artificial sweetener?

fightdem
fightdem Posts: 38
in Food and Nutrition
Hey guys,

I wonder what does artificial sweetener do to your body/insulin. I've heard bad rumours about them, like coke with sugar is still better than diet coke with artificial sweetener. I have just realized that there're some sweeteners in my food. The thing is, i've been eating a lot to build muscle and bulk up. I eat clean everyday with high protein, high fat, low carbs. But in just a few days, my belly fat grows big. I know i've been eating a lot to build muscle and bulk up, but it's ridiculous if i can spot the difference in just a few days of calorie surplus. So please give me some explanation about this, is it just a normal process or is it the sweetener i've been using. Thanks before.

Replies

  • justjambo
    justjambo Posts: 20 Member
    If we need to add sugar to anything then we use agave syrup which has a low gi index. An alternative is stevia which we have but have never used yet.
  • jspicher81
    jspicher81 Posts: 26 Member
    Hi fightdem, great question!
    I just finished reading a book that mentioned this same example (diet coke vs regular coke) ... lm' going to paraphrase as best l can how l understood it. It mentioned that your body is "tricked" into thinking the artificial sweetener is real, and in preparation of the impending flood of sugar that it's expecting (after drinking a 20oz diet coke) it clears the deck and beings dumping/using up the glucose reserves in your body.

    The problem is that the "flood of sugar" never comes (as it's artificial sweetener) and now you're left with a glucose deficit which leaves your body needing something, anything to build up more sugar; and you're therefore left in a weakened state and more likely to do or eat something you probably shouldn't.
  • fightdem
    fightdem Posts: 38
    Hi fightdem, great question!
    I just finished reading a book that mentioned this same example (diet coke vs regular coke) ... lm' going to paraphrase as best l can how l understood it. It mentioned that your body is "tricked" into thinking the artificial sweetener is real, and in preparation of the impending flood of sugar that it's expecting (after drinking a 20oz diet coke) it clears the deck and beings dumping/using up the glucose reserves in your body.

    The problem is that the "flood of sugar" never comes (as it's artificial sweetener) and now you're left with a glucose deficit which leaves your body needing something, anything to build up more sugar; and you're therefore left in a weakened state and more likely to do or eat something you probably shouldn't.

    Thanks for the reply, no wonder i have the craving. I'll stop using sweetener, thanks !
  • jspicher81
    jspicher81 Posts: 26 Member
    Check out "The Willpower Instinct"
    http://amzn.com/1583334386

    It's a pretty good read, and explains how a lot of this stuff works.
  • craftywitch_63
    craftywitch_63 Posts: 829 Member
    I've been using Splenda regularly and I haven't noticed any problems. I track my blood sugar regulary and I haven't seen any radical differences between using sweetener and going without.

    I did a little experiment a few weeks ago. I took my fasting blood sugar, ate a tablespoon of sugar, then tracked my blood sugar for 2 hours. As could be predicted, my blood sugar went well over 200 mg/dL, and stayed there for quite some time, which was an increase of >100 mg/dL from baseline.

    The next day I repeated the experiment using Splenda (can't stand Truvia - it has a nasty, bitter aftertaste :sick: ) and my blood sugar stayed within about 20 mg/dL of baseline.

    This is in NO WAY meant to be taken as a scientific experiment, it's anecdotal at best, but at least I know the effects of artificial sweeteners, at least on my body, are minimal.

    :drinker:

    Edited to fix typo.
  • Jaxta65
    Jaxta65 Posts: 53 Member
    I've been using Splenda in tea for nearly 40 years. I only have sugar in the house for visitors. Don't even like the taste of sugar now. Obviously I eat foods with natural sugars. I tend to use honey if I want to sweeten something.

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