"Fake" sugar: Why is it not good for you?
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One interesting thing about that is that lots of people claim that they DON'T feel satiated after eating sweet foods or even tend to feel hungrier. Probably this applies to only a subset of people, but I suspect they (and people with weird satiety issues in general) tend to be more commonly in overweight populations, so if someone isn't feeling satiated eating sugary foods, the fact they also might not eating artificial sweetener wouldn't seem to matter AND they'd have more calories left.
Also, if you do log and monitor calories you will be able to see if something you are doing is affecting how satisfied you are on your calories. I sometimes drink diet soda and sometimes don't, so can say pretty confidently that it doesn't make me hungrier.0 -
Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »read one article a while back about people who drink diet sodas, and still some how gain weight....
And one of the things they said, is that in and of itself, the diet coke would help a person lose weight (less calories).....but the artificial sweetner being used, did not trigger responses in the body and mind......
So if a person were drinking something with sugar, then the body would release hormones and respond accordingly "Hey, there is something in my stomach, I am good now."
But with diet soda, this does not happen....no signals are triggered, so the person still thinks the stomach is empty and needs food....thus they eat.
But if you're monitoring your intake, and eat mindfully, then you can control this. I don't see how this would be an issue for someone who is logging their food or otherwise monitoring what they eat.
You are correct, and I agree with this.
But people don't track and log as the norm, right?
Plus if you are aware of the lack of triggers and responses due to drinking diet sodas, then you would get less people asking the whole "I just had xxxxx, but I am still hungry."
Or some such stuff......
So my response is just to OP's original question.
Meh, I always assume that most of the people on these forums will be monitoring their intake. I'm just of the opinion that if someone is going to drink diet soda and think that it will allow them to eat whatever they want, or if they don't have enough sense to avoid something that makes them want to eat more, then that's totally on them. It's not the diet soda's fault. Some people may get hungrier after drinking diet soda, but I would simply tell them to avoid it if that is the case.
LOL, you know what they say about assuming, right?
Some people "monitor" their intake by guessing how much of something they eat is......vs actually weighing it.
Then you have the ppl that go get 3 burgers, but order a diet soda, cause they think that is what they need to do.....
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Activation of the hedonic component may contribute to increased appetite.
Or it could just as easily decrease appetite by giving partial satiety versus none.
Okay, I do admit when I drink tea-no-diet-sodas, my other food subjectively tastes sweeter. Doesn't really make a difference in anything else. But then my soda tastes better than water. LOL.
Also, I hate, HATE ice tea. I don't know why. I'm weird.0 -
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lemurcat12 wrote: »One interesting thing about that is that lots of people claim that they DON'T feel satiated after eating sweet foods or even tend to feel hungrier. Probably this applies to only a subset of people, but I suspect they (and people with weird satiety issues in general) tend to be more commonly in overweight populations, so if someone isn't feeling satiated eating sugary foods, the fact they also might not eating artificial sweetener wouldn't seem to matter AND they'd have more calories left.
Also, if you do log and monitor calories you will be able to see if something you are doing is affecting how satisfied you are on your calories. I sometimes drink diet soda and sometimes don't, so can say pretty confidently that it doesn't make me hungrier.
Ok, so here is Seth's theory (that's me)
We have a hormone called ghrelin....this hormone is what drives our hunger/appetite.
And typically what pushes ghrelin is carbs.....
So you hear many people say "Well I feel more hungry after I eat breakfast"......most likely due to the fact that their breakfast consisted of high carb foods.....I mean just about anything for breakfast (cereal, waffles, pancakes, oatmeal, etc..) is all high carb
So after all night of sleeping and the body calming down, upon initial rise and shine, most ppl aren't too hungry. But then they go eat, and then they get "more hungry".....because of ghrelin.
I personally don't eat breakfast, so now that I have been doing that for a while....I have better control of my appetite, and can make it through my morning and my morning workout without eating....and feel fine.
Now with diet sodas, and what I posted earlier.....the problem here seems to be that the artificial stuff doesn't trigger the reward centers of the brain and inform the brain that there is food in the stomach, and you aren't hungry anymore....
So people sit at their desks, drink their diet sodas, and give no thought on the food they are snacking on with that soda.....0 -
Because they're, like, totally processed/chemicals/artificial/junk and for sure cause cancer/brain tumors/traffic jams/all bad things. Duh!
But seriously...
I use splenda and stevia on a regular basis and use quite a few products that contain aspartame, sucralose, etc. I rarely even pay attention to such things. I also eat my fair share of foods that contain real sugar. I do just fine - there are much worse things that I could be putting in my body.0 -
I use stevia also....
I believe stevia is a natural sweetener....not artificial.
And it also does not cause an insulin response.0 -
I'm pretty outraged by the fact that your name is Seth and not Max. I feel completely duped.
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lemurcat12 wrote: »One interesting thing about that is that lots of people claim that they DON'T feel satiated after eating sweet foods or even tend to feel hungrier. Probably this applies to only a subset of people, but I suspect they (and people with weird satiety issues in general) tend to be more commonly in overweight populations, so if someone isn't feeling satiated eating sugary foods, the fact they also might not eating artificial sweetener wouldn't seem to matter AND they'd have more calories left.
Also, if you do log and monitor calories you will be able to see if something you are doing is affecting how satisfied you are on your calories. I sometimes drink diet soda and sometimes don't, so can say pretty confidently that it doesn't make me hungrier.
Ok, so here is Seth's theory (that's me)
We have a hormone called ghrelin....this hormone is what drives our hunger/appetite.
And typically what pushes ghrelin is carbs.....
So you hear many people say "Well I feel more hungry after I eat breakfast"......most likely due to the fact that their breakfast consisted of high carb foods.....I mean just about anything for breakfast (cereal, waffles, pancakes, oatmeal, etc..) is all high carb
So after all night of sleeping and the body calming down, upon initial rise and shine, most ppl aren't too hungry. But then they go eat, and then they get "more hungry".....because of ghrelin.
I personally don't eat breakfast, so now that I have been doing that for a while....I have better control of my appetite, and can make it through my morning and my morning workout without eating....and feel fine.
Now with diet sodas, and what I posted earlier.....the problem here seems to be that the artificial stuff doesn't trigger the reward centers of the brain and inform the brain that there is food in the stomach, and you aren't hungry anymore....
So people sit at their desks, drink their diet sodas, and give no thought on the food they are snacking on with that soda.....
I just think you are generalizing about things on which people differ.
SOME people find carbs make them hungrier. Others find that eating carbs without protein and fat may not make them hungrier, but isn't particularly satiating. Others have still other reactions.
But as long as we are doing this, here's my theory: ;-)
I think overweight people tend to include a disproportionate number of people who are insulin resistant and thus who tend not to be satiated by carbs and even might be hungrier. So it's not surprising that lots of people around here tend to find carbs not satiating.
I also think some subset of people are volume eaters and lots of higher calorie sugary foods (which get generalized about as "carbs") aren't satisfying in that way, yet have lots of calories.
And I think lots of people who eat lots of carbs and claim not to be satiated seem to be rather low on protein (which is often found to be satiating) or higher fiber foods or (in some cases) fat.
Beyond this, lots of people with a tendency to be overweight tend to eat past what should be satiety for reasons that have nothing to do with hunger. One example of this is emotional eaters.
And some of us tend to have screwed up satiety signals, so that we may not feel hungry that much, but also may not feel full after eating.
Given the huge variety of responses, I think it's extremely unlikely that diet soda has any consistent effect on hunger or how much one wants to eat (and again this is consistent with my personal experience). Does it tend to make some people more likely to be hungry or experience cravings? Wouldn't surprise me, and therefore they should figure that out and decide what to do about it.0 -
You could be right.....
Just going by things I have read, that's all.....
but ghrelin is not a generalization.0 -
Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »I'm pretty outraged by the fact that your name is Seth and not Max. I feel completely duped.
LOL
My truck was Max.....and then an old lady pulled in front of me and now I don't have Max anymore....
Very sad about that.0 -
Agreed, I am much the same way, having a couple Coke Zeros or the like each day.FWIW-I dont believe their is any truth to this. Anecdotal-but if it wasn't for sugar free products I probably would not be losing. I go for sugar free ice pops when I feel snacky, coke zero when I need a caffeine fix, sugar free jello, artificial flavors in my coffee.
All of these things have HELPED me lose weight-not hindered it. If I replaced all of my "fake sugar" items with the full-calorie versions I would be heavier, as I would be consuming 100's more calories a day.
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I'm so not going to argue why I believe soda is junk food. Instead I'm going to go buy a pack of light cigarettes because those must not be as bad as smoking regular ones.
+1 (i'm plussing myself here and I don't give a shite)0 -
The aspartame made me crave sweets.
You get different answers from scientists on this stuff and when they can't agree, I err on the side of caution, so it's out.
The whole thing reminds me of the cigarette debates. There is still no proof that anyone died because they smoked, but it's generally agreed that sucking that stuff into your lungs will do them no good and it should be avoided. But there were plenty of doctors and scientists testifying that there was no proof it hurt anyone, they themselves smoked, etc.
Until the scientists are (almost) all in agreement, stop saying things like, "There is no proof that it will hurt you" and start saying things like, "It's good for you," I'm going to try not to swallow it.0 -
Sugar intake can lead to spikes in insulin, which can lead to increases in subjective hunger, which leads to more eating, which leads to weight gain. Because sugar intake is paired invariably with a sweet taste, anything else that also tastes sweet (even if it has zero nutritive value) can make the sweet taste also result in insulin spikes. It's behavioral psychology, basically. At least, this is the theory I heard in my psychobiology course about 20 years ago.0
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Sugar intake can lead to spikes in insulin, which can lead to increases in subjective hunger, which leads to more eating, which leads to weight gain. Because sugar intake is paired invariably with a sweet taste, anything else that also tastes sweet (even if it has zero nutritive value) can make the sweet taste also result in insulin spikes. It's behavioral psychology, basically. At least, this is the theory I heard in my psychobiology course about 20 years ago.
Protein also spikes insulin.
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Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »Sugar intake can lead to spikes in insulin, which can lead to increases in subjective hunger, which leads to more eating, which leads to weight gain. Because sugar intake is paired invariably with a sweet taste, anything else that also tastes sweet (even if it has zero nutritive value) can make the sweet taste also result in insulin spikes. It's behavioral psychology, basically. At least, this is the theory I heard in my psychobiology course about 20 years ago.
Protein also spikes insulin.
Protein is da debil...0 -
You didn't say "junk food." You said "crap." Like I said I think the effects of diet soda in moderation are neutral. Unless you have some evidence that that is wrong, the cigarette example is poor, because light cigarettes are demonstrably harmful.
As for "junk food," depends on the definition you choose. From dictionary.com: "food, as potato chips or candy, that is high in calories but of little nutritional value." Diet soda is not high in calories so would not be covered by this definition. From merriam-webster.com: "food that is not good for your health because it contains high amounts of fat or sugar." Again, diet soda would not qualify (and it's a dumb definition). But from oxforddictionaries.com: "Food that has low nutritional value, typically produced in the form of packaged snacks needing little or no preparation." Diet soda would qualify there.
I don't think it much matters, though--who seeks nutrients from diet soda?0 -
ceoverturf wrote: »Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »Sugar intake can lead to spikes in insulin, which can lead to increases in subjective hunger, which leads to more eating, which leads to weight gain. Because sugar intake is paired invariably with a sweet taste, anything else that also tastes sweet (even if it has zero nutritive value) can make the sweet taste also result in insulin spikes. It's behavioral psychology, basically. At least, this is the theory I heard in my psychobiology course about 20 years ago.
Protein also spikes insulin.
Protein is da debil...
Must. Avoid. Steak. Temptation.0 -
sadiebrawl wrote: »I'm so not going to argue why I believe soda is junk food. Instead I'm going to go buy a pack of light cigarettes because those must not be as bad as smoking regular ones.
+1 (i'm plussing myself here and I don't give a shite)
Regular sugar isn't bad for you in moderation, either. It just doesn't fit very well into my macros right now. My poor, poor granola bar recipe is crying for me. LOL. Not gonna happen right now!0 -
Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »Sugar intake can lead to spikes in insulin, which can lead to increases in subjective hunger, which leads to more eating, which leads to weight gain. Because sugar intake is paired invariably with a sweet taste, anything else that also tastes sweet (even if it has zero nutritive value) can make the sweet taste also result in insulin spikes. It's behavioral psychology, basically. At least, this is the theory I heard in my psychobiology course about 20 years ago.
Protein also spikes insulin.
Yeah, I'm not saying I really believed this theory. I eat plenty of "fake sugar" and I have never found it to have any negative effects on weight loss.
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MamaBirdBoss wrote: »No. The most toxic thing in my Diet Coke is the water.
The phosphoric acid is probably a bit more toxic :-)
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The aspartame made me crave sweets.
You get different answers from scientists on this stuff and when they can't agree, I err on the side of caution, so it's out.
The whole thing reminds me of the cigarette debates. There is still no proof that anyone died because they smoked, but it's generally agreed that sucking that stuff into your lungs will do them no good and it should be avoided. But there were plenty of doctors and scientists testifying that there was no proof it hurt anyone, they themselves smoked, etc.
Until the scientists are (almost) all in agreement, stop saying things like, "There is no proof that it will hurt you" and start saying things like, "It's good for you," I'm going to try not to swallow it.
Aspartame is probably the single most-studied food additive in existence. There IS no proof that it's bad for you. As a matter of fact, the scientific consensus on aspartame is that it's just fine to consume. All of the reputable sources are pretty much in agreement there.
If it causes you to feel more hungry, then fine - don't consume it. But don't spread misinformation on it just because you personally don't trust the science behind it.0 -
Here is a good thread re Aspartame:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1308408/why-aspartame-isnt-scary/p10 -
KwonJiYong69 wrote: »apparently diet drinks make you store fat, I used to use them to suppress my hunger but its not worth the risk of drinking them
That is completely untrue. I can't even imagine where you heard/read this, but it's not true. Only a calorie surplus makes you store fat.0 -
sadiebrawl wrote: »I'm so not going to argue why I believe soda is junk food. Instead I'm going to go buy a pack of light cigarettes because those must not be as bad as smoking regular ones.
+1 (i'm plussing myself here and I don't give a shite)
That is so outrageous I'm making it
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sadiebrawl wrote: »I'm so not going to argue why I believe soda is junk food. Instead I'm going to go buy a pack of light cigarettes because those must not be as bad as smoking regular ones.
+1 (i'm plussing myself here and I don't give a shite)
Horrible analogy...especially since there is nothing wrong with regular soda either.0 -
sadiebrawl wrote: »I'm so not going to argue why I believe soda is junk food. Instead I'm going to go buy a pack of light cigarettes because those must not be as bad as smoking regular ones.
+1 (i'm plussing myself here and I don't give a shite)
Horrible analogy...especially since there is nothing wrong with regular soda either.
Now, now - let's not get ahead of ourselves. She may have a point.
I mean, surely inhaling soda, diet or regular, into your lungs every day, multiple times a day, would not be healthy...0 -
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Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »sadiebrawl wrote: »I'm so not going to argue why I believe soda is junk food. Instead I'm going to go buy a pack of light cigarettes because those must not be as bad as smoking regular ones.
+1 (i'm plussing myself here and I don't give a shite)
Horrible analogy...especially since there is nothing wrong with regular soda either.
Now, now - let's not get ahead of ourselves. She may have a point.
I mean, surely inhaling soda, diet or regular, into your lungs every day, multiple times a day, would not be healthy...
Yeah..but have you ever tried rolling your own soda-rette?0
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