Did you know that consuming too
much sugar increases the likelihood that you’ll develop Type II Diabetes? Of
course you did. But how many of you, or your parents, drink diet soda to avoid
this risk? What if I were to tell you that drinking diet soda might be
increasing these risks? I’m asking a lot of questions here, but I doubt I’m the
only one of us to have thought about this. Some of these questions have obvious
answers while others are slightly more convoluted. I have always had a great interest
in the insulin-dependent response to glucose and so upon reading an article a
couple weeks ago linking diet sodas to diabetes I immediately became intrigued.
I began to explore the topic and the more I learned the more it made sense.
Here’s what I found.
Disclaimer: In most cases from
this point on I will simply
use “diabetes” when referring to Type II Diabetes
Before we develop too heavily on the
topic of diet soda and diabetes, I think that it is first important to outline
the body’s natural response to sugar and what exactly goes awry in people that
develop diabetes. In a healthy adult the uptake of glucose following a meal is regulated
by the release of insulin from the pancreas. This acts as a signal for other
cells throughout the body to begin the transport of glucose across their
membranes, effectively lowering the concentration of glucose in the blood. A
type 2 diabetic, however, handles things entirely differently. When a person
chronically overloads their glucose response system they begin to wear out some
of the critical pieces of the cellular machinery involved in that response. For
those that develop diabetes there are two mechanisms that usually fail; the
ability for the pancreas to release insulin (insulin secretion) and the ability
for cells to correctly interpret the signal that insulin is supposed to send
(insulin resistance). This in turn increases the blood concentration of
glucose, a telltale sign of diabetes.
But we’re talking about diet, “sugar free”, soda aren’t we? Let's get back to the original question: Does it make sense that sodas containing artificial sweeteners really could contribute to the onset of diabetes? The simple answer is yes, and if you think about it it makes perfect sense. Artificial sweeteners were originally developed in an attempt to limit caloric intake yet retain the illusion of sweetness that humans inherently crave. The whole idea is to trick your taste buds in to thinking you’re consuming sugar but from there it remains chemically inert. What we are only recently beginning to understand is that artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, acesulfame potassium, and saccharine might continue to trick the human body further than intended.
Citations:
Collison K.S., N.J. Makhoul, M.Z. Zaidi, S.M. Saleh, B. Andres, A. Inglis, R. Al-Rabiah, F.A. Al-Mohanna. 2012. Gender Dimorphism in Aspartame-Induced Impairment of Spatial Cognition and Insulin Sensitivity. PLoS ONE 7: e31570.
Dahl G.T., B. Woldseth, R. Lindemann. 2012. Metabolic acidosis mimicking diabetic ketoacidosis after use of calorie-free mineral water. European Journal of Pediatrics 171:1405–140
Fagherazzi G., A. Vilier, D.S. Sartorelli, M. Lajous, B.
Balkau, F. Clavel-Chapelon. 2013. Consumption of artificially and
sugar-sweetened beverages and incident type 2 diabetes in the Etude
Epidémiologique auprès des femmes de la Mutuelle Générale de l'Education
Nationale–European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort.
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition [Epub ahead of print].
Liang Y., G. Steinbach, V. Maier, E.F. Pfeiffer. 1987. The effect of artificial sweetener on insulin secretion. 1. The effect of acesulfame K on insulin secretion in the rat (studies in vivo). Hormone and Metabolic Research 19: 233-8.
Malik V.S. & F.B. Hu. 2012 Sweeteners and Risk of
Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes: The Role of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages. Current
Diabetes Reports 12: 195–203.
Nettleton J.A., A.L. Joao, P.L. Lutsey, E.D. Michos, Y. Wang, D.R. Jacobs Jr. 2009. Diet Soda Intake and Risk of Incident Metabolic Syndrome and Type 2 Diabetes in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Diabetes Care 32: 688-694.
Sheludiakova A., K. Rooney, R.A. Boakes. 2011. Metabolic and
behavioural effects of sucrose and fructose/glucose drinks in the rat. European
Journal of Nutrition 51: 445–454.
Wu D., A.B. Molofsky, H. Liang, R.R. Ricardo-Gonzalez, H.A.
Jouihan, J.K. Bando, A. Chawla, R.M. Locksley. 2011. Eosinophils Sustain
Adipose Alternatively Activated Macrophages Associated with Glucose Homeostasis.
Science 332: 243-247
Other
Works Cited (including pictures):
Hey Mark, nice article. I enjoyed reading your summary of these recent papers. Keep sharing!
ReplyDeleteIt seems that the food that has lots of nutrition and high fiber is the ideal diet for diabetes.
ReplyDelete