Alternatives to Artificially Sweetened Drinks

daymonh74
daymonh74 Posts: 19 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I recently found out through bloodwork performed by my health provider that my blood glucose levels are a bit high, and I could be becoming insulin resistant.

Even more recently I heard someone talking about an artificial sweetener that was so sweet that it triggered the pancreases which somehow increased blood insulin levels.

This led me to wonder if all or most artificial sweeteners can increase blood insulin levels resulting in insulin resistance. According to studies like this https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7014832/ it can! That shocked me!

The Dr. never said anything about sweeteners possibly causing insulin spikes. I had no idea.

So now I'm looking for alternatives to my sweetened drinks. Kool-Aid with Splenda was my go-to for years. I know it's ghetto, but I love the stuff.

I would like to get some suggestions for alternative cold drinks, but feel free to add your warm ones too as it might be a help to others that have the same question.

Can water be easily sweetened with fruit? Is it hard to get used to having a cold drink that isn't sweetened at all? I'm really stuck here as giving up my beloved Kool-Aid isn't something I'm looking forward too, but it looks like it needs to be done.

Replies

  • flrancho
    flrancho Posts: 271 Member
    I usually only drink water or hot tea, but if you wanted something with flavor that’s still healthy I’d just add some Ultima Replenisher to your water. It’s an electrolyte powder, 0 calorie, 0 sugar, and comes in several different fruit flavors. I usually only use it if I’m doing lengthy cardio at the gym, but it’s something to think about.
  • daymonh74
    daymonh74 Posts: 19 Member
    flrancho wrote: »
    but if you wanted something with flavor that’s still healthy I’d just add some Ultima Replenisher to your water. It’s an electrolyte powder, 0 calorie, 0 sugar, and comes in several different fruit flavors.

    Does it have any sweeteners? That's what I'm trying to avoid.
  • penguinmama87
    penguinmama87 Posts: 1,155 Member
    Some herbal teas and coffees have a sweetish taste without any sugar. I'm not a big fan of warm beverages, but iced tea and coffee are excellent. You might need to experiment a little. I also enjoy water - I mean really enjoy it, even though it really doesn't have any flavor at all. Especially very cold/with ice.

    You will probably have an adjustment period because artificial sweeteners are so intensely sweet that you might miss that strong flavor initially, but IMO taste buds do adjust and you get used to detecting and enjoying subtler flavors over time.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,211 Member
    If you haven't seen it, you might also want to take a browse through this thread:

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10883387/low-cal-no-cal-cold-beverage-recipes#latest

    It's not the exact same question, so not all the comments will apply for you, but the thread does include some non-sweet suggestions.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,281 Member
    if you dont want to try artificial sweeteners thats fine.

    But just pointing out that study is one study and it is inconclusive - its own conclusions says only possible correlation.

    Many diabetics do use artifically sweetened products and find no effect on BSL's.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,218 Member
    edited February 2023
    Yeah that study is not a randomized controlled trial. These were groups where group A consumed artificial sweeteners regularly and group B never consumed any at all then looked at their Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance referred to as HOMA-IR which is basically telling a story that people that use artificial sweeteners constantly have more insulin resistance, which probably has more to do with differences in lifestyles of these 2 groups.

    Anyway the author makes this conclusion " Group A patients who consumed artificial sweetening agents had higher insulin resistance as compared to group B patients who had no artificial sweeteners based on HOMA-IR. However, further studies are required to conclude a direct correlation of artificial sweeteners with decreased insulin sensitivity."

    Here's a study from the American Journal Of Clinical Nutrition. A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, which on the hierarchy of proof is near the top.
    https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/112/4/1002/5872362

    Conclusion:
    Ingestion of LES, administered alone or in combination with a nutrient-containing preload, has no acute effects on the mean change in postprandial glycemic or insulinemic responses compared with a control intervention. Apart from a small beneficial effect on PPG (−0.3 mmol/L) in studies enrolling patients with type 2 diabetes, the effects did not differ by type or dose of LES, or fasting glucose or insulin levels.

    I suspect there is some physiological effects on the brain and gut but it appears that a need for calories as well as a sweet taste would then elicit a response that is going to then compartmentalize nutrients and when there is no calories or nutrients in 0 calorie sweeteners for that action to take place, then none do.

  • nay0m3
    nay0m3 Posts: 178 Member
    I really love Good Earth Sweet & Spicy Tea--you can get it caffeinated or uncaffeinated. It doesn't have any added sugars but it does have a sweetish taste to it from the spices and fruit.

    If you can't stand seltzer, you could add a bit of fruit juice to it with natural sugars to give you a bit of sweetness if you can have the extra calories from the juice.

    Your taste buds can change--it will take time, like everything!!
  • paints5555
    paints5555 Posts: 1,233 Member
    daymonh74 wrote: »
    flrancho wrote: »
    but if you wanted something with flavor that’s still healthy I’d just add some Ultima Replenisher to your water. It’s an electrolyte powder, 0 calorie, 0 sugar, and comes in several different fruit flavors.

    Does it have any sweeteners? That's what I'm trying to avoid.

    Yes - it contains stevia so probably not the choice you are looking for.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,941 Member
    edited February 2023
    Have a look at fruit infusion teas. If your supermarket has none then have a look whether you have an Eastern European shop nearby. Rosehip/hibiscus or apple is quite nice, very fruity and can be drunken cold as well. If you want to go down that route then check the packaging: sometimes fruit infusions are sweetend with liquorice root. That gives a rather different taste, and of course might be a problem if you have blood pressure problems. This is quite common with teas you can buy in British supermarkets.
  • BigDfromNJ
    BigDfromNJ Posts: 22 Member
    It's easy to make cucumber water or lemon water, by simply infusing your water bottle with cut pieces of them. Try it, you can cut them up and simply add them to a pitcher of water in the fridge.

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