I cut way back on fake sugar a couple weeks ago, so it's nice to read an article where "scienticians"* tell me I was right.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2013/02/15/artificial-sweetners-diet-nutrition.html
*this is not a quote.
Posted Feb 19, 2013, 11:28 AM UTC
That type of study doesn't really show cause and effect, it might be that people who have trouble with weight tend to drink more diet soda.
I posted this in another thread:
4XL clothes is likely also linked to obesity, because it's obese people using them. Epidemiological studies are mostly crap for determining causal effects, it's the same type of studies that link red meat to cancer and eggs to heart disease. Tom Naughton explains the problems very well in the video "Science for smart people", and here's the article on it. Observational data isn't very good unless there's a clear correlation and simple variables. See Feinman on "Nothing wrong with Observational Studies. And Association does Imply Causality but…".
The common artificial sweeteners doesn't give an insulin response (aspartame, saccharin and sucralose/splenda), AFAIK they never have, so not sure where the researcher got the idea that it causes an insulin response.
The reason an insulin response can be good is because it produces satiety:
At 100 min after spray administration, participants consumed ad libitum from a test buffet. Our data show that intranasal insulin increases brain energy (i.e., adenosine triphosphate and phosphocreatine levels). Cerebral energy content correlates inversely with subsequent calorie intake in the control condition.
Jauch-Chara K, et al. "Intranasal Insulin Suppresses Food Intake via Enhancement of Brain Energy Levels in Humans" Diabetes. 2012 Sep;61(9):2261-8. Epub 2012 May 14.
Dana Small says this: "It's better to use a small amount of regular sugar than it is to use artificial sweeteners in your foods."
Taubes, in his reddit AMA, said the opposite.
The jury is still wayyyy out. I use a tiny amount (5-15 g/week), so I just hope I'm using too little for it really to matter.
Do you have a link for that Dana Small quote?
The Dana Small quote came from the article to which this post links. Somewhere near the end, I think.
Ah. I'm a dummy.
Stevia is the best alternative.
Why is that? If this study is correct (it may or may not be), what would make stevia different than any other sweetener?
I just cut them both out, and then after a month or two of keto you discover things you've been eating all along have an amazing amount of natural sweetness.
You know what's really sweet? Cream. And butter!