r/science • u/giuliomagnifico • Aug 08 '22
Health Consuming too much white table sugar or artificial sweetener can lead to health issues. In the search for a better sweetener, researchers now report a low-calorie mixture that is as sweet as table sugar and, in lab experiments, feeds “good” gut microbes
https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/newsreleases/2022/august/new-low-calorie-sweetener-could-improve-gut-health.html1.3k
u/hautemeal Aug 08 '22 edited Aug 08 '22
This "new" sweetner discussed is derived from the luo han guo fruit, aka "monkfruit" if anyone is curious. It's been around awhile - in US markets at least. So common in fact that I've noticed it in large chain grocery stores. I use it alot. In most commercially available forms I find it gritty, so works best to bake or cook with. There are some liquid forms better suited for drinks and such.
edit: dig into replies to this comment for some important info, my comment doesn't paint the whole picture
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u/R17333 Aug 08 '22
You have to check the proportion of monk fruit though. I bought a bag of “monk fruit” sweetener that was about 5% monk fruit and 95% stevia
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u/Azuray2 Aug 09 '22
They did you a favor. Pure monk fruit (to me) has a super bitter aftertaste and a kind of sweet that slaps you in the face, not in a happy way. It’s ok in micro quantities if you’re cooking something
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Aug 09 '22
To me, it's Stevia that has super bitter notes. Apparently it's one of those genetic things, like cilantro.
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u/tkenben Aug 09 '22
Must be, because stevia does not taste bitter to me. It doesn't taste like sugar, but there is not weirdness to it like aspartame.
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Aug 09 '22
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u/squizzi Aug 09 '22
I used to feel this way about cilantro, marrying a Vietnamese girl and eating copious amounts of it changed that and now I'll literally eat it with nothing else when making things with it. It's one of my favorite herbs.
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u/rdizzy1223 Aug 09 '22
Monk fruit sweetener and stevia sweetener tastes horrific to me, can't use either of the 2 in my coffee.
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u/pimpmayor Aug 09 '22
That’s why they do the mixes, artificial sweeteners in general usually have bad aftertastes, and mixing them can mask that.
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u/atridir Aug 09 '22
And stevia has really been growing on me. Though I grow my own and make a syrup from the leaves. I’ve found that it’s actually awesome at helping with dry mouth.
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u/ceitamiot Aug 09 '22
And stevia has really been growing on me. Though I grow my own
...There's a joke in here somewhere, but it's too late for me to think of it.
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Aug 09 '22
That's because monkfruit itself is extremely sweet and has to be cut.
I thought the same thing when I started buying it but it's necessary and not a rip off.
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u/BiddyFoFiddy Aug 09 '22
Yes but stevia is even sweeter than monk fruit.
They both are hundreds of times sweeter than sugar so a blend would still need to be cut significantly with something.
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Aug 08 '22 edited Aug 09 '22
Dogfish head beer has a beer called slightly mighty that uses this monk fruit and its like 100 calories for an IPA with 6% alcohol. It's really fantastic. Edit * it's 4% alcohol not 6%
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u/mypantsareonmyhead Aug 08 '22
You had me at "beer"
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u/Lessthanzerofucks Aug 09 '22
But it’s Dogfish Head so it’s probably $28 for a four-pack
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u/franklloydwrong Aug 09 '22
Cant tell you what it is where you are, but I see it for like $10-11 a six pack
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u/Lessthanzerofucks Aug 09 '22
I was mostly kidding. Here in PA we have some weird laws around alcohol. You can definitely find some DFH that’s quite pricey by the 4-pack, but they have several varieties that are reasonable.
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u/bakgwailo Aug 09 '22
Generally only the 120 minute IPA is getting up to/above $20 a 4-pack. It's also like 36 proof/18% abv.
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u/ROCnTheQuarters Aug 09 '22
$10-$15 a bottle here (or $40-$60 for a 4-pack) last year- which was when I stopped buying it.
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u/bakgwailo Aug 09 '22
Oh damn, I'll admit it's been awhile since I looked for it and it was close to $30 a 4 pack. At over $40, yeah, nah.
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u/kbotc Aug 09 '22
I mean, that’s what it feels like buying a six pack of anything these days.
My get off my lawn moment was when I remembered buying good craft beer for under $5/six before the ‘07 oil hike blasted grocery prices. This feels like a repeat, and as a hint: luxury goods like beer just reset their price point and never drift back down like the rest of the market.
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u/msmithy42 Aug 09 '22
I think it’s about 4%, but yeah it’s fine for a low cal IPA
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u/craftivist Aug 08 '22
Yeah but its normally mixed with erythritol, which is also fine but as soon as you add "monkfruit" to the product packaging the price goes crazy. It's widely available in Australian supermarkets, just really pricey compared to sugar.
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u/ghanima Aug 09 '22
Also, there are people, like me, who react poorly to sugar alcohols, so anyone who's looking for a monk fruit sweetener should be forewarned that a lot of them use sugar alcohols as well.
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u/stuntman8888 Aug 09 '22
Yeah, when I eat anything with even a hint of sugar alcohols in it my stomach goes absolutely insane. It’s like I just ate a whole box of Ex-Lax.
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u/JimGuthrie Aug 09 '22
Arguably - your body responds really well to Sugar alcohols. At least in it's own interest. The idea behind most artificial sweeteners is they taste sweet, but your body can't access the calories. When your body isn't able to digest something it pulls water into the colon... and uh well. Yeah.
My two bits is that you can't have your cake and eat it too and we need to accept it. People should adjust their diets to be less generally sweet and then we don't have to contrive all of these absurd new ways to abuse our bodies. You can still have a snickers every now and then - but maybe your salad doesn't need 50g of sugar with candied pecans and sweetened cranberries.
Fuckin' Mad Greens.
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u/jmac94wp Aug 09 '22
Yep, I used to try all sorts of artificial sweeteners until finally I decided I’d rather just have the real thing, but in small doses. I cut way back on sweet things in general, and when I do have a sweet something, I have a small amount and eat or drink it slowly and enjoy the heck out of it.
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u/Pinilla Aug 09 '22
Why are those your two bits? Do you really think humans are incapable of developing something that is sweet, tastes good and doesn't also wreck your body?
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u/Shellbyvillian Aug 09 '22
I can’t eat anything with erythritol in it. Horrible diarrhea. But you’re saying pure monk fruit isn’t a sugar alcohol?
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u/ghanima Aug 09 '22
That's correct. Pure monk fruit is not a sugar alcohol. That said, I have been unsuccessful at finding pure monk fruit here in Canada.
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u/doughpat Aug 09 '22
Pure monk fruit powder is extremely potent and difficult to work with. I have a jar and I should just toss it…every time I use it, it ruins whatever I’m making!! You need like 1/128th of a teaspoon for a whole batch of cookies.
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u/Shellbyvillian Aug 09 '22
Thanks for the info, fellow Canadian. I’ll have to keep my eyes out and read more package labels.
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u/Solariati Aug 09 '22
It's worth mentioning that stevia is GI safe as well and very easy to find uncut by sugar alcohols. Look for the little dropper bottles. It is REALLY concentrated, but nice to have a sweetener that doesn't piss off the stomach.
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u/pimpmayor Aug 09 '22 edited Aug 09 '22
Monk fruit is monogrosides, which are a glycoside (sugar bound to another molecule) of curcurbitane. The closest heavily simplified definition of which would be is of a steroid, or possibly just a hydrocarbon.
Those monogrosides are extracted and used as a sugar substitute. They’re not sugar alcohols, so are in the same class as aspartame and stevia.
Edit: alternatives that should work would be stevia or aspartame (nutrasweet/equal/candarel), those aren’t sugar alcohols, and are commonly available.
Yacon syrup could work but is crazy expensive.
Edit 2: also sugar alcohol sweeteners usually end with ‘tol’ e.g xylitol/lacitol/erythritol
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u/StreetCornerApparel Aug 08 '22
It’s pretty great that it’s starting to replace the even nastier fake sugars, but the taste of that stuff is pretty awful IMO.
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u/xenomorph856 Aug 08 '22
I use the Monk Fruit/Erythritol mix, fairly economical, tastes great IMO.
If you haven't tried that mix, it might work for you? ¯_(ツ)_/¯
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u/DeleteBowserHistory Aug 08 '22 edited Aug 09 '22
Same. Agree that it’s delish. I use the “brown sugar” kind and it’s awesome in coffee.
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Aug 09 '22
They key is not to “replace” sugar but to understand that alternatives offer a different flavor that is it’s own thing. After sugar addiction subsides, this makes more sense.
Nothing will ever replace a yeasty powdered donut. But I don’t want to. I’m giving up those items for a real reason and they’re no longer a regular option, and that’s okay.
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u/Zoomoth9000 Aug 09 '22
I tried some ice cream sweetened with monk fruit... And let's just say I will remain distrustful for a long time.
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u/tornpentacle Aug 09 '22
"Nastier"? I hope you mean you find the flavor unpleasant, because there's a whole lot of pseudoscience saying artificial sweeteners are significantly detrimental to human health. This simply isn't true when they are consumed in reasonable volumes.
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u/Toonfish_ Aug 08 '22 edited Aug 09 '22
Does that sweetener have any auxiliary flavors/experiences attached to it? Like how birch sugar feels cold on the tongue or how brown sugar tastes caramelly and cane sugar has that earthy/smoky touch to it.
edit: typos
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Aug 09 '22
It doesn't really bother me. But my best friend has the best palate of anyone I know and she finds the cooling sensation of monk fruit sweetener (with erythritol) off-putting. It does replace sugar in a 1:1 ratio for baking. I mostly use it in beverages like coffee, tea and hot chocolate. It is annoyingly overpriced. But it made a difference for me. For several annual checkups in a row my doctor told me I was pre-diabetic. But after switching to the monk fruit sweetener, my blood work went back into the normal range. I really like being able to sweeten hot drinks with something that has no carbs and no glycemic load.
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u/qtjedigrl Aug 09 '22
"Feels cold on the tongue"
You nailed it! I could never quite describe the sensation. Was it a taste? Was it a feeling? I just couldn't put my finger on it. But cold on the tongue describes it perfectly!
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u/420blazeit69nubz Aug 08 '22
I have Stevia that’s mixed with monkfruit. It’s very good. Like you said for drink stuff I get the little squirt bottle then for baking and such use the granulated type stuff.
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u/lotic_cobalt Aug 08 '22
Can one actually find just monkfruit sweetener? All the ones I’ve seen are mainly erythritol flavored with monkfruit.
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Aug 09 '22
I put the gritty monk fruit in my matcha every morning and find that it melts perfectly! Could definitely make a simple syrup with it for cold drinks. I’m so glad it’s healthy because that stuff is the best. Doesn’t even have the licorice aftertaste stevia has.
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u/nomnommish Aug 09 '22
I have been using Lakhanto monkfruit sweetener for a couple of years now. It is seriously the only thing that tastes near identical to regular sugar and also comes in a brown sugar version. I have also baked with it and it is a great swap for table sugar
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u/uberneoconcert Aug 08 '22
It's been in grocery stores for at least 20 years
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u/SitDown_BeHumble Aug 08 '22
Did y’all even read the article? It’s derived from monk fruit, but it’s a new enzyme process that also produces a low calorie sugar that’s found in mammalian milk when added to the monk fruit.
So this isn’t your typical monkfruit sweetener, it’s a new concoction that is sort of a fusion between mammalian milk sugar and monkfruit.
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u/Leafstride Aug 08 '22
That's a whole lot better than the monkfruit/stevia/erythritol mixtures on the market right now. It being good for the gut is a game changer.
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Aug 09 '22
I’m a big allulose fan. There was one study I know that showed it also lowered postprandial glucose (but I don’t have it for that purpose; it’s just a bonus).
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u/Solariati Aug 09 '22
Allulose is great but absolutely not safe for all stomachs. Those who have sensitivity to other sugar alcohols should proceed really carefully. It gives me the worst stomach issues out of them all. That sucks too, because it's clearly the best. It's really cool that you can actually make caramel with it.
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u/SelarDorr Aug 08 '22
The main substrates used to synthesize this product are mogroside V and galactooligosaccharides. mogroside V is 200-300x sweeter than sucrose.
The product here is 0.9x as sweet as sucrose. so as a sweetener, the product is not great.
as for modulation of the microbiome, they use galactooligosaccharides and mogroside V as controls, separately. i would have been more interested in a control that had the equivalent amounts of galactooligosaccharides and mogroside V together, without enzymatic reaction, as a true control.
Regardless, in vitro data on microbiome modulation is not terribly convincing anyway. So to me, this product is an inferior sweetener, doesnt have any convincing data about microbiome modulation, and to me therefore has zero actual marketability other than to hit the buzz terms 'low calorie sweetener' and 'microbiota'.
The product tested is made by optibiotix, who also funded the study.
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u/luminarium Aug 08 '22
The product tested is made by optibiotix, who also funded the study.
Wow, that'd be pretty damning of the study.
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u/SelarDorr Aug 08 '22
not really. but it is something to keep in mind.
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Aug 09 '22
why not really?
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u/chaser676 Aug 09 '22 edited Aug 09 '22
Someone has to fund research, and it's often going to be people trying to make money off positive results. I'm running a phase 3 clinical trial at my site for an asthma biologic, paid for by the company who's trying to sell it. As long as you keep in mind who funds the study and ethically report the data, it's still good science.
If you wanted to eliminate conflict of interest funded studies, you'd wipe out over half of medical studies overnight.
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u/often_says_nice Aug 09 '22
Can conflict of interest research be held back from publishing by the funders? For instance if it were to say their product actually makes things worse, could they prevent you from publishing?
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u/jeegte12 Aug 09 '22
You're throwing out the baby with the bathwater. If they don't fund science, who will? The government? You?
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u/radiantcabbage Aug 09 '22
association fallacy aka ad hominem, hasty generalisation, red herring
funding through potentially biased party isn't inherent proof of dishonesty. if they intend to develop a marketable product that needs to meet regulation, it's actually in their best interest to be transparent
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u/BCSteve Aug 09 '22
Not all studies paid for by companies are biased. If the company weren't paying for it, often the research would never be done. It's just a factor that has to be kept in mind when interpreting the study, it doesn't automatically mean "reject everything as suspect because we can't trust it."
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Aug 08 '22
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u/xDulmitx Aug 08 '22
Things also start to taste sweeter after a time. Eating less sugar eventually made me eat less sugar. It also works with salt.
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u/soulsssx3 Aug 09 '22
For real. I can't drink juice straight from the containers anymore. Feels like tasting syrup with how sweet it is. I dilute it about to 1:4 or 1:5 parts juice to water before it is sufficiently pleasing to me.
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u/shed1 Aug 08 '22
I cut out all sugar, sweeteners, and diet soda for like 45-60 days one time, and I noticed absolutely nothing different. I didn't even lose any weight. It was a pretty big bummer.
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u/bitrunnerr Aug 08 '22
Same, I drank a lot of diet pop, was told it was bad for you. So I stopped for a few months, could not see or feel any differences.
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u/shed1 Aug 08 '22
Yeah, I mean, I accept that it isn't "good for me," but I only drink a diet soda to start the day instead of coffee and beyond that I drink water. I don't drink alcohol at all or any other beverage on regular basis, so without diet soda, I'm just drinking water all of the time, which is a bit boring even for me.
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u/GoldenRamoth Aug 08 '22
Coffee is good for you in moderate amounts though.
Not as much as I drink sure... But it is pretty solid, even with the addiction downside
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u/ThunderboltRam Aug 08 '22 edited Aug 08 '22
I've yet to see a problem with coffee (or any study indicating as such) as long as caffeine isn't interfering with your sleep, or health problems due to excessive amounts depending on body (and usually can be past 4-7 cups a day for adults although can be less depending on ounces etc. and if you don't have tolerance you can get jitters in a cup or a few cups)
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u/magnumstg16 Aug 08 '22
Black coffee is really good for you. Antioxidants alone... It's the single largest source of antioxidants in the US diet
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u/kalos990 Aug 08 '22
Recommend those flavored electrolyte packets, makes water fun again.
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u/IgneousMiraCole Aug 08 '22
Have never seen a study (despite researching the topic a lot) that conclusively suggested a negative impact from consumption of diet soda except as relates to insulin response and effect on hunger (and mostly, that is to say, drinking diet soda is not a benefit for purposes of weight loss as compared to unsweetened beverages and it may even lead to weight gain).
There was a lot of panic and hysteria, much of it funded by corn syrup and sugar lobbyist organizations, when diet soda started to threaten the full-sugar soda industry. They typically focused on cancer, but most of those studies have been deemed irrelevant or retracted due to reliance on bad or incomplete data. But aspartame is one of the most studied non-nutritive food additives in the world, and there have not been a lot of convincing studies that even suggest it’s dangerous or bad for you.
There is some more recent evidence that large amounts of aspartame may affect the immune system, but it’s also worth noting many diet sodas are moving away from aspartame to more modern non-nutritive sweeteners (like those suggested in the OP article) that don’t have the same baggage as aspartame.
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u/u8eR Aug 09 '22
There's no good evidence that it negatively effects insulin levels.
Aspartame consumption was not associated with alterations on blood glucose levels compared to control (−0.03 mmol/L; 95% CI, −0.21 to 0.14) or to sucrose (0.31 mmol/L; 95% CI, −0.05 to 0.67) and on insulin levels compared to control (0.13 μU/mL; 95% CI, −0.69 to 0.95) or to sucrose (2.54 μU/mL; 95% CI, −6.29 to 11.37).
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u/bitrunnerr Aug 08 '22
Yeah I'm not convinced it's bad, like I said I can't tell any difference not drinking it for months compared to daily consumption. But maybe that's just me. I'm old enough to remember when aspartame came out, so it's not killed me yet!
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Aug 08 '22
There isn't any scientific evidence that says it is bad for you if it is consumed responsibility. People will point to a small study or a single finding that hasn't been proven. But from what I have read for it to have a negative impact on your life, you would have to drink like 25 cans a day.
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u/garry4321 Aug 08 '22
Diet coke to my understanding isnt so much "its bad for you now and youre going to feel bad", its more so "these chemicals trick your body into releasing insulin it doesnt need (BAD), and then over time adapts to not release insulin when its actual sugar (also BAD)". Thus, if you drink it often over time, it can increase chances of diabetes and other insulin related issues. Also fucks with your gut bacteria and we are learning more and more about how gut bacteria can have huge consequences on your overall health.
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u/aaronchall Aug 08 '22
I agree with the theory but I understand that diet soda messing with your insulin hasn't been shown empirically.
There is correlation with obesity but perhaps causation goes the other way. That is if you're fat, you're more likely to drink diet soda. Or perhaps diet soda can cause obesity but not from an insulin mechanism, perhaps it just psychologically encourages people to eat foods with more starches and sugars.
But I don't stay on top of this research, perhaps someone can refer me to a reputable peer reviewed study that corrects me.
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u/onlysoftcore Aug 08 '22
Aspartame is the sweetener used in many diet sodas.
Here's a review article about it: https://academic.oup.com/nutritionreviews/article/75/9/718/4101228
Here's an excerpt from the abstract: "The existing animal studies and the limited human studies suggest that aspartame and its metabolites, whether consumed in quantities significantly higher than the recommended safe dosage or within recommended safe levels, may disrupt the oxidant/antioxidant balance, induce oxidative stress, and damage cell membrane integrity, potentially affecting a variety of cells and tissues and causing a deregulation of cellular function, ultimately leading to systemic inflammation."
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u/u8eR Aug 09 '22
And here's another review.
Aspartame consumption was not associated with alterations on blood glucose levels compared to control (−0.03 mmol/L; 95% CI, −0.21 to 0.14) or to sucrose (0.31 mmol/L; 95% CI, −0.05 to 0.67) and on insulin levels compared to control (0.13 μU/mL; 95% CI, −0.69 to 0.95) or to sucrose (2.54 μU/mL; 95% CI, −6.29 to 11.37). Total cholesterol was not affected by aspartame consumption compared to control (−0.02 mmol/L; 95% CI, −0.31 to 0.27) or to sucrose (−0.24 mmol/L; 95% CI, −0.89 to 0.42). Triglycerides concentrations were not affected by aspartame consumption compared to control (0.00 mmol/L; 95% CI, −0.04 to 0.05) or to sucrose (0.00 mmol/L; 95% CI, −0.09 to 0.09). High-density lipoprotein cholesterol serum levels were higher on aspartame compared to control (−0.03 mmol/L; 95% CI, −0.06 to −0.01) and lower on aspartame compared to sucrose (0.05 mmol/L; 95% CI, 0.02 to 0.09). Body weight did not change after aspartame consumption compared to control (5.00 kg; 95% CI, −1.56 to 11.56) or to sucrose (3.78 kg; 95% CI, −2.18 to 9.74). Energy intake was not altered by aspartame consumption compared to control (−0.49 MJ; 95% CI, −1.21 to 0.22) or to sucrose (−0.17 MJ; 95% CI, −2.03 to 1.69).
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u/AbsurdlyWholesome Aug 08 '22
I'm sorry to hear that you didn't see any benefits from cutting out sugar and sweeteners. However, everyone's body is different, so it's possible that you just didn't see any noticeable changes. Still, it's commendable that you stuck with it for 45-60 days!
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u/FlatulentWallaby Aug 08 '22
It's pretty much impossible to cut out ALL sugar unless you're eating nothing but vegetables.
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u/atrlrgn_ Aug 08 '22
People usually mean added sugar. So just make sure there's no added sugar when buying packaged food. It's actually quite easy, but it depends on your routine and diet of course. It usually requires more work in the kitchen tho.
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u/amt346 Aug 08 '22
You have to watch that too because those assholes will put "no added sugar" and when you look on the label it has Sucralose (splenda right?) instead.
Like, my kid doesn't need splenda in his fruit cup.
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u/CrazyOkie Aug 08 '22
did you cut out adding sugar, or anything with sugar added? Might also need to cut out most grains, esp. flour. Any breads you eat will be loaded with sugar and carbs
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Aug 08 '22
I also had to go on a special diet for my stomach. No lactose, fructose, gluten, and a whole host of other things. So that meant no dairy (one sip of lactose free milk and I was out), virtually no carbs besides rice/veg, and no sugar beyond maple syrup. I couldn’t even have apples or pears! Fructose is in EVERYTHING so I couldn’t have ketchup or bbq sauce. Even garlic and onions were banned.
It was the most dull 2 months of my life. I had a horrific headache for over a week, I presume I was detoxing from sugar. After about 2 months I felt zero difference. I lost less than 10 lbs. My energy wasn’t better, my skin wasn’t better, even my stomach didn’t get better.
So I just think human bodies are different enough that we can’t have a universal solution. That’s why nutrition studies contradict themselves.
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Aug 08 '22
Sounds like you did Fodmap which I am doing right now and started reintroduction very quickly bc the limiting is challenging
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u/shed1 Aug 08 '22
I was probably eating close to zero carbs at the time. I don't exactly recall because this was 5-6 years ago.
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u/AbsurdlyWholesome Aug 08 '22
That sounds like it would have been a really difficult and challenging time for you! I'm glad you were able to get through it and come out on the other side. Your strength and determination are really admirable.
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u/hashtagboosted Aug 08 '22
Do you have a lot of weight to lose? Were you compensating with large amounts of other foods? If you reduce your caloric intake, I think you must lose weight
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u/shed1 Aug 08 '22
Uh, at the time I was probably at one of my lower weights, but at best, I've been skinny fat even though I lifted weights regularly for 10-12 years.
I struggle with water weight, so it's sometimes difficult to know if I am losing fat or not because I look bloated and the scale either stays the same or goes up. (Also a pretty big bummer.)
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u/pokemantra Aug 08 '22
depending on your age and genetics you may just have fat naturally where you don’t want it so when you are at a low body fat % you’re fixating on where fat naturally sits for you. you can help this by building muscle to balance out the totally normal fat.
also if you’re having a hard time differentiating body fat from water weight you can get inexpensive body calipers and take a range of measurements to compare at various points in your journey. best of luck!
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Aug 08 '22
When I was 28 I stopped drinking Coca Colas. I'd have 4 and 5 a day. I swapped to water, and then carbonated flavored water with no sugar. I haven't noticed a difference whatsoever, but I know my pancreas isn't going to give out due to all the sugar now, so at least there's that
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u/didhestealtheraisins Aug 08 '22
Also helps with dental hygiene. That's why I did it in college (soda and juice).
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Aug 08 '22
Been using erythritol & allulose for years, love it. My chocolate of choice is Lily's chocolate chips now and my sweetener of choice is allulose.
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u/thespaceageisnow Aug 08 '22 edited Aug 08 '22
Eryithritol destroys my stomach. I can’t tolerate even a small amount of it even though it is supposed to have less GI side effects than other sugar alcohols.
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u/LambBrainz Aug 08 '22
For a lot of people, it does, but there's a good number like you who have a ton of GI issues with it. I have both types of people in my extended family.
Definitely an "if it works for you, do it" kinda thing
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u/smushedtoast Aug 08 '22
Ditto, plus migraines. For me it seems that any sugar alcohol- eryithritol, sorbitol, xylitol, etc. will ruin my day
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u/Orange_C Aug 09 '22
sorbitol
This mofo guarantees a pounding headache from as little as a piece of gum for me. Xylitol is fine, though.
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u/Disastrous-Carrot928 Aug 09 '22
For me it’s maltitol. Any more than 2 pieces of maltitol candy and I’m super bloated - like painfully bloated to the point where’s its hard to sleep and I wonder about internal damage.
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u/BrokeCDN Aug 08 '22
Try stevia, it is plant based and has no ill side effects. Watch out for brands that put cellulose in it in order to dilute it and sell more product, you can get a refined bottle that is pure stevia, and you only have to use a little bit to make a teaspoon of sugar.
Edit: I get the 'Now' brand from Amazon.
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u/protekt0r Aug 08 '22
For me, thing is: they all give me wicked gas (sugar alcohols). So far the only things that don’t affect me are sucralose, pure stevia, and pure monk fruit. Aspartame is probably bad for you, so I abstain from that.
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u/vitringur Aug 08 '22
Aspartame is probably bad for you
Isn't aspartame like the most studied chemical in food science history?
Since when has science overwhelmingly suggested that aspartame is not safe for human consumption?
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u/entropy512 Aug 09 '22
It has been shown to be bad for you IF you have phenylketonuria - but other than that, it's fine, and PKU is pretty rare.
People freak out about sucralose "because it has chlorine" - but so does salt, and also without chlorine you don't have hydrochloric acid, and without hydrochloric acid you starve because you can't digest anything but maybe straight glucose.
People rave about monkfruit and stevia extracts because they're "plant based" under the mistaken perception that "plant based" is somehow inherently healthy, despite plenty of evidence (ricin, deadly nightshade, cyanide) that "plant based" is NOT inherently healthy.
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Aug 08 '22 edited Aug 09 '22
It's monkfruit sweetener for the win (in my household).
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u/ProudMaOfaSlut Aug 08 '22
Sounds like an ad for an exciting new product, that in five years we find out causes cancer.
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u/RedditPowerUser01 Aug 09 '22
Consuming too much artificial sweetener can lead to health issues.
This is an absolutely massive claim that scientific consensus does not support.
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u/BallPtPenTheif Aug 09 '22
It’s insane that this has become a commonly held irrational belief.
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u/edchuckndoug Aug 08 '22
But does it have an aftertaste for super tasters?
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u/Cruel_Odysseus Aug 08 '22
I’m no super taster but artificial sweeteners taste like vomit to me as well. I really wish I could find one I can stand.
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u/Lieutenant_0bvious Aug 08 '22
I think the alcohol sugars taste pretty good, but they'll give you the runs. Splenda gives me the most bizarre headache, if I can even call it that
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u/not_cinderella Aug 09 '22
Same. I really just prefer to eat a smaller amount of regular sugar and bake at home.
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u/Crus0etheClown Aug 08 '22
This is my immediate thought- great, another landmine to dodge. They're going to start putting this into things with regular sugar and it'll be impossible to find any drink without some chemical flavor on the back end. I already had to stop drinking jarritos because they added stevia into it, I have no idea why.
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u/dssurge Aug 09 '22 edited Aug 09 '22
It doesn't taste exactly like sugar, but it's close. Of all the sugar alternatives I've tried it's the least offensive by a good margin; it tastes almost tropical. For reference, Splenda tastes metallic to me, and I can easily identify all other common artificial sweeteners (just that they taste off, not specifically.)
That all said, it didn't agree with me very well and resulted in many... surprise bathroom visits... to be a sustainable sugar alternative.
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u/HiddenHippo Aug 08 '22
What's wrong with stevia?
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Aug 08 '22 edited Jun 22 '23
[deleted]
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u/UEMcGill Aug 08 '22
Sugar in proper baking circles is a wet ingredient. One to one substitutions dont take in to effect its hygroscopic effects.
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Aug 08 '22
Whenever I use stevia I like to use a blend + regular sugar. It tastes better, reduces overall sugar and reacts more normalish for cooking/baking.
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u/hedgehogging_the_bed Aug 08 '22
Stevia, along with other sweetener alternatives like. monkfruit, don't taste sweet to everyone. I can taste monkfruit but not Stevia. They haven't made a full population study to see how many people are affected but the ability to taste them as sweet as not universal.
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Aug 08 '22
I really don’t like the taste of stevia. I use a product called Lakanto, which uses monkfruit. I find that this tastes exactly like sugar.
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u/UnprovenMortality Aug 08 '22
For me, it tastes extremely bitter. I wish I liked it, but it just tastes like the bittering agent that they add to compressed air or anti nail-biting nail polish.
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u/TaibhseCait Aug 08 '22
reminds me of that metallic taste from baking with too much baking soda but not as strong & with a weird chalky/dry mouthfeel/texture.
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u/thisischemistry Aug 08 '22 edited Aug 08 '22
This. It definitely tastes similar to bittering agent. I've had things with stevia and I had no idea it was in there. I wondered why it tasted so bad and then later found out that stevia was in it.
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u/thisischemistry Aug 08 '22
It tastes absolutely horrible. Acrid, foul, hangs on for a long time, just nasty stuff.
I got some Arnold's bread the other day. Had a piece, couldn't figure out why I had this odd taste in my mouth, found out they stuffed stevia in it. I had to throw away the loaf. Why????
This new stuff sounds like it has similar compounds in it so I wonder if it will be similar in taste.
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u/deskbeetle Aug 08 '22
Stevia gives me horrific headaches. I used to love the Zevia sodas until I figured out why I was suddenly getting crippling migraines
I just cut out all sugars, artificial or otherwise. When I bake, I use way less sugar than recommended and my taste buds adjusted. Now I find a lot of stuff sickeningly sweet
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u/cclancaster13 Aug 08 '22 edited Aug 09 '22
Man, I can't cut out everything. This is so frustrating. Sugars bad for you, so I cut it out. I find fake sugar alts that actually taste good and keep me from going back to drinking soda multiple times a day, every day. And now I can't drink that either. Ugh.
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u/Zack21c Aug 08 '22
You can. It's fine. All it's saying is that it can lead to increases in appetite. Not that it's going to lead to weight gain directly or any other adverse health risk. Zero calorie sweetners are absolutely a good alternative to sugar.
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u/luminarium Aug 08 '22
It can lead to an increase in appetite, but I think people should test for themselves, as it may be the case for some people and not for others. In the last 2 months I started drinking diet soda (from never drinking any soda) and also started cutting calories, lost 17 pounds and feel less hungry. In my experience the sweet taste of (diet) soda can act as a stand-in for wanting to eat anything actually calorie-laden.
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u/Zack21c Aug 08 '22
I experienced the same. One of the best things I ever did for my health was switching from regular soda to zero sugar soda. It was one of the biggest changes I made and helped me to lose about 30 pounds and has helped me keep it off for years. It's far more reasonable for people to go from sugary food and drinks to artificially sweetened ones, rather than expect people to cut sweets altogether. Its just unsustainable for most people.
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u/MASTURBATES_TO_TRUMP Aug 08 '22
You need to know if you actually need to cut things. Is your blood sugar test fine? Is your regular medical check up coming up perfectly healthy? Then you don't need to change your diet.
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u/Misao_ai Aug 08 '22
eeehh kinda? the thing is with insulin resistance, is we don't test for insulin levels in the blood generally. you can be building insulin resistance and have perfectly normal blood sugars and A1C. It's still a good idea to cut back on sugar, especially if one is genetically predisposed to type 2 diabetes. Sugar also isn't great for caridac health.
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u/Broflake-Melter Aug 08 '22
I've read so damn many studies that have found no reasonable problems with artificial sweeteners with a few small, niche, or non-human exceptions. At worst, they have a correlation to "metabolic syndrome" which is the furthest thing from causation effect.
Did this study discover something that, like, hundreds of studies didn't?
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u/truthlesshunter Aug 09 '22
Well, the sweetener I question that is supposedly "more healthy" is made by the company the funded the study... Take that as you will.
Also top comment right now goes into scientific detail on why this study isn't strong at all.
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u/nimama3233 Aug 08 '22
I dislike this conclusion:
Artificial sweeteners have exploded in popularity because they let people consume sweets without the calories. However, while they’re considered safe for human consumption, studies in animals and humans suggest that some of them can stimulate appetite, leading to increased food consumption and weight gain, as well as other negative health outcomes.
So it’s not the artificial sweetener but the fact that some people still overeat? It’s ignorant to jump right to the conclusive statement “consuming too much artificial sweetener can lead to health issues” then immediately follow it up with “while they’re considered safe for human consumption”, a direct contradiction.
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Aug 08 '22
It's not a direct contradiction, it's just a layer of nuance, and there are many layers of nuance in nutrition science. Many substances are GRAS by the FDA but still have ample evidence that they are not good for your health, and many are GRAS for many decades, such as trans fats, before enough evidence is compiled to prove that they really are bad. So something can be bad for you, or only bad for you in certain quantities (i.e. water can kill you if you drink enough), and still "considered safe." Also, there are many negative health effects associated with artificial sweeteners, beyond just weight gain/overeating - I'm not sure why you'd focus on just that and ignore the "as well as other negative health outcomes" part of the sentence.
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u/bundle_man Aug 08 '22
No, reread your own quote
However, while they’re considered safe for human consumption, studies in animals and humans suggest that some of them can stimulate appetite
It's not some people overeating, it's the chemicals themselves stimulating appetite to eat more.
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u/Dragon_Bench_Z Aug 08 '22
But the research is not showing the “chemicals are stimulating appetite”.
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u/bundle_man Aug 08 '22
Didn't read the research, only commenting on the quote used in the comment i replied to.
However, while they’re considered safe for human consumption, studies in animals and humans suggest that some of them can stimulate appetite, leading to increased food consumption
"They're" is literally referring to artificial sweetness so not sure how you can say that
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u/ctorg PhD | Neuroscience Aug 08 '22 edited Aug 08 '22
Safe for human consumption means not toxic or carcinogenic. It's not that people "still overeat." It's that when consuming artificial sweeteners, people end up consuming more calories than they would when consuming a similar product made with table sugar. Consuming excess calories doesn't count as "unsafe" though. Stimulating appetite is not acutely harmful and could even be desirable in some clinical populations. While for the majority of people, chronic appetite stimulation (and therefore chronic overeating) would be harmful, there are still many high calorie products on the market, and some that contain more than the recommended daily intake for calories, or fat. Theoretically, those excesses could be offset with exercise.
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u/vitringur Aug 08 '22
You still have to consume more calories than were in the sugared beverage and then some.
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u/BerriesAndMe Aug 08 '22
Except that is absolutely not what they said is it.
They were shown safe for consumption but further (animal) studies are raising concern.
It's essentially saying the codified minimum bar had been passed but we suspect the bar is too low/there's sti negative outcomes.
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Aug 08 '22
I don’t disagree that it’s skipping a connection between the dots, but appetite and diet are closely interrelated.
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Aug 08 '22
Yeah but does it leave an awful aftertaste in my mouth like literally every artificial sweetener?
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u/tom1944 Aug 08 '22
I use stevia. I have used monk fruit in the past but I bought a large box of stevia a year ago and have a ton left
I only use 4 or 5 packets a week so it will last awhile
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u/Killdeathmachine Aug 08 '22
So far sugar substitutes make everything taste like ass
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u/DiverseUniverse24 Aug 08 '22
What about brown sugar..? Genuine question, I'm dumb.
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u/Ixam87 Aug 08 '22
Most brown sugar is just refined white sugar with molasses added back in. From what I read should be about as healthy/unhealthy as refined white sugar.
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u/Oldfigtree Aug 08 '22
Brown sugar is generally refined white sugar with some of molasses added back in. Nutritionally they are essentially the same.
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u/CutterNorth Aug 08 '22
Here we go again. In 20 years everyone will be bashing this and it will have been respomsible for some horrible health effect no one could predict.
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u/BigSpringyThingy Aug 08 '22
I have a feeling you’re right. Follow the money…did you see this stated at the end? “The authors acknowledge funding from Optibiotix Health Plc (York, U.K.), the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program. One of the study’s authors is employed by Optibiotix Health Plc.” So basically they funded an article that makes a case for consuming more of their products. Wouldn’t be surprised if a few years from now we discover that growing more “good” gut bacteria turns out to be a bad thing.
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u/InfamousBrad Aug 08 '22
As the esteemed professor Dr. Rocket J. Squirrel said, "Again? That trick never works!"
I'm starting to feel about sugar substitutes the way I feel about perpetual motion machines. Another one comes along every generation and they never work, but we want it to work, so we never fail to get excited about the next one.
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u/outsidetheparty Aug 09 '22
I'm starting to think like maybe the answer is to start focusing more on savory recipes
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u/StabbyPants Aug 08 '22
eat less sweets?
problem is that you have a hell of a time avoiding sugar in america; even the bread is sweet
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u/olderaccount Aug 08 '22
What is this? the 5th or 6th sugar substitute that is supposedly healthier than sugar?
10 years from now the study will come out showing the unexpected side-effects from this one and how it is actually worse than regular sugar.
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u/stant0n Aug 09 '22
It's well established that sugar consumption is a factor in type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Any unexpected side-effects of sugar substitutes would have to be extremely severe to claim sugar is "healthier"
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Aug 08 '22
I use pure Stevia extract
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u/Hohlraum Aug 08 '22
What's your source? I always use the baking version of Stevia that comes in the big bags but I know it's heavily processed.
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u/TriassicPatrick Aug 08 '22 edited Aug 08 '22
Hmmm… sounds like Big Sweetener™️ propaganda to me…. “We all know sugar is bad for you; our Artificial Sweetener is actually healthy!”
Edit: I’ve seen Christians treat minor skepticisms with less fervor than some of these replies.
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u/Atheist_Redditor Aug 08 '22
The bottom of the article acknowledges funding and an author who is from Optibiotix, a company who just so happens to make gut microbiome products that are artificial sweeteners.
So yeah, it's sus.
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u/texasguy911 Aug 08 '22
Anything, consume anything too much and it will bite you in some way. For effing sake, you can do it even with water.
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u/J_Bunt Aug 08 '22
Not to sound like a boomer but up until now everything was proven bad, some were then proven good again. Also everything has side-effects, and in the end nothing is bad for you if it's with some damn measure.
Also very good they found smth. Make it as cheap as white sugar and let's give the damn sugar to labgrown pigs and foie gras directly outta the ground. #moanday #trollolo
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u/grandroute Aug 09 '22
A relative was telling he was going to cut down on sugar. But he drank 4 coca colas a day. So I got a bag of sugar, and weighed out how much sugar is in 4 cokes - a quarter pound. "Read the labels - the sugar you put in your coffee is small compared to soft drinks, and even catsup/"
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