I just came back from the bike shop where I caught a ton of shit for drinking a diet coke. My buddy there said that diet coke causes the same insulin response as regular coke, which surprised me.
Is this true? If so, can someone please explain the mechanism for this? I switched from drinking regular soda to diet soda because I figured it was better for me.
From my experience of 27 years as a diabetic, drinking Tab (before Diet Coke) and Diet Coke, I can unequivocally tell you your friend is full of shit.
I have seen some information that claims caffeine will cause a rise in blood glucose, but I think you’d have to drink a lot of it.
I’ve read this same thing in health books…although I don’t know/remember the details, everything I’ve read says that is true.
I have friend that is diabetic as well, has been since very young and is now 40’ish. Drinks diet Pepsi by the case. I’d swear he’d drink a 6 pack a day when we worked together.
OTOH I’ve often wondered if ants, bugs etc were attracted to diet drinks. I think no, but with the advent of things liek splenda I’m wondering exactly how close is it to sugar?
~Matt
You have to be careful because there are nutritive and non-nutritive sweeteners. Non-nutritive like aspartame and saccharine contain no calories. Nutritive like sorbitol and mannitol are actually sugar alcohols which do contain calories. I am not sure where Splenda falls in there, but I don’t really use it. “Sugarless” gums usually contain sorbitol or mannitol, and therefore, have some calories. I think their main benefit is that they don’t rot your teeth.
Ironically, last weekend I was visiting my sister, a type 2 Diabetic. She mentioned to me that “diet” products with sugar substitutes can contribute to your insulin levels like regular sugar. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the mechanisms she stated and how they all work to create insulin. I’ll check with her and see where she got the information.
Chris
sorbitol can cause a rise in blood sugar. just look at the label to see if there are any carbs in ‘diet’ drinks. diet coke has no carbs, therefore blood sugar wont be affected therefore no insulin response.
i have found caffeine to have no effect on my blood sugar levels either (im diabetic)
Just Googled Splenda. It is a “low-calorie” sweetener (sucralose)–not “no-calorie” like saccharine. It has 100 cals per cup, whereas regular table sugar (sucrose) has 800 cals per cup. So Splenda will cause some increase in blood sugar and its calories should be accounted for by diabetics in meal planning. Splenda must therefore “taste” eight times sweeter than sugar, because it is advertised as a one-for-one replacement.
I thought that sugar alcohols can be digested and therefore have calories in the nutritional sense, about 2.5Cal per gram vs. ~ 4Cal/g for other sugars (sucrose, glucose polymers, etc.). Saccharine, aspartame, etc. also contain energy, but we cannot digest them and therefore they are calorie-free in terms of nutrition. Sugar Alcohols have an effect on blood glucose levels.
I thought that was what I said. You really have to read what is in stuff, because “sugar-free” doesn’t always mean “calorie-free.”
Exactly, insulin response comes from ingestion of calories, and not specifically from sugar. IOW there are many ways to spike insulin. Potatoes in fact spike insulin much better than the HFCS in Coke. Also amino acids found in protein can enhance insulin response. This is where the post workout protein and CHO shake comes from. The combination spikes insulin more than each one individually.
It’s a mistake to say one thing or another causes insulin in turn do something else. The answer is always it depends. Because it does. It depends on your metabolism, activity level, amounts ingested, combinations of macronutrients. None of this one can decipher by watching someone else drink a Coke on the sales floor.
I am assuming that the guy is saying that somehow you will gain fat by drinking a diet Coke, because you are spiking insulin. Even if a diet Coke could spike insulin, the claim that hyperinsulinemia leads to obesity and Type II diabetes (NIDDM), approaches things in a backward fashion. In fact, it is largely the consumption of excess calories in any form that causes hyperinsulinemia and it is an energy dense diet coupled with inactivity that leads to excessive caloric intake, obesity and NIDDM. Even though it is true physiologically that high insulin levels prevent fat burning and promote fat storage, which would lead to obesity, it is much more true that obesity leads to insulin resistance and high insulin levels, and hence NIDDM. IF you are really interested in insulin response google Pima Indian and insulin. It’s a big NIH project.
Next time ask what he/she would suggest. That it is only acceptable to drink water, coffee or tea? Humans have been ingesting sweetened drinks (fruit juice or even tea with honey) for a long time. This in and of itself means nothing. And why would someone worry about insulin response in an endurance athlete anyway? In fact if you are very, very serious, you would presumably have more problems from a lack of insulin response than hyperinsulinemia, unless of course you are a NIDDM. He/she should keep the day job.
This is interesting to me. My brother is diabetic and he also has no blood sugar response from diet drinks, but is a change in blood sugar the only thing that causes an insulin response?
Just thinking out loud, but could there be something that causes an insulin response even though blood sugar did not rise? That kind of response would not be seen by a diabetic since their insulin production is impaired. Overall I think it sounds wrong. I’d like to hear more from a source that actually did a study, not a reference like “my buddy said…”
AFAIK, and in agreement with what Adam12 said, the only thing that causes an “insulin response,” i.e., causing the pancreatic islet cells to release insulin into the blood stream, is a rise in blood glucose. I have not heard of any other compound in the blood other than glucose that would cause the pancreas to release insulin.
heh after the ironman i just did my blood glucose rose cos of all the adrenalin!!!
I have had the same thing happen. I think what happens is the adrenalin causes the pancreas to release glucagon, which in turn causes the liver to release its stores of glycogen. Adrenalin is part of the fight or flight response–blood sugar is needed by the body to respond to danger. This is the reason why blood sugar can run high during periods of stress.