# Do artificial sweeteners spike insulin response? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 19, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-artificial-sweeteners-spike-insulin-response/603480 "2011-11-19T20:01:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-artificial-sweeteners-spike-insulin-response/603480/1 "2011-11-19T20:01:49Z")
A few years back I recall reading some preliminary studies that suggested that the body reacted to artificially sweetened drinks by releasing insulin in the same way it would react to an actually sweetened drink. Has there been any conclusive data on this issue? Does the sweetener or the conditions matter? If that’s true, how does that even work? Does the brain tell the body how much insulin to release based on perceived taste? It would seem like a feedback loop that detected glucose in the blood to control insulin release would be more accurate. I’m also curious how this relates specifically to low carb dieting - since it’s fundamentally about insulin management, I’m wondering if drinking artificially sweetened drinks have negative effects. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-artificial-sweeteners-spike-insulin-response/603480/2 "2011-11-19T20:49:28Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > I’m also curious how this relates specifically to low carb dieting - since it’s fundamentally about insulin management, I’m wondering if drinking artificially sweetened drinks have negative effects. Anecdote not data I know. But personally I am treating diabetes with low carb diet (and general lifestyle changes), but have no reaction to artificially sweetened drinks (I clearly do if eat or drink something with the equivalent amount of sugar). ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-artificial-sweeteners-spike-insulin-response/603480/3 "2011-11-19T22:14:42Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > If that’s true, how does that even work? Does the brain tell the body how much insulin to release based on perceived taste? It would seem like a feedback loop that detected glucose in the blood to control insulin release would be more accurate. Because the human body is not result of a design process of “what works best”, but of trying out “what works better than the previous version”, which often stops short of the best solution, if the better solution is adequate enough, or if going from better to best would mean major structural changes. The human windpipe crosses the food pipe at one point, which makes it possible for people to choke when food goes down wrong. It’s not enough of a hindrance to start rewiring everything. In addition, for hundreds of thousands of years of evolution, there were no artifical sweeteners, only real sugar. When you tasted sugar on your tongue, your stomach was getting carbohydrates, so raising insulin levels on that was a good response. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-artificial-sweeteners-spike-insulin-response/603480/4 "2011-11-19T23:43:25Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > Because the human body is not result of a design process of “what works best”, but of trying out “what works better than the previous version”, which often stops short of the best solution, if the better solution is adequate enough, or if going from better to best would mean major structural changes. > > The human windpipe crosses the food pipe at one point, which makes it possible for people to choke when food goes down wrong. It’s not enough of a hindrance to start rewiring everything. > > In addition, for hundreds of thousands of years of evolution, there were no artifical sweeteners, only real sugar. When you tasted sugar on your tongue, your stomach was getting carbohydrates, so raising insulin levels on that was a good response. So your answer to OP is yes? ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-artificial-sweeteners-spike-insulin-response/603480/5 "2011-11-19T23:55:32Z")
Yes. It is called cephalic phase insulin release. It has been studied both in [animal models](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17510492) and in [humans](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18556090). [It is not however clear](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2951976/?tool=pubmed) that the magnitude of that response is in any way significant. The last last cite is to a recent complete article and is the source of the following: > [@](#): > > Multiple behavioral mechanisms have been proposed to account for the epidemiologic association between artificial sweetener use and weight gain. It has been suggested that the dissociation of the sensation of sweet taste from caloric intake may promote appetite, leading to greater food consumption and weight gain. In addition, increased consumption of added caloric sweeteners has been associated with lower diet quality in children (31), perhaps by altering taste preferences toward sweetened foods in place of more healthful foods, such as fruits and vegetables; this mechanism could apply to artificial sweeteners as well. > New data from both humans and animal models have provided convincing evidence that artificial sweeteners play an active role in the gastrointestinal tract, thus providing a mechanistic explanation for observed metabolic effects. Sweet-taste receptors, including the taste receptor T1R family and α-gustducin, respond not only to caloric sugars, such as sucrose and glucose, but also to artificial sweeteners, including sucralose (Splenda™) and acesulfame-K (32,33). In both humans and animals, these receptors have been shown to be present not only in lingual taste buds, but also in glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) secreting L cells of the gut mucosa (34–36), where they serve as critical mediators of GLP-1 secretion (36). Mace et al. showed in rat studies that stimulation of intestinal taste receptors with sucralose led to more rapid absorption of sugars from the intestine into the bloodstream (32). We have demonstrated in young healthy volunteers that consumption of diet soda before an oral glucose challenge potentiates GLP-1 secretion, thus potentially altering both gastric emptying and insulin secretion (62). Translating these results into the clinical realm, consumption of an artificial sweetener in conjunction with a sugarcontaining food or drink could lead to more rapid sugar absorption, as well as increased GLP-1 and insulin secretion, potentially affecting weight, appetite, and glycemia. … > > … **At the current time, the jury remains out regarding a possible role of increased artificial sweetener use in the obesity and diabetes epidemics, whether adverse, beneficial or neutral.** (Bolding mine.) ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-artificial-sweeteners-spike-insulin-response/603480/6 "2011-11-20T01:42:57Z")
I don’t know about people, but small amounts of Xylitol provokes a massive insulin response in dogs, and has killed many. [http://www.avma.org/myveterinarian/foods-to-avoid.asp](http://www.avma.org/myveterinarian/foods-to-avoid.asp) It is commonly found in sugarless gums. [Suite 101 - How-tos, Inspiration and Other Ideas to Try](http://lorie-huston.suite101.com/xylitol-an-increasingly-common-pet-poison-a109133) I have wondered if anybody is investigating it as a treatment for diabetes. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-artificial-sweeteners-spike-insulin-response/603480/7 "2011-11-20T13:50:12Z")
> [@thelabdude](#): > > I have wondered if anybody is investigating it as a treatment for diabetes. I don’t think a massive insulin response would do anything for diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is characterized by insulin resistance - your body produces insulin well enough, but your cells don’t use it properly. Many people with Type 2 diabetes already have massive amounts of insulin floating about, because their pancreas produces it but their cells don’t use it to process glucose. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease where your body attacks the insulin-producing cells in your pancreas. Type 1 diabetics simply don’t have the capacity to produce insulin - the cells that do it are dead - so I don’t think anything will give them a massive insulin response. “Squeezing blood from a turnip” comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-artificial-sweeteners-spike-insulin-response/603480/8 "2011-11-21T17:07:33Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > I don’t think a massive insulin response would do anything for diabetes. > > Type 2 diabetes is characterized by insulin resistance - your body produces insulin well enough, but your cells don’t use it properly. Many people with Type 2 diabetes already have massive amounts of insulin floating about, because their pancreas produces it but their cells don’t use it to process glucose. Yet most type 2 diabetics end up taking insulin. Producing more insulin won’t cure type 2 diabetes but it may help. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-artificial-sweeteners-spike-insulin-response/603480/9 "2011-11-21T18:00:31Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Yes. It is called cephalic phase insulin release. It has been studied both in [animal models](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17510492) and in [humans](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18556090). [It is not however clear](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2951976/?tool=pubmed) that the magnitude of that response is in any way significant. The last last cite is to a recent complete article and is the source of the following (Bolding mine.) Great reference, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-artificial-sweeteners-spike-insulin-response/603480/10 "2011-11-23T00:05:54Z")
> [@yorick73](#): > > Yet most type 2 diabetics end up taking insulin. No they don’t. According to the National Institutes of Health, between 2007-2009, [12%](http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/statistics/#Treatment) of _all_ diabetics take insulin. That’s not “most” type 2 diabetics, unless the number has increased dramatically in the past two years. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-artificial-sweeteners-spike-insulin-response/603480/11 "2011-11-23T00:46:49Z")
> [@Angua](#): > > No they don’t. According to the National Institutes of Health, between 2007-2009, [12%](http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/statistics/#Treatment) of _all_ diabetics take insulin. That’s not “most” type 2 diabetics, unless the number has increased dramatically in the past two years. The pie chart actually had sectors for “insulin only” (12%) and “insulin and oral meds” (14%). So, looks like 26% of all diabetics take insulin but, still, not “most”. ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-artificial-sweeteners-spike-insulin-response/603480/12 "2011-11-23T00:50:27Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > The pie chart actually had sectors for “insulin only” (12%) and “insulin and oral meds” (14%). So, looks like 26% of all diabetics take insulin but, still, not “most”. Sorry, so I did. But as you say, even 26% is not “most”. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-artificial-sweeteners-spike-insulin-response/603480/13 "2011-11-23T03:21:35Z")
> [@Angua](#): > > Sorry, so I did. But as you say, even 26% is not “most”. Yeah, I wondered about that too. I tried looking up percentages of Type 2s who use Insulin (since pretty much all Type 1s do), and found statistics that went anywhere from 14% to up to 40%. Very much not “most.” ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-artificial-sweeteners-spike-insulin-response/603480/14 "2011-11-23T03:26:04Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > Yeah, I wondered about that too. I tried looking up percentages of Type 2s who use Insulin (since pretty much all Type 1s do I’m curious, are there exceptions to this? I was just talking to a doctor about this and he said something like “Type I diabetics are all either on insulin maintenance or dead.” ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-artificial-sweeteners-spike-insulin-response/603480/15 "2011-11-23T03:42:26Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > I’m curious, are there exceptions to this? I was just talking to a doctor about this and he said something like “Type I diabetics are all either on insulin maintenance or dead.” That’s pretty much the case. Type 1 diabetics either take insulin or die. Though to complicate things, there is what is known as Type 1.5 or Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA) which is where your insulin-producing cells are killed off over a period of months or even years. Therefore, for a while, a person with T1.5 will have some, but limited, insulin production – probably not enough to cover all of his/her insulin needs. Depending on the doctor/time of diagnosis, either oral drugs to stimulate insulin production or insulin therapy are prescribed. However, with time, a T1.5/LADA will be completely dependent on insulin, just like a “normal” T1, where insulin production capability was sent to near zero very suddenly. Studies put the _longest_ possible time between a T1.5/LADA diagnosis and complete insulin dependence at around 10-15 years, but generally its a lot shorter time-scale. ---
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-artificial-sweeteners-spike-insulin-response/603480/16 "2011-11-23T05:24:43Z")
> [@Angua](#): > > No they don’t. According to the National Institutes of Health, between 2007-2009, [12%](http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/statistics/#Treatment) of _all_ diabetics take insulin. That’s not “most” type 2 diabetics, unless the number has increased dramatically in the past two years. That’s what I get for talking out of my ass! What I should have said is that, since many people with type 2 diabetes require insulin, inducing the overproduction of insulin may be helpful. ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-artificial-sweeteners-spike-insulin-response/603480/17 "2011-11-23T05:35:01Z")
> [@yorick73](#): > > That’s what I get for talking out of my ass! What I should have said is that, since many people with type 2 diabetes require insulin, inducing the overproduction of insulin may be helpful. Actually there are medications for type 2 diabetes (often also used in early stage T1.5 and LADA) that do exactly this; they’re commonly termed sulfonylurea drugs and stimulate the insulin-producing cells to produce more insulin. Its the “kicking the door down” approach to combating insulin resistance that is characteristic of type 2 diabetes. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-artificial-sweeteners-spike-insulin-response/603480/18 "2011-11-24T00:58:22Z")
Getting a little off the thread, my doctor said that by overworking the insulin producing cells, it is possible or even likely that I will see them give up the ghost and eventually have to start taking it. Meantime, I take metformin and have lost a considerable amount of weight (about 75 lb). ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-artificial-sweeteners-spike-insulin-response/603480/19 "2011-11-24T03:32:40Z")
I’m Type 2, and next week the Doctor tells me if I go on insulin or not…:eek: What does “too much protein in your pee” mean? My endocrinologist --soon to be my ex-endocrinologist–told me that it means my kidney functions are worsening from the diabetes. Which tells me bupkus, to use the medical term. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-artificial-sweeteners-spike-insulin-response/603480/20 "2011-11-24T03:44:39Z")
One of the things that too much sugar in your blood long term can do is damage your kidneys, sometimes to the point of kidney failure. In fact diabetes is the most common cause of kidney failure. Protein in the urine is an early warning that such damage is in progress. When the kidneys fail people need to go on dialysis or get a transplant. Good blood sugar control helps prevent that. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-artificial-sweeteners-spike-insulin-response/603480.md?page=2)