Welcome to the Podiatry Arena forums

You are currently viewing our podiatry forum as a guest which gives you limited access to view all podiatry discussions and access our other features. By joining our free global community of Podiatrists and other interested foot health care professionals you will have access to post podiatry topics (answer and ask questions), communicate privately with other members, upload content, view attachments, receive a weekly email update of new discussions, access other special features. Registered users do not get displayed the advertisements in posted messages. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our global Podiatry community today!

  1. Have you considered the Clinical Biomechanics Boot Camp Online, for taking it to the next level? See here for more.
    Dismiss Notice
Dismiss Notice
Have you considered the Clinical Biomechanics Boot Camp Online, for taking it to the next level? See here for more.
Dismiss Notice
Have you liked us on Facebook to get our updates? Please do. Click here for our Facebook page.
Dismiss Notice
Do you get the weekly newsletter that Podiatry Arena sends out to update everybody? If not, click here to organise this.

Artificial sweetners and blood sugars

Discussion in 'Diabetic Foot & Wound Management' started by Rob Kidd, Jun 17, 2012.

  1. Rob Kidd

    Rob Kidd Well-Known Member


    Members do not see these Ads. Sign Up.
    Can anyone help me here? I heard recently from those that I assume they know what they are talking about - daughter, PhD in yeast microbiology - that artificial sweetners raise blood sugars in a similar manner to glucose intake. Is this true - is anyone there in a position to advise? If this is the case, it does have significant ramifications for blood sugar control. Rob Kidd
     
  2. Craig Payne

    Craig Payne Moderator

    Articles:
    8
    My understanding is that it depends on the type of artificial sweetener that is used. If I recall correctly the evidence I read a while back was that aspartame had no effects and saccharin has mixed results from different studies. I can't recall the others.

    I also recall discussion somewhere a while back that individuals who were type one's were reporting that some artificial sweeteners affected them and not others ... ie they themselves noticed an effect on blood glucose or not. .... and each person seemed to be different in how they responded.

    At the end of the day, it probably shouldn't be an issue for those on insulin as long as they do the monitoring and respond with insulin accordingly. For the type two's, it probably is an issue due to the need to loose weight, however the still do have some pancreatic beta-cell function to respond the the challenge. .
     
  3. MischaK

    MischaK Active Member

    Im pretty sure that many of the popular Arifical sweeteners such as aspartame, sucralose and stevia have negligible effect on blood sugar (Anton et al., 2010; Okuno et al., 1986; Wilson & Howes, 2008) . BUT other sweeteners such as Sugar alcohols that are added to many low sugar/ low calorie foods and drinks do have an affect on blood sugar.

    Sugar alcohols are a hydrogenated carbohydrate, whose carbonyl group has been reduced to a primary or secondary hydroxyl group , although slighlty different to alchol (organic compound in which the hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon) the chemical make up is similar, hence the name sugar alcohol.

    Sugar alcohols are usually not fully absorbed (approximately half of the sugar alcohol content is actually digested and absorbed). generally this results in a smaller change in blood glucose than sugar (sucrose).

    some popular sugar alcohol's used are:

    Erythritol
    Glycerol
    isomalt
    lactitol
    maltitol
    mannitol
    sorbitol
    xylitol

    You can usually spot them on the food or drink label by looking for the suffix "ol"

    Sorry for the lack of references its only 6:35 in Sydney

    Anton, S. D., Martin, C. K., Han, H., Coulon, S., Cefalu, W. T., Geiselman, P., & Williamson, D. A. (2010). Effects of stevia, aspartame, and sucrose on food intake, satiety, and postprandial glucose and insulin levels. Appetite, 55(1), 37-43. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2010.03.009

    Okuno, G., Kawakami, F., Tako, H., Kashihara, T., Shibamoto, S., Yamazaki, T., . . . Saeki, M. (1986). Glucose tolerance, blood lipid, insulin and glucagon concentration after single or continuous administration of aspartame in diabetics. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, 2(1), 23-27. doi: 10.1016/s0168-8227(86)80025-0

    Wilson, F., & Howes, K. E. (2008). Blood glucose changes following the ingestion of sucrose- and aspartame-sweetened beverages. Appetite, 51(2), 410. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2008.04.261
     
  4. phil

    phil Active Member

    Just a comment about managment of diabetes which i'm sure we all know- sugar doesn't need to be excluded from the diet of someone with diabetes.

    If someone is replacing high sugar foods with the same food made with a artificial sweetener, it may still be an innapropriate dietary change. Most foods with artificial sweeteners are highly refined, nutrient poor, junky foods.

    For example, if someone is eating cakes/ biscuits/ cookies made with aspartame instead of sugar, they are still eating a bucketload of carbs anyway. And if they're drinking diet carbonated drinks by the litres instead of regular carbonated drinks by the litres, they aren't making the best choice anyway! The danger may be that there is a false sense of doing the right thing, while still having a very poor diet.

    The best approach is changing to a healthier diet, not just the same old diet with artifical sweeteners instead of sugar! Sorry for kinda changing the direction of the thread with my post. It's the dieticians i work with that made me think this way!
     
  5. Rob Kidd

    Rob Kidd Well-Known Member

    Perhaps it is time to come clean. My own BSL has been rising - though not to terrible levels. I have never liked water, and have drunk "diet " drinks by the bucket full. It was simply a thought. Rob
     
  6. SarahR

    SarahR Active Member

    Our bodies don't know how to handle these artificial chemicals, as we did not evolve with them in our diet. They cause a biochemical storm and are difficult to break down and clear away, some accumulating in the fat cells or breaking down into neurotoxic substrates.

    In general, our body responds to taste of the food and drink we eat and adjusts the hormone levels/enzymes etc to deal with the expected conditions. Sweet taste without calories still will result in increased insulin levels, this lowers blood sugar initially, then can lead to a net rise to compensate once the liver starts releasing glycogen as glucose to make up for the drop without any absorption of glucose from the intestine.

    I am one who subscribes to the "peripheral insulin resistance" and "leptin/Ghrelin" signalling dysfunction rather than elevated blood glucose explanation of adult onset diabetes. We cannot simply lower the BG level, but must improve our biochemical function by improving the whole diet. It irritates me that dietitians still recommend artificial and potentially dangerous chemicals to my diabetic patients and talk about carb trading etc and say sugar is okay. Some now say sugar is okay for our type 1 diabetics, they just need more insulin, but then can develop type 2 due to insulin resistance!! It is beyond insane. One cannot abuse their body with bad food and expect their body to turn trash into treasure. This is the origin of chronic disease.

    Anything that's fat free or sugar free or processed in any way is going to damage your body. Most are more concerned about how they feed and exercise their pets than their own body and children's too. We need to act like a grown up and eat to benefit our body rather than please our tongues. One cannot make a house out of stuff they find in a garbage dump; nor can one maintain a healthy body on junk food. You are what you eat.
     
  7. Craig Payne

    Craig Payne Moderator

    Articles:
    8
    The ADA have just released a position statement on this:
    Nonnutritive Sweeteners: Current Use and Health Perspectives
    A Scientific Statement from the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association

     
  8. NewsBot

    NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

    Articles:
    1
    Press Release:
    Debate continues on impact of artificial sweeteners
     
Loading...

Share This Page