How a zero calorie soda can give you diabetes

It makes no sense, right?  After all, doesn’t SUGAR cause diabetes?  And aren’t diet sodas free of sugars?

Turns out our bodies are FAR more complex – and what I’m about to tell you should make you think twice – or maybe three or four or ten times – about any chemical you put into your body.  Because the health effects can be completely unanticipated.

A new study has provided insights into something that has been a medical curiosity for some time – the fact that people who ingest artificial sweeteners are at the same risk of developing type 2 diabetes as those who consume a lot of added sugars.  Theories as to why this is have ranged from a simplistic view that people who drink diet pop feel enabled to make up for those calories through food, to a more complex explanation that a sweet taste unaccompanied by calories confuses the brain and impacts satiety signals.

In fact, the mechanism is unrelated to any of that.

What we now know is that artificial sweeteners enhance intestinal sugar absorption by affecting gut hormones.  There are many of those, including GLP-1 which acts to limit the rise of blood sugar levels after meals. 

Artificial sweeteners attenuate GLP-1 levels significantly, leading to dramatic increases in circulating blood sugar levels after meals.  Bombard your cells with sugar often enough, and you eventually exhaust your pancreas and develop diabetes.

And it’s not like the GLP-1 effect takes years to manifest.  The study that uncovered this mechanism demonstrated this happens quickly - within only 2 weeks of regular artificial sweetener consumption.  So from the moment you start using artificial sweeteners, you start your march towards type 2 diabetes.

At Step One, we respect the complexity of the human body.  Which is why our products are made exclusively with ingredients found in nature.  We base our formulations on millenia of human experience – rather than faddish laboratory concoctions.   Because we truly care about you and your health.

https://www.easd.org/virtualmeeting/home.html#!resources/impact-of-artificial-sweeteners-on-glycaemic-control-in-healthy-humans