112819 Thanks Giving WOD and some bad news

Thanks Giving Schedule- 8am Team WOD! Then Feasting!

On October 24 I wrote a blog post about diet sodas and zero-calorie sweetened drinks and as I’ve been reading, I think it’s necessary to share the things I’ve learned and considered to amend or discuss my previous thoughts and how they might’ve changed. If you missed that blog, you can read it here:

In this blog post I discussed artificial sweeteners in our favorite drinks like Bang or Diet Coke, and I argued that because of their benign effects on blood sugar, the metabolic result would also be benign. Basically not helping nor hindering. And actually maybe helping for tirterary reasons like replacing sugar or other energy dense sweetened foods.

The new news (newish news to me anyway): While artificial sweeteners don’t raise blood sugar (there’s no sugar to raise it), they have been shown to raise insulin. I don’t fully understand that mechanism, but it likely has to do with the taste that prepares our liver to receive glucose from our blood and signals the pancreas to release insulin. So while a healthy insulin sensitivity is vital to our health, consistently raised insulin leads to insulin resistance and obesity. If you’re obese, you already are dealing with insulin resistance especially if you were a large child and teenager. Leaner individuals likely have a normal and healthy insulin sensitivity and the raised insulin likely really is benign. There’s also evidence that shows that artificial sweeteners can contribute to craving more sweets; something you’ve likely heard before.

Other than the studies showing the insulin response of artificial sweeteners, the most compelling information is the fact that diet soda sales represented 42% of all soda sales almost immediately after their invention, yet obesity continued to rise even as people switched to zero calorie soda. So yes, there’s no sugar, there’s also little evidence to show that artificial sweeteners has had a positive effect on public health.

“What do I even do with that Devin?” The way that I interpret this info is to consider some things. Are you counting macros or calories and still can’t loose weight? Or maybe you can loose weight for a time but regain it easily. Has your progress stalled on Keto or a low carb approach? Then you should probably be working towards increasing your insulin sensitivity. And the best way to do that is to give your pancreas a break. An intermittent fasting or fasting protocol is a great way to spend some extended time with lowered insulin levels and increase insulin sensitivity. Consider saving your artificially sweetened stuff for later in the day when you’re supposed to be utilizing insulin.

While I still don’t think that this info is all gloom and doom—replacing sugar with not sugar is a key first step— I do think it should be considered. The ultimate benefit would obviously come from forsaking added sugar and artificial sweeteners altogether.

Well that information sucks! Happy Thanksgiving!