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Effects of Sucralose on Glucose Transport and Other Parameters Inovlved in Bdoy Weight Regulation
cheryldumais
Posts: 1,907 Member
I have always used artificial sweetners. I have never worried about using them... until recently. I lost alot of weight here and in the last few months have had increasing health issues. Mainly weird pain. I thought it was because of vaping which I took up to replace eating (I know I changed deck chairs on the titanic). I quit vaping a few months ago but the vague health problems continue. Someone on here made a comment about sweetners and I shrugged it off then I stopped and thought about it. I ingest large amounts of sucralose. I add it to my coffee or tea and via kool-aid drops in my daily water, I drink diet soda and I eat sugarless candy. Every day. I'm curious to see what you guys think of this study and if you feel it is accurate. Could this be my issue? I'm hoping someone with a background in science will jump in. Meanwhile I'm quitting sucralose for a few weeks to see if anything changes.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10937404.2013.842523
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10937404.2013.842523
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Replies
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"The effect of sucralose on first-pass drug metabolism in humans, however, has not yet been determined."
Considering it's been around so long - this quote seems incredible if true.
Or did this commentary merely not find an answer they liked?
@Aaron_K123
Anyway - if this is the issue, use the blue stuff that does have plenty of research regarding it's safety for metabolizing.
Unless Aspartame can't be be processed by you.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1308408/why-aspartame-isnt-scary/p15 -
Diet soda does not directly cause weight gain. That said, I THINK, for some people, it might cause hedonistic sweet issues. N=1 here is, I feel hungrier after heavy sweeter.5
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One can be intolerant to sucralose, or aspertame or what have you just as one could be intolerant to gluten, or soy, or dairy or any other food. Even though all of the above listed foods are safe for general consumption. Doesn't mean it might not make certain individuals feel bad physically.
My N=1- My husband is intolerant to aspartame- it makes him feel bad everytime he drinks it. Other sweeteners are ok. If I drink something with splenda it makes me super thirsty. I do not have this reaction with aspartame. Not sure why.
There's no harm in eliminating the artificial sweet stuff for a few weeks. You'll find out if you make improvements in how you feel or not. If no improvement- maybe talk to a doctor to rule out anything funny? If you get a clean bill of health try a symptom tracker app. I'm trying one out called Mysymptoms (andriod). Hoping it will narrow down what foods cause me to not feel good myself.9 -
Growing up, my parents put Equal in koolaid and iced tea, two primary drinks we often consumed. I remember often complaining about always being sore and tired and cranky. There was a period of time when we could not afford it so we drank a lot of water and milk. My symptoms disappeared. We could afford Equal again and I started getting symptoms again. I figured out my intolerance by accident. With aspartame, it was quick as I always got GI issues. I finally just stopped them.
Flash forward to my weight loss journey and I discovered monk fruit, stevia and SugaVida for my every day sweeteners and I have not experienced any issues. Intolerance is absolutely a possibility. Do as others suggest ... quit using them for a and see how you feel.3 -
My body cannot process sucralose. I break out in hives and have difficulty breathing (yes, my doctor agrees and this was after an extended extensive food study). I avoid it always, I use sugar and honey, I just monitor how much and that keeps me happy.4
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Our bodies are so unique. Red #40 just about kills me with pain. Stevia makes me unhappy. Splenda is my bestest friend. I love the doctor who figured out the red #40 connection. She changed my life!5
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Food sensitivities are always a possibility of course.
But I'm also wondering if you've had a doctor visit about the pain, and fairly comprehensive blood testing (including nutritional issues) recently?
I should remember how long since your weight loss, because I remember you posting about it, but I don't. Personally, I felt like some long-term issues came home to roost for me a few months after I went into maintenance. I never found out exactly why, but wondered whether the cumulative stress of weight loss was a factor. (In my case, it was nothing very major health-wise**, but otherwise unexplained; and unlike you, I hadn't materially changed what I eat, just mostly how much I eat.)
So as not to be coyly mysterious: Chronic paronychia, an annoying fingernail condition, which is still with me many moons later despite ongoing treatment; and periorificial dermatitis, a rash around my eye, which cleared up in a couple of months with treatment. These systemic kinds of things are very unusual for me . . . so much so that my oncology folks sent me for a full-torso scan, just in case. (That was all clear, thankfully.)3 -
I think it's worth considering. I've also been having issues I recently connected with sweetener. I'm thinking it is probably a sensitivity, but I'm increasingly interested in the research on gut bacteria in general, even though it's in its infancy. At any rate, eliminating/greatly reducing artificial sweetener is a harmless experiment. I would be interested to hear how you manage it and how it goes for you.
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You don’t say what kind of pain. Sucralose hurts me in my whole tummy area. From my waist to the tops of my thighs. Front, back, top, bottom, but no where else. It makes me hurt bad enough to go home and go to bed. Gets a lot better overnight, but lingers 3 days, diarrhea for a week. Needless to say, I avoid sucralose. But other artificial sweeteners cause muscle aches, aggravate my fibromyalgia. When I first suspected sweeteners were the cause, I had to stay off them a long time—maybe 6 months to tell a big difference.
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corinasue1143 wrote: »You don’t say what kind of pain. Sucralose hurts me in my whole tummy area. From my waist to the tops of my thighs. Front, back, top, bottom, but no where else. It makes me hurt bad enough to go home and go to bed. Gets a lot better overnight, but lingers 3 days, diarrhea for a week. Needless to say, I avoid sucralose. But other artificial sweeteners cause muscle aches, aggravate my fibromyalgia. When I first suspected sweeteners were the cause, I had to stay off them a long time—maybe 6 months to tell a big difference.
Same here- top to bottom gastro issues, but tests have all come up OK.1 -
My body cannot process sucralose. I break out in hives and have difficulty breathing (yes, my doctor agrees and this was after an extended extensive food study). I avoid it always, I use sugar and honey, I just monitor how much and that keeps me happy.
No ones body can process sucralose...that is kind of the point of sucralose.7 -
"The effect of sucralose on first-pass drug metabolism in humans, however, has not yet been determined."
Considering it's been around so long - this quote seems incredible if true.
Or did this commentary merely not find an answer they liked?
@Aaron_K123
Anyway - if this is the issue, use the blue stuff that does have plenty of research regarding it's safety for metabolizing.
Unless Aspartame can't be be processed by you.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1308408/why-aspartame-isnt-scary/p1
Sucralose isnt digested, digested products aren't absorbed by your intestine and they don't enter your bloodstream. You can't test metabolism for something that isnt metabolized. So I dont doubt at all that sucralose has never been tested for "first pass drug metabolism" however that is one of those kinds of statements that although technically true is very clearly phrased in a way to be misleading to the reader.
Aspartame has data on its metabolism because it is metabolized. Asking for the metabolic data on sucralose would be like asking for the hardness of ice in lava and then acting incredulous when you find out no one has bothered to study that yet.
Also minor nitpick but the linked article isnt a study, its a review of studies written by a single author who selected which studies to reference and then shared their own conclusions about what those studies mean. The author did not conduct any research for that article. There is nothing inherently wrong with a review but best not to refer to a review as a study. Studies contain novel peer reviewed research...reviews are basically book reports....summaries of the literature given either hopefully as unbiased summaries of the field but unfortunately also at times to support an authors conclusion.
For a study it's best to critically examine the presented data and determine if you agree with the conclusions. For a review it's best to critically examine the author and determine if they are accurately representing the field of study. In this case the author of the review is part of the department of electrical and computer engineering which strikes me as a bit odd.8 -
The author of the review posted does have a study which likely was the inspiration for their review. Here is the study:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15287394.2018.1502560
I haven't read it yet but I do note that the last author (typically reserved for the funder or writer of the study plan) is from the department of electrical and computer engineering and the other authors are from a diagnostics CRO Avazyme (a company you would hire to run a test). So I'm guessing the last author hired the first authors to run the study.
https://www.avazyme.com
Kind of like if you sent your cereal to a lab to get tested for cyanide or something.2 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »My body cannot process sucralose. I break out in hives and have difficulty breathing (yes, my doctor agrees and this was after an extended extensive food study). I avoid it always, I use sugar and honey, I just monitor how much and that keeps me happy.
No ones body can process sucralose...that is kind of the point of sucralose.
Just out of curiosity: seeing as our bodies are not processing sucralose and other artificial sweeteners, is it possible that the reactions and digestive discomfort that some people report from eating items containing these are actually more of an allergic reaction to the product? I also wonder how much of it is actually psychosomatic.
Sucralose doesn't bother me at all, and I've switched to Splenda in many products to get the calorie count down in my baked foods and Splenda is the best sugar substitute in baking that I've found to my personal tastes. I can remember, though, back when it first came out, trying it and feeling like my stomach was churning after eating products that contained it - it wasn't exactly an upset stomach, but more of general "I'm not sure what to think of this" kind of thing, which tended to be my typical reaction to anything I knew had an artificial sweetener in it, especially if I could taste it. Now, though, I'm using it all the time and it doesn't phase me.
I can remember when my mother used to make tea with nutrasweet, that I'd always end up with a tummy ache after drinking it. I can drink Coke Zero without a problem, but regular diet coke always gives me an upset stomach. Still, I have always wondered if its a mental reaction to the distinct taste that is triggering the discomfort or if I have a genuine mild reaction to the particular kind of sweetener.
I do know that for some people, its definitely psychosomatic. My sister, for example, claimed she didn't like any sweets made with artificial sweetener - "it just didn't taste the same as real sugar and had an after taste". However, if I didn't tell her that I had used artificial sweetener instead of sugar in the cake she was eating, she'd go on and on how she liked it - until I told her what was in it. Then the tune changed to "oh, I could taste the sweetener in this; its got an aftertaste". Funny how she only started getting the "after taste" when she found out the artificial sweetener was in it, and not before......3 -
bmeadows380 wrote: »Aaron_K123 wrote: »My body cannot process sucralose. I break out in hives and have difficulty breathing (yes, my doctor agrees and this was after an extended extensive food study). I avoid it always, I use sugar and honey, I just monitor how much and that keeps me happy.
No ones body can process sucralose...that is kind of the point of sucralose.
Just out of curiosity: seeing as our bodies are not processing sucralose and other artificial sweeteners, is it possible that the reactions and digestive discomfort that some people report from eating items containing these are actually more of an allergic reaction to the product? I also wonder how much of it is actually psychosomatic.
Sucralose doesn't bother me at all, and I've switched to Splenda in many products to get the calorie count down in my baked foods and Splenda is the best sugar substitute in baking that I've found to my personal tastes. I can remember, though, back when it first came out, trying it and feeling like my stomach was churning after eating products that contained it - it wasn't exactly an upset stomach, but more of general "I'm not sure what to think of this" kind of thing, which tended to be my typical reaction to anything I knew had an artificial sweetener in it, especially if I could taste it. Now, though, I'm using it all the time and it doesn't phase me.
I can remember when my mother used to make tea with nutrasweet, that I'd always end up with a tummy ache after drinking it. I can drink Coke Zero without a problem, but regular diet coke always gives me an upset stomach. Still, I have always wondered if its a mental reaction to the distinct taste that is triggering the discomfort or if I have a genuine mild reaction to the particular kind of sweetener.
I do know that for some people, its definitely psychosomatic. My sister, for example, claimed she didn't like any sweets made with artificial sweetener - "it just didn't taste the same as real sugar and had an after taste". However, if I didn't tell her that I had used artificial sweetener instead of sugar in the cake she was eating, she'd go on and on how she liked it - until I told her what was in it. Then the tune changed to "oh, I could taste the sweetener in this; its got an aftertaste". Funny how she only started getting the "after taste" when she found out the artificial sweetener was in it, and not before......
Thanks for the question. First I'd like to say that not all artificial sweeteners can't be digested, aspartame for example is absolutely metabolized and does not remain intact in your gut. It is a mistake to assume that all sweeteners have the same properties...the only thing they share in common is that they are sweet.
As to the remainder of your question I wouldn't presume to deny that people experience gastrointestinal distress or other symptoms that they associate with consumption of artificial sweeteners but I think whenever it has been tested no actual connection has been determined that applies in general. Is it possible that individuals experience some sort of symptom associated with a particular molecule...yeah, I suppose...but I think there are more likely explanations than that.
As for an immune response your immune system doesn't typically respond to small molecules which sucralose and aspartame are. Your immune system typically recognizes protein based antigens and lipids can have adjuvant like effects. Effects by small molecules, especially in low quantities, would be suprising. Especially if that small molecule remains in your gut and isnt taken into your body where your immune system operates. As far as your immune system is concerned your gut is outside of your body....it is full of bacteria after all. Not to say there can't be interaction between what is in your gut and your immune system but you add those factors up and it seems very unlikely to me.
Now it's true that inability to digest something can lead to gastrointestinal distress...lactose for lactose-intolerant people for example. But usually that takes a fair amount of that molecule....well into the gram quantities. The thing with sweeteners like sucralose is they are so sweet very little is required. Sucralose is 600 times sweeter than sugar which of course means you take in 600 times less to get the same level of sweetness. A sucralose sweetener packet has hardly any sucralose in it, it's mostly a filler substance like maltodextrin just to give you an amount of stuff you can see and therefore work with. 1/600th of that packet is actually sucralose and if that's all that was in the packet youd barely be able to see it.
Now there certainly are small molecule drugs that have effects on our bodies at milligram levels of dose but those are compounds that have been searched for for their potency and then had their potency increased through research and development...it isnt the norm to have macroscopic body effects from milligram quantities of small molecules.
None of this means its impossible...just to me unlikely. Misattribution of cause to a correlation or psychosomatic effects seem more likely to me, but I'd leave the diagnosis to the doctors for individuals and not try to armchair diagnose an individuals symptoms via the internet.
What I am confident in though is that aspartame and sucralose dont just give everyone health problems by some hitherto undetermined mechanism that no one who claims that they do even bothers to try to demonstrate or explain.8 -
Thank you!
I don't know much about artificial sweeteners, and I hear so much misinformation these days it makes me skeptical of just about everything. I have a friend who tends to buy into those trends, especially since she's into conspiracy theories and won't trust anything any sort of "establishment" says. She takes her cues from what she reads online and is often easily persuaded when its a subject she doesn't really understand. Right now she's on the idea that "Sugar is Poison" to her body because she has fatty liver disease and therefore must detox her liver........0 -
Thank you to everyone who commented. I think I've nailed down my issue which was major heartburn by the way. I also had foot pain at the same time which turned out to be another issue. It appears to be more individual than I realized. First stress was a minor factor then the major one is Mountain Dew Diet version. I have no idea why. Could be the caffeine? I don't know but I quit drinking just that diet soda and the problem has reduced dramatically. Weird eh?2
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Weird, but very believable!1
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cheryldumais wrote: »Thank you to everyone who commented. I think I've nailed down my issue which was major heartburn by the way. I also had foot pain at the same time which turned out to be another issue. It appears to be more individual than I realized. First stress was a minor factor then the major one is Mountain Dew Diet version. I have no idea why. Could be the caffeine? I don't know but I quit drinking just that diet soda and the problem has reduced dramatically. Weird eh?
Could potentially be one of the dyes used in coloring Mtn Dew. Is Mtn Dew one of the most caffeinated things you drink?0 -
cheryldumais wrote: »Thank you to everyone who commented. I think I've nailed down my issue which was major heartburn by the way. I also had foot pain at the same time which turned out to be another issue. It appears to be more individual than I realized. First stress was a minor factor then the major one is Mountain Dew Diet version. I have no idea why. Could be the caffeine? I don't know but I quit drinking just that diet soda and the problem has reduced dramatically. Weird eh?
Just to be clear I have zero interest in trying to convince someone that whatever issue they were experiencing was not because of diet soda. If you are experiencing discomfort and you stop drinking diet soda and suddenly you dont have that discomfort then sure, dont drink diet soda. Now if that same discomfort comes back again when you aren't drinking diet soda then the diet soda probably wasnt causal...but there is no reason to suggest to anyone that the somehow SHOULD drink diet soda....clearly there is not requirement to do so so if you feel avoiding it helps you then you may as well avoid it.
My only issue is with people who have convinced themselves that diet soda is "poison" to the degree that they need to tell other people to avoid it. You aren't doing that.8 -
The one truly active ingredient in sodas that very well may affect you is caffeinemg so I'd definitely suspect caffeine before I'd suspect anything else.3
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Caffeine is an agonist of adenosine receptors, adenosine being a common cell signalling transmitter. What that means is that caffeine binds to and blocks the signalling of receptors that normally bind adenosine so it deadens the signal from adenosine. Adenosine receptors in your brain are associated with neurotransmissions related to sleep (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21401496) but adensoine receptors are all over your body carrying out many different functions all of which caffeine is going to affect. Another affect caffeine has for example is vasoconstriction, causing your blood vessels to tighten, which can cause headaches....but there are probably hundreds of effects all over your body. The active ingredient in chocolate, theobromine ,does the same thing as does Xanthine which is found in tea amongst other things. In fact you can sort of tell that they might block this receptor just by looking at the molecules in comparison to adenosine
If caffeine was a new product in the current enviornment I bet there would be a huge backlash to it from the anti-chemical crowd given that it literally blocks neurotransmitters in your brain. But its been grandfathered in so its largely ignored.8 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »
If caffeine was a new product in the current enviornment I bet there would be a huge backlash to it from the anti-chemical crowd given that it literally blocks neurotransmitters in your brain. But its been grandfathered in so its largely ignored.
I'm sure there are people in the stop dihydrogen monoxide camp that think caffeine added to soda is part of the rise of obesity and diabetes, but think coffee is fine - so long as it is organic, free range, grass fed, fair trade, free trade, cruelty free, unicorn tear infused coffee.5 -
Interesting about the caffeine. Yes any other diet soda doesn't bother me even Diet Pepsi or Diet Coke. Just the Mountain Dew. I will admit however that I was drinking two or three a day whereas the others don't appeal to me as much so I don't drink that many. I still drink other diet drinks without any issues. Who knows. Just not sure what I'll do with the four cases I still have, lol.0
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