Sugar substitutes and metabolic syndrome

I'm assuming you guys have seen this article about the study that found that even a can of diet soda a day increases your risk for metabolic syndrome by 34%.

Or this piece on Good Morning America about the article. (You have to sit through an ad first before the story starts.)

I wonder if this is going to make companies stop putting sugar substitutes in otherwise healthy things, like yogurt and food for kids.

I think this also puts the nail in the coffin of soda consumption for many of us. Too dangerous to drink sugar substitutes, and way too dangerous to drink high fructose corn syrup. Plus the caramel color is bad for us, and so is the carbonation.

I guess it's back to water. (Until Passover, when some of the stores in NYC stock kosher-for-Passover Coke sweetened with regular sugar, which I'll indulge in.)

I also wonder if this is going to give stevia (a no-calorie sweetener made from the leaves of the stevia plant) any traction, since it's just a refined leaf, not a chemically-altered substance.

Comments

[Mandy]

Did you see the blurb recently that said Stevia could be dangerous to the reproductive system?

I'm a month postpartum so I can't remember if it was Parenting, Parents or another magazine but it was a quick two-liner with no backup facts, just enough to freak people out.

[Suzie Q]

At one of the Mommy/Baby groups I go to, there was a rep from Whole Foods there the other day doing all sorts of demos and whatnot. Her main focus was probiotics, but we also talked a bunch about stevia (rather than other sweeteners). I mean, it's practically a no-brainer: a completely natural sweetener, versus whatever chemical substances we're taught to crave. Sure, it's not FDA approved, but... hmm... can anyone say big-time damage to the sugar and saccharine industries due to the competition if stevia were to get such an endorsement? Just my $.02.

[Linda]

Are there other studies that corroborate this? One study will not be the nail in the coffin for MY diet cherry coke habit.

[Catherine]

Though I have to wonder if the link isn't behavioral as much as chemical -- i.e., consuming artificial sweeteners is a way of teaching our bodies and minds to dissociate eating and drinking from satiety and enables or even promotes the kind of mindless, compulsive consumption that leads to obesity. In this regard, stevia wouldn't be any kind of improvement: it's still a matter of training ourselves to ignore the body's natural cues regarding hunger and fullness. For me, at least, the vast quantities of diet soda I drink are symptomatic of a kind of disordered approach to food in general, whereby eating is no longer linked to hunger and fullness. It's a vicious cycle: if I trusted myself to treat sugar as an occasional indulgence, enjoyed in moderation, I'd just use sugar; since I don't use sugar, I don't even try to moderate my intake, which means I've gradually lost the habit of paying attention to what my body really wants and needs -- and am therefore much more vulnerable to mindless overeating. So my goal for myself, long-term, is to get off of the nutrasweet so I can re-learn the art of tasting and enjoying real foods in appropriate quatities.

[effective nancy]

Wait, the carbonation is bad for us? I thought colas were bad because of HFCS, artificial colors, and phosphoric acid, but that the carbonation wasn't really much either way.

Honestly. We just finished a five-year plan to phase most soft drinks out of our lives: first mainstream colas with HFCS, then sodas with significant added sugar (e.g. Blue Sky, Hansen's regular), then we took out the Splenda-sweetened diet colas (never did enjoy aspartame ones, and especially not while preparing for TTC). Now we're down to seltzers as our soda choice, with rare splurges into the niche root beer market and Italian-style fruit sodas. If carbonation's bad... How bad is it?

[Jill]

If buying stevia worries you, just grow your own. The leaf, right off the plant, is almost unbearably sweet. Crush that in some tea and you'll virtually transport yourself into the South.

[Moxie]

Linda, it was two separate studies with a total of 18,000 subjects.

The carbonation is bad because it neutralizes hydrochloric acid in your stomach, which processes calcium, magnesium, and protein.

Catherine, the doctor on the video spot said this exact thing--the taste of sweet with no calories screws up our systems. I can't help but feel, though, that sweet from a leaf *has* to be better for you than something that doesn't occur in nature. Doesn't hold true for arsenic, but may hold true for stevia.

[Cynthia]

I'm not a major crunchy type but I really have an issue with soda, both the regular sugar-filled crap that is a major contributor to this nation's diabetes crisis, as well as the chemical-filled substitutes that are supposedly safe, but who really knows?

Personally, I don't drink soda at all, and don't bring it into our house (seltzer is fine). My husband likes it and drinks a can of diet with his lunch at work, which is certainly his prerogative as an adult. But I am going to do my best to keep the Munchkin away from it as long as I have some control.

[meghan]

Of course, I'm going to be the dork about this, but Moxie, you might want to clarify in the original post -- metabolic *disorders* are inborn errors of metabolism, they are not acquired, while metabolic *syndrome* can be acquired through diet/lifestyle. A subtle difference for most, but important given that kids are born with (and can be dramatically affected by) metabolic disorders long before they have their first disgusting taste of Diet Coke.

[hedra]

We live without artificial sweeteners, almost exclusively. Most of them totally wreck the digestion of my fructose malabsorbing kids. Stevia is out because they all violently reject it - various forms (some are very bitter), and many of the 'easy to use' variety have added polyols (sorbitol, mannitol, etc.) which are instant hell.

I've come to the conclusion that for our family, trying to do low-calorie but sweet is just stupid. Learning to just consume normally sweet and calorie-normal sweets in moderation is our answer. Water is fine, water with a twist of lime or lemon is great. We can do a little rice milk or almond milk, a little froz. conc. OJ, some lemonade with sugar. For an indulgence, I drink tea with sugar, or put almond milk or soy milk in my coffee. Every meal does not have a sweet item, but sweet items aren't forbidden. Actually, smarties are a dietary staple (help with the fructose absorption, because they're mainly glucose).

I also focus on the highest quality sweets I can manage. The more intense flavors, richer texture, etc., makes having a little feels indulgent enough, that way. No half-measures, if I'm going to have chocolate, it will be fine dark chocolate, thanks. I'm kind of stuck for ice-cream, because I can't have dairy, but there are some pretty rich and tasty alternative ones out there now...

I have to remember about the Coke for Passover... never knew that, will have to watch for it! I miss Coke. That would also be a nice treat every now and then.

It was honestly really hard to get to this point, though. Just living what seems to be a normal existence would be nice - being able to just eat whatever was available... that would be ... well, at this point, a bit weird (I still am stunned that you can buy foods in catalogs but the foods don't have ingredient lists... they're automatic no if I can't read the ingredient list!).

For us, it was either be pissed off about it, or adjust. Adjusting worked.

By the way the level of fructose consumption in the US - not JUST HFCS, but the total level of consumption, is higher than is normally absorbed by the average person. Fructose that isn't absorbed leads to depression, IBS and other IBDs, as well as the metabolic issues. Just eating too many prunes would do the same thing.

[Moxie]

Ooh, Meghan, thanks. I'll go fix that now. It's a big difference.

[Moxie]

Hedra: Do you have an ice cream maker?

Escape Sorbet

1 can regular coconut milk (NOT coconut creme)
1 can crushed pineapple
a touch of real vanilla
some coconut flakes if you like
a little sweetener if you need it (sugar, honey, stevia, cane syrup, whatever)

Run through the blender, then chill in the fridge while you freeze the core of your ice cream maker. Turn, then enjoy. You can add in dark rum toward the end of the churn cycle to make this an adult dessert. Wait until it's mostly turned, though--if you add the rum too soon it won't set.

[Andrea]

Personally, I'm not a fan of artificial sweeteners, partially because of what Catherine said, and partially because I believe that part of the reason so many people are having metabolic problems is that our bodies were not made to metabolize those chemicals, so the body gets even more confused.

[Julie]

I'm not a soda drinker at all.....or even a juice fan. Just too much sugar. If I'm thirsty, I'll drink water because when I'm done drinking it, I'm not thirsty anymore. And I don't have to brush my teeth again.

Can we also talk about kids who drink G*torade? Please. This is a drink that replaces electrolytes in athletes, kids should NOT be drinking it at school because they have a 30 minute lunch recess and/or a 25 minute PE. It is FULL of sugar, artificial colors, calories......why do parents think it's appropriate for kids to drink this at all? I'm ok with it if your kid is in AYSO soccer and they have 3 soccer games (or any other sport) in one day....but otherwise, water is best for fluid replacement and hydration.

[hydrogeek]

Just FYI, there is a Dr. Pepper factory in Dublin, Texas that always makes their DP's with pure cane sugar instead of HCFS. Not only are they less worrisome, they taste LOTS better. I do love me some DP, but it's getting harder and harder to stick my fingers in my ears and hum to drown out all the messages about how bad sodas are for us. With a 14 month old daughter, I'd probably better start modeling the good behavior, huh?

[Shannon]

Oh crap.

[BrooklynGirl]

Yeah, this was it for me.

I love my Diet Coke, but I'm switching to unsweetened tea, with the occasional regular Coke as a treat.

[hedra]

Moxie, that sounds great. The only ice cream maker we have is the ball thing that the kids throw around for 20 minutes. It works okay, though I doubt they'll be on board for doing the work if they can't eat the results (stupid malabsorption disorder, they can't have coconut anything, or more than a bite of pineapple). I love coconut and pineapple, though. MMmmmm. And hey, I'll burn me off some calories doing the work myself, no?

[pixie]

does the cook actually say kosher on it? how neat!

[Helen]

There's a blurb on the mayo clinic website mentioning that stevia could be harmful to the reproductive system, and, I think, the kideneys or liver or something.

I'd be cautious about eating something simply because it's "natural" -- some natural supplements have caused significant harm in humans, even when those supplements are widely available. Ephedra is the first one to come to mind, but there are others.

Thanks for mentioning the studies on sweeteners, Moxie.

[pnuts mama]

the more we learn about chemicals in our foods, the more we try to buy and prepare our meals from whole foods. it can get annoying sometimes, but really, i think it's just a matter of time before we link the processed and fake stuff that we eat with a variety of our health problems.

we've tried to give up HFCS completely- it's almost impossible! but honestly, whole, healthy foods just taste so much better. we're not perfect since we still eat out and can't ever completely verify ingredients, but we are trying the best we can to eat food that has been raised or grown in an environmentally safe and responsible way. it's harder to ensure that your food has been grown, picked, prepared and packaged by people who are being treated in a way that meets our standards for social justice, but that's probably a better discussion for another time.

***
we have given up soda for lent for years now and always drop at least 5 lbs- and yes, the kosher for passover "real deal" coke is a great treat on easter (depending on the calendar)!

[christina]

Correlation DOES NOT MEAN causality. Just because diet soda has been correlated with the syndrome, it DOES NOT MEAN that it causes it.

It more than likely has to do with the individual behaviors. People who tend to snack or have a "sweet tooth" might be predisposed to these syndromes. These people might try to sat the sweet craving with diet soda.

[rudyinparis]

First off, rigorous applause to Catherine for achieving such great self-awareness when it comes to her eating habits. Very articulate, very well stated.

When I was growing up, my sister and I were allowed to have soda when my Dad had a beer (which was pretty much just when we had pizza). Looking back, I think that's a right on parenting approach. Now, as a parent myself, there's no soda in the house. We do diluted juice, though.

[emily]

I'm with effective nancy: I don't drink soda at all, but we have a seltzer-maker and carbonate lots and lots of water. Should I worry?????

[wavybrains]

Mandy--I'm really interested in that Stevia study you mention.

I do about 90% of my sweetening with stevia. I use it in baked goods. Usually I use stevia + a couple of tablespoons of turbinano sugar or agave syrup. When I do buy something ready-made, I try for the best quality available and no HFCS. I have noticed that I actually eat LESS when I know that real sugar grams are on the line. I've learned to order a small scoop of regular ice cream versus a large sugar-free scoop. With my baked goods at home, I like the stevia + minimally refined sugar combo b/c it has trained my taste buds to actually prefer a less sweet taste--many times now I'm content to let most of the sweetness come from fruit or nuts or very dark (80%) chocolate.

The frustrating part of using stevia is the lack of recipes and mainstream acceptance--I've had to pretty much make up things as I go.

[caramama]

I have never regretted cutting sodas out of my diet. I made that decision 10 years ago, and only rarely have a soda on special occassions (or car trips... there is something about car trips that mean McDonald's and Coke to me).

I say this to hopefully inspire others. After I really gave it up and got used to not having it, I did not miss it at all. The biggest problem is finding something to drink at parties where all they offer is sodas. At least water is usually available.

[obabe]

For those of you looking for the kosher for passover coke products, passover starts april 19th- check the kosher section/aisles in your major grocery stores starting about two-three weeks before. (or hit an all kosher grocery too)

we keep soda in the house for when we have company (which is frequently) but rarely drink it ourselves. the kids can have diluted apple juice, soy milk, water or plain ole milk. i am getting sick of seeing "light" versions of juice for kids (apple, grape, etc.)

[Amy]

Here's what alarms me ... this news is being met by SO MUCH dismay. Those who drink soda regularly (or, I sort of want to argue, compulsively) are really freaking out. Which, to me, seems like another big piece of evidence that the soda has to go. Now, I understand the NEED for a certain beverage, because I don't feel alive until I've had a cup of coffee in the morning, but the soda is just soooo full of crappy things, and zero nutrition, not even a trace of an antioxidant or anything redeeming whatsoever. What's wrong with water? is it a sweet tooth thing, or what? I've never understood the soda addiction, but I really hope this study encourages people to break the habit.

BTW, if you still need a Coke now and then, but really want to cut out the corn syrup, look for Mexican coke, which is made with cane syrup.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20041109/news_1b9mexcoke.html

[Lisa V]

I gave up pop, including my beloved Diet Pepsi, last summer. I lived and evertyhing, which is amazing to me.

I have never let my kids have any kind of diet product or stuff with artificial sweetners. I always figure real sugar has to be less harmful than fake stuff.

They only drink water and milk. Juice or pop is for celebrations and social situations.

[meggiemoo]

I saw this on Yahoo yesterday and it made me depressed! I feel like I have so few vices now...no smoking, very little drinking, no coffee, no drugs...diet soda is the last thing to go.

I feel so immature even writing that, but it's true!

[meggiemoo]

@amy...for me, soda has always been about the caffeine. I don't drink coffee or tea, because I don't like the taste of them, and I really DO like the taste of regular Coke. And Diet Coke. I realize how awful they are for me, but I've rebelled over the years with giving them up. I'm the only one in the house who drinks them...my husband doesn't drink soda, and DS only drinks very watery juice, water or milk. So I suppose it's time. Just a little sad, that's all. We had good times, Coke and I. :o)

[Caroline]

Over the past few years I have managed to become (pretty much) purely a water drinker. I just got kind of grossed out by diet soda anyhow. But every once in a blue moon, like 2 or 3 times a year, I'll have a real, HFCS coke, and MAN is it good.

Putting the artificial sweeteners in kids stuff is just too horrifying. Even marketing Splenda at moms for baking for their kids. Ugh.

I have managed to find a couple of pre-diluted juice box drinks that aren't artificially sweetened, just diluted. Motts for Tots is OK, and I just found an organic one - Knudsen is making "Sensible Sippers", diluted juice in a tiny juice box. As much as I hate juice boxes for eco reasons, they do hold some magical kid appeal.

[Sandy]

Being a big Coke fan, I noticed the Coke in Mexico tastes different (better!). Low and behold - it's made with cane sugar! Living in San Diego, we travel across the border frequently and I would always stock up.
In the last 6 months, I've noticed that Costco in San Diego now carries cases of the Coke from Mexico in bottles. The bottles make it a real treat and the Coke is better!

[Nessa]

Artificial sweetners scare me. There just isn't enough time/data to see the long-term results of their usage. Aspartame and Splenda have a horrible aftertaste, so I use Stevia whenever I can. But that also has a funky aftertaste to me as well. I'm trying to get rid of the artificials in my house but my husband is addicted to coke. He might as well have an iv put in.

That said, I am addicted to diet Dr. P and can't seem to stop it even though I KNOW how bad everything in it (including the carbonation) is for me. I guess it's my crack.

[pnuts mama]

@pixie- i believe there are some universal symbols for kosher foods (depending on who is certifying it) that is a "k" (or a "u") inside a box, a star, circle (or i think the hebrew letter bet?) that is on any food that has been certified kosher. in some parts of the world we have kosher foods all the time, more prevalent at passover.

@moxie- that ice cream sounds an awful lot like a pina colada to me- which is what i've been promised after the birth of this bean!! mmmm....pina colada ice cream...

[oabe]

@pixie- there are plenty of kosher symbols on tons of food - you wouldnt notice them unless you look for them!

the coke for passover has a special bar code/letter string on the cap, or sometimes a sticker to designate it as such.

@pnuts mama - close, its a letter "chof" - but it does look similar to a bet :-). and thanks, now im craving a pina colada too! (10 weeks here)

[Matilda]

Another tip: Canadian Coke is also made without high fructose corn syrup.

[Portlairge]

The FDA has called Stevia an "unsafe food additive". Reports have linked it to reproductive problems. I'm sure this has been mentioned in the comments but I'm rushing this AM and don't have time to read.Boo Hoo.

[Cloud]

I gave up soda when I gave up caffeine (which I did sort of by accident before I got pregnant, and then decided to stick with once I was preggers and now through nursing). Now soda is just too sweet for me. I may add some caffeine back in (I miss black tea), but I think sodas are gone for good. My drink of choice right now is a bit of cranberry juice (100% cranberry type) in fizzy water. So far, no one has found any reason for me to give that up!

I don't worry about carbonation. I've never seen any reason to. There was some worry about phosphonic acid and calcium at one point- phosphonic acid strongly binds calcium, so some people thought (think?) it may leach calcium from teeth. It is found in sodas and possibly some natural mineral waters. But the concentrations are pretty low, and I haven't seen anything about it lately.

I second Catherine's well-stated post about the behavioral impact of artificial sweetners. I suspect that is the problem with them, if it does turn out to be that they are a problem and not an innocent bystander (i.e., correlation does not equal causation, as one of the PPs said). We've had millions of years of evolution to learn that sweet=calories (and for most of that time, more calories=better chance of survival), so it wouldn't surprise me if breaking that link confused our bodies. For that reason, I lean towards making our home a "real sugar for sweet" home. My personal view on artificial sweetners is that just coming from a lab doesn't make them unsafe, any more than just coming from a plant makes a plant extract safe. They're all chemicals, and any chemical can interact with the chemicals that make up our bodies in unpleasant ways. The only way to find out which ones are safe is to test them, either through controlled studies (the newer, "artificial" things) or through years and years of wide spread use (the older, "natural" things). And plenty of "natural" things are not safe to eat. Like ricin, for instance. Or hemlock. Seriously, to me a natural supplement is just a drug that doesn't have to be tested according to FDA standards. I use with extreme caution, and only after checking on the safety and efficacy data.

But I do still worry a bit about the amount of crap we're all exposed to, and struggle to find the right balance between freaking out unnecessarily and taking reasonable precautions to protect myself and Pumpkin from things that we may later find out are harmful. Parenting is really just one ongoing risk analysis with incomplete data!

[Amy]

@meggiemoo ... oh, well, the caffeine I can COMPLETELY relate to ... thanks for that perspective! Diet Coke has 45.6mg per 12oz, while my espresso has 100, so there you go. I was thrilled to read the other day that there are actually some arguable health BENEFITS to coffee (though there is also an argument that it leaches calcium, but ALSO argued that this is counteracted with the addition of milk) - antioxidants and such. Anyway - I'm just glad that my addiction is all natural and fair trade. (-:

[sue]

I can't say I'm very suprised by this study. I don't think it will change anything, though. Remember all the studies about nutrasweet being a neurotoxin, and people still guzzle it down. I was an avid soda drinker as a teen/college student, but gave it up long ago when I gave up caffeine - I never really understood the appeal of diet sodas - they're so bitter! I have a real problem with "foods" that can get addictive. I try to eat only food that's made of, well, food. I'm not crazy about stevia - I overbrewed some herbal tea that had it in it once and made myself sick. Ever since then, the taste of stevia makes me gag. I did find a bag of xylitol in the grocery and am thinking about trying it as a sweetener in baked goods.
Of course, I'm not baking much these days since I recently went gluten-free, refined sugar-free, corn-free, and dairy restricted. Kind of limiting, but it sure does make you think about what you're eating! (looking for the silver lining here) :-)

[hedra]

meggiemoo, try cold filtered coffee. No acid taste.

[Beth A.]

Yes, what Christina said. This sort of study doesn't prove anything. It makes just as much sense to me that rather than artificial sweeteners causing metabolic syndrome, people who are overweight and trying to lose weight (which most overweight people are) and also have blood sugar issues would switch to diet sodas to avoid the negative effects sugary drinks have on their blood sugar and waistlines.

For people looking for sodas without high fructose corn syrup, the 365 brand sodas at Whole Foods Market are sweetened with cane sugar and their cola tastes remarkably like Coke to me.

[attiton]

I am currently favoring xylitol-sweetened gums and mints, for those craving sweets. My dentist is all gung-ho about them. The bacteria in your mouth try to eat the xylitol thinking it's another sugar, but they can't metabolize it and they basically suffocate and die.

When I'm craving something sweet or chewy, that's what I pick.

PS: Don't be fooled by Trident, though. It _has_ xylitol, but also a couple other artificial sweeteners too. Get the real deal.

[pnuts mama]

@ oabe- i had a feeling i was way out of my league there, i wasn't 100% sure since my knowledge of the hebrew alphabet is poor at best and the fact that in the symbol the letter is an outline made me question it further- i hoped someone would catch it if it was wrong! thanks!

@ cloud- you know, your comment really made a lot of sense to me. when we started TTC pnut we started to eat better and live a healthier lifestyle because it made sense to us, and it carried through pregnancy and just naturally extended when we fed her solid foods- i couldn't justify letting her eat (too much) stuff that i wouldn't eat when i was pg.
and the phrase "or, hemlock" make me LMAO. i found an all-natural dark ginger ale (beer?) around here to drink to help take the edge off my nausea during the first trimester- (full disclosure, i originally had it in a lovely adult beverage over the summer) that i now mix with cranberry juice and water every one in a while for what we call a "mocktail."

i am so not kidding about that urge for the pina colada, ladies. sigh.

[Julie]

I have always avoided artificial additives/sweeteners mostly b/c they have that funny aftertaste. Just doesn't taste good. In fact, I kind of feel the same way about low-fat foods as well......anything that has been chemically or scientifically altered from it's original state seems a bit iffy in my opinion. I'd rather have full-fat/full sugar food/beverages than something that has been tinkered with in a lab somewhere. And I have found that once I decided on full-fat foods I actually LOST weight.

Go figure.

[carmie]

attiton, I love Trident :( It's my only vice these days - I even gave up chocolate as it was making morning sickness worse.

What kinds of gums have xylitol but nothing else? What kind do you chew?

[Jen]

Kosher Coke is AMAZING. If you want a treat, that's a good one. I think the caps are usually yellow, while the regular ones are white.

Dublin Dr. Pepper is great too.

All in all, I'm just searching for a way to convince my husband that soda shouldn't be a staple but a treat. (We don't do diet sodas, so no artificial sweeteners). He's skinny and perpetually healthy, so he brushes off the warnings.

[Eva]

I read about the stevia concerns, too. Anyone know more about that?

We never drink anything but water and, occasionally, milk. I've never understood people's interest in soda, which bothers my teeth.

[michaela]

I was surprised to find recently that our whole grain wheat bread contains HFCS!! Argh. I pride myself on buying very little in the way of processed food -- but frickin' 100$ whole wheat bread betrayed me. It's miserable. And now that I know it, the bread totally tastes sweet and kinda gross to me. Time to start making my own, I guess....

I, too, have mostly given up soda, save for an occasional real Coke or the local ginger ale, which is really, really tasty (and made with cane sugar!).