Question
What about these products marketed to
diabetics like sugar substitutes, “low carb” ice cream or “sugar free”
cookies? Are they helpful?
Answer
This is one of my favorite topics to
rant about, so get ready for a sarcastic ride.
The short answer to your question is maybe, maybe not, you only know if you look at the label and compare the serving size and carbohydrate content of the “new” product to the “original” product. Sometimes you might see a huge difference in carbohydrate content per serving--like if you compare the label of a diet soft drink to a regular soft drink—52 grams of carbohydrate per can versus zero, but most likely you only see a difference in the price (and maybe half a gram different in carbohydrate).
A lot of the candies and other baked goods that are labeled “sugar free” also contain sugar alcohols; these are fermented starches that have a sweet taste and only about half of them are absorbed in the intestine—so only half of those carbohydrate grams change to blood glucose. They also tend to have a powerful laxative effect if you eat too much. And by too much, the threshold depends on the individual. Some people can eat a handful of the "sugar free" candies without issues, other people start having cramping with one or two pieces. One of the more amusing examples of this in popular culture is the reviews left on Amazon.com about the Haribo sugarfree gummy bears. If you have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) or any other digestive condition, like I do, I wouldn’t go near anything with sugar alcohols (erythritol being the one exception).
Now for the real question that you were hemming and hawing about. Sugar substitutes….
The short answer to your question is maybe, maybe not, you only know if you look at the label and compare the serving size and carbohydrate content of the “new” product to the “original” product. Sometimes you might see a huge difference in carbohydrate content per serving--like if you compare the label of a diet soft drink to a regular soft drink—52 grams of carbohydrate per can versus zero, but most likely you only see a difference in the price (and maybe half a gram different in carbohydrate).
A lot of the candies and other baked goods that are labeled “sugar free” also contain sugar alcohols; these are fermented starches that have a sweet taste and only about half of them are absorbed in the intestine—so only half of those carbohydrate grams change to blood glucose. They also tend to have a powerful laxative effect if you eat too much. And by too much, the threshold depends on the individual. Some people can eat a handful of the "sugar free" candies without issues, other people start having cramping with one or two pieces. One of the more amusing examples of this in popular culture is the reviews left on Amazon.com about the Haribo sugarfree gummy bears. If you have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) or any other digestive condition, like I do, I wouldn’t go near anything with sugar alcohols (erythritol being the one exception).
Now for the real question that you were hemming and hawing about. Sugar substitutes….
Q:
I heard that Equal/Splenda/Sweet and Low give you “the cancer.”
A: There are many, many, different kinds of
cancer, with many, many different kinds of causes. If you are referring to the “the cancer” that
the rats got from saccharine (Sweet and Low)—it was because they ate about
60-70 times their own body weight in saccharine. There haven’t been any real
scientific studies that link “the cancer” to the intake of aspartame or
sucralose as well. Keep in mind that too
much of anything will probably contribute to some kind of illness in some way, shape, or
form. Michael over at Skeptical Raptor
has also written extensively about the safety of aspartame in particular.
Q: I
heard that Splenda “causes” diabetes and/or problems with the “good” bacteria
in the gut.
A: First of all, most of those studies were done
in rats, and rats aren’t humans (I know, you are surprised! J).
Second of all, the amount of sugar substitute fed to the rats was rather
large (about 11-12 cans of diet soda per day!), and doesn’t necessarily reflect
“real life.” Third, when human studies were done, the amount of people studied
was so small we can’t actually apply them to the larger population. In short,
if you use a little bit of Splenda, etc. to sweeten your coffee in the morning,
you are probably ok. If you have Splenda
in the coffee, Splenda on the cereal, Splenda in your yogurt, Splenda in your
Cole-slaw (yes really), and drink diet drinks all day long (you know who you are),
it wouldn’t be a bad idea to start reducing your consumption. And even then, it's not really the Splenda that you need to cut down on, it might be the stuff that you're putting sucralose on that you need to reduce to keep your overall calorie and/or carbohydrate intake down.
Q:
But I heard that diet sodas were actually worse for you than regular sodas!
A:
Go back and read what I just wrote about “the cancer” and “portion control”
please. I’ll wait. (Plays hold music)
Ok, first of all, if someone cuts out
all that sugar and drinks something less acidic—they are likely going to have
better control of their blood glucose, take in fewer calories, and have
something that is less harmful to their teeth, they are probably going to do
better with the health goals. As far as “diet sodas make you gain weight”
trope—it appears as though people usually drink diet sodas to justify not
changing any other habits besides their soft drink habit. Remember that joke about the dude who orders
the extra-large fast food meal with a diet coke? The thing is….we humans are masters of
rationalizing the choices that we make.
If you are really and truly going for a carbohydrate and calorie
reduction….you probably need to look at other sources of such besides your soft
drinks. Now, to be fair, some people
have claimed that they have increased hunger when they drink a lot of diet
sodas—there might actually be something
to that—however, it’s the overeating on other foods that causes the weight
gain, not the actual diet soda themselves.
Q:
So I can drink diet sodas all day long?
A:
No really, go back and read what I just wrote about portion control. For everything. Really. I’ll wait,
again. (Plays hold music again)
In addition, for those us (me) that need the whole "portion control" thing reinforced in our brains, most bottled products will have sodium in them, and some of us don’t need the extra on that either, particularly the population that I work with--those that already have cardiac and renal (kidney) issues. There is also that whole "hard on the teeth" thing that can happen (even without the sugar) in the cola
type beverages. Some people might also have conditions, along with the diabetes, that make them super sensitive to caffeine. And then, for me, there's always been the issue of cost. I like a good diet ginger ale sometimes, and the bubbly feel of sparkling water, but I also like the lower cost of tap water or tea I make myself.
Q:
What about “natural” things like stevia? Or could I use honey/agave
nectar/brown sugar/maple syrup, etc.?
A:
“Natural” does not mean better. Getting
mauled by a bear is “natural” but not something you want to do on a regular
basis (or at all, really). The evidence
says Stevia hasn’t been shown to cause any problems when used in moderation, so
if you find a product you like (some products have a bitter taste) you can probably
use it safely in small amounts. There are also some other plants, like monk fruit, that seem to be safe if you are watching the amounts. Some formulations of stevia also have a bitter taste, or some people (me) forget that stevia is much sweeter than sugar and get a sharp realization about that once they take that first sip of coffee.
Honey, agave nectar, maple syrup brown
sugar, etc. are still all carbohydrates so each tablespoon will provide 15
grams of carbohydrate. If you use these
items you will need to “count” them toward your carbohydrate intake. I
personally would rather just take my coffee black or dump in a packet of
Splenda so I have one less thing to think about, but again, that’s my personal
choice of where I want to spend my carbohydrates.
Want to keep reading?
For a humorous take on this (he’s a
little sweary too): http://www.bodyforwife.com/does-diet-soda-increase-belly-fat/
No comments:
Post a Comment