Paleo Day 6- Sweeteners and some research

Alright Redpoint, CrossFit Gwinnett, FTF-ers

How are you guys doing?

Well, today has definitely been another different day. I just finished my third WOD (Based on a CFE workout) and I STILL feel energized!!!

I found this article today on the effects of artificial sweeteners and insulin response. I got it from Pubmed.gov. This is a GREAT website to find scientific research.

Signal. 1998 Nov;10(10):727-33.

Effects of artificial sweeteners on insulin release and cationic fluxes in rat pancreatic islets.

Malaisse WJ, Vanonderbergen A, Louchami K, Jijakli H, Malaisse-Lagae F.

Laboratory of Experimental Medicine, Brussels Free University, Belgium.

Abstract

Beta-L-glucose pentaacetate, but not alpha-D-galactose pentaacetate, was recently reported to taste bitter and to stimulate insulin release. This finding led, in the present study, to the investigation of the effects of both bitter and non-bitter artificial sweeteners on insulin release and cationic fluxes in isolated rat pancreatic islets. Sodium saccharin (1.0-10.0 mM), sodium cyclamate (5.0-10.0 mM), stevioside (1.0 mM) and acesulfame-K (1.0-15.0 mM), all of which display a bitter taste, augmented insulin release from islets incubated in the presence of 7.0 mM D-glucose. In contrast, aspartame (1.0-10.0 mM), which is devoid of bitter taste, failed to affect insulin secretion. A positive secretory response to acesulfame-K was still observed when the extracellular K+ concentration was adjusted to the same value as that in control media. No major changes in 86Rb and 45Ca outflow from pre-labelled perifused islets could be attributed to the saccharin, cyclamic or acesulfame anions. It is proposed that the insulinotropic action of some artificial sweeteners and, possibly, that of selected hexose pentaacetate esters may require G-protein-coupled receptors similar to those operative in the recognition of bitter compounds by taste buds.

Follow it up with this one:

http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/11/3/230.abstract
Response to single dose of aspartame or saccharin by NIDDM patients.



Twelve normal subjects and 10 subjects with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus were given, in random order at intervals of greater than or equal to 1 wk, three drinks of the same beverage: one unsweetened, one sweetened with 400 mg aspartame, and one sweetened with 135 mg saccharin.

The amount of sweetener approximated that in 1 L of sugar-free soft drink. Plasma glucose, insulin, and glucagon were measured for 3 h after ingestion of the test beverage.

Plasma glucose declined slightly throughout the test period, probably due to fasting, with no differences between the three treatments. Neither sweetener affected peak insulin levels in subjects with or without diabetes. Analysis of area under the curve showed that mean insulin levels were statistically significantly higher after aspartame than after saccharin or unsweetened beverage in normal subjects only, but the magnitude of the difference was small and unlikely to be of physiological importance in the absence of differences in glucose levels.

Furthermore, the differences could largely be accounted for by a decrease in insulin values after both unsweetened beverage and saccharin, with no change from baseline after aspartame. Glucagon levels showed time-to-time variation but no overall differences. We conclude that ingestion of aspartame- or saccharin-sweetened beverages by fasting subjects, with or without diabetes, did not affect blood glucose homeostasis

So here is what I am taking from this research-

It seems to me there is a ton of research out there on sweeteners. There is stuff that says it increases insulin response, there is stuff out there that says it doesn't increase insulin response. Ace-K Came about to be the replacement for saccharin and splenda, Stevia came out because of how sweet and natural it is.

True Paleo followers stay away from ALL artificial sweeteners due to th presumed affects of insulin response as well as the chemistry of these unnatural products. Here is my take on them-

If you can avoid them by all means avoid them. They probably aren't the best for our bodies since they are just that... artificial. Stevia is a good option and Ryan will probably have some other good options which he can email me.

To give you an example of how you might sweeten something up. On my paleo cream pie this evening, I used coconut milk instead of "Cool Whip" and then today during my lack of sugar craving, I ised nuts to satisfy my "sweet tooth" like cashews. Since cashews have a little sweetness to them, it satisfied that desire for sugar. Again, these are just ideas. I will get some more information from Ryan and post for you!

I found a GREAT break it down article on: http://www.momssoapbox.com/artificial-sweeteners/

One final research article:

Horm Metab Res. 1987 Jun;19(6):233-8.

The effect of artificial sweetener on insulin secretion. 1. The effect of acesulfame K on insulin secretion in the rat (studies in vivo).

Liang Y, Steinbach G, Maier V, Pfeiffer EF.

Abstract

Acesulfame K is an artificial sweetener which has been used in the food industry for some years. As yet no metabolic effects have been reported. It was reported that the sweetener can induce a cephalic phase of insulin secretion. To analyse the mechanism of this phenomenon, we studied the effect of Acesulfame K on insulin secretion in vivo. Male Wistar rats, weighing 250-300 g were fasted overnight and anaesthetized with phenobarbital. A silicon catheter was inserted into the right cervical vein for injection of test substances and for obtaining blood samples. In some experiments, another catheter was inserted into the left cervical vein for continuous infusion. Blood samples were drawn at 0, 5, 10, 15, 30 and 60 min after injection, and at -10, 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120 min after the infusion started. Injection of Acesulfame K (150 mg/kg body weight) increased the plasma insulin concentration at 5 min from 27.3 +/- 3.0 microU/ml to 58.6 +/- 4.2 microU/ml without any significant change in the blood glucose. Infusion of Acesulfame K (20 mg/kg body weight/min) for one hour maintained the insulin concentration at a high level (about 85-100 microU/ml) during this period, and at the same time blood glucose was gradually reduced from 103.0 +/- 7.3 to 72.0 +/- 7.2 mg/dl. When using different amounts of Acesulfame K, the insulin secretion was stimulated in a dose-dependent fashion. The effect of Acesulfame K on insulin secretion was similar to that observed by injecting or infusing the same doses of glucose (150 mg/kg) body weight for injection and 20 mg/kg body weight/min for infusion), except that no hyperglycemia was observed with Acesulfame K.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

PMID: 2887500 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]