on the outsides of the grocery store, and spend very little on the center aisles. Avoid sugar, brown sugar, "natural cane extract", high fructose corn syrup, and any of the litany of artificial sweeteners (mentioned above).
    .....
  • Consider including probiotics in your diet. Our gut need bacteria, and we want some good guys down there. The more good guys in the neighborhood, the less chance that bad guys can make mischief. At least that is *my* theory. I think there's something to it. To be continued... 8)
- Bill
User avatar
gmattson
Site Admin
Posts: 6069
Joined: Wed Sep 16, 1998 6:01 am
Location: Lake Mary, Florida
Contact:

Re: A link between artificial sweeteners and Type II diabete

Post by gmattson »

Hey Bill. . . remember Susan telling you for the past few years how bad those diet soda were??? Of course, she didn't have a study performed for an AMA approved journal. . . :)

I am curious if the manufacturer of these poison drinks will be affected by a single study that few people read and no one will ever hear anything about.

And remember that all the people who "knew" diet drinks were poison, also are aware of many other health tips that no one will ever write up in an AMA approved journal.

Susan thanks you for the post and is very happy to learn that you will be giving up your addiction to dietdew! (I don't think the study mentioned the "fact" that many soft-drinks are addictive as cigarettes.) So, good luck with your withdrawals! :)
GEM
"Do or do not. there is no try!"
User avatar
Bill Glasheen
Posts: 17299
Joined: Thu Mar 11, 1999 6:01 am
Location: Richmond, VA --- Louisville, KY

Re: A link between artificial sweeteners and Type II diabete

Post by Bill Glasheen »

Well I'm always happy to facilitate a woman being in a position where she can say "I told you so!" :-D

But seriously...

There was no strong evidence that diet sodas were "poison", although there was some interesting correlation between those consuming diet sodas and obesity. Furthermore, there are three common artificial sweeteners, and one of them breaks down into two "natural" amino acids. A good scientist knows not to confuse correlation with causation. The only way to *know* something - other than being a female ;-) - is to build the case the right way. That means one step at a time.

I can't present "truth" in my job without properly constructed evidence. Trolling epidemiologic data and finding patterns raises suspicions. But until we apply the scientific method, all we have are suspicions. Don't get me wrong... instincts are important in science. I follow them myself. Being an ENTP, I've got that "intuitive" dimension going for me.

As for the word poison... When Susan will use that same word for white sugar, brown sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and "cane juice extract" (a great way that health food stores hide the "s" word), then I know we're completely reading from the same hymnal.

Oh and for the record... This experiment was run in mice, and not in humans. The i's haven't all been dotted and the t's crossed. We don't know for sure (yet) that the findings would hold in humans.

But the fact that this was published in Nature - the journal where Einstein published some of his award-winning research - suggests how important people think this finding is and how well-constructed the study was. This is a big deal, George. There's plenty of reason for Susan to feel excited about her suspicions, and plenty of reason for the skeptics to join the cacophony of voices who say this stuff isn't working as adverstised.

Still... Your dentist would rather you not drink any sodas at all, since the dissolved CO2 creates a very acidic solution that's tough on the enamel. But given a choice, they'd rather you not bathe your mouth in sugar all day. The diet sodas in some ways are still a lesser evil.

Caffeine? Don't take my legal speed from me! As they say, mathematicians are people who convert caffeine to theorems. 8)

- Bill
Post Reply

Return to “Bill Glasheen's Dojo Roundtable”