Quote:
Originally Posted by Bent Wookie
That makes no sense. It is proven that sugar substitutes do not trigger an insulin release (or at least very small amounts) as regular sugar does. So I can't figure out what angle your doctor is working from.
As with any drug or man made substitute there can be side effects in SOME. I don't think, based on my reading that any of them are particularly bad for you in moderate amounts. I wouldn't go drinking 200 cans of diet soda a day, nor would I want to eat 10 lbs of flax seed a day.
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Yes, the study the doctor is referring to is the one where they noticed that people who consumed diet pop, actually ended up consuming more calories/day, then the people who drank regular pop.
The theory is because you mentally trigger a release of digestive hormones in anticipation of the expected "sugars", but there are no digestible sugars ingested, and thus your body undergoes a craving for carbohydrates to sop up the extra hormones. The problem is that these replacement carbohydrates are often more complex than simple sugars, taking longer to cancel the hormone effect, and creating a time lag between consumption and feeling full. End result is that you ingest a bunch of extra carbohydrates from elsewhere (ie. other foods) to satiate the craving, effective canceling the benefit without you realising it, and taking in more calories then you might have otherwise. Then you factor in that most people who eat "diet" foods are already overweight and do not understand what a normal portion is, and you've made a problem worse.
Contrast that with someone who knowingly eats the natural sugar, satiates more efficiently and quickly, thereby limiting the urge to consume carbohydrates elsewhere.
Bottom line from that study is to recognize that the artificial sweetner may behave like a carbohydrate appetite stimulant, and regulate your consumption accordingly.