I eat a low-carb diet and enjoy good results. I basically function in keto all the time. The thing is, a lot of people are so aggressive against artificial sweeteners - do they have any solid evidence to fall back on?<p>A common argument I hear is 'I have normal coke because at least my body knows what to do with the sugar!'<p>This to me is narrow minded. The human body didn't evolve in conditions including an abundance of high-fructose corn syrup so No. Your body does not know what to do with it. Type 2 diabetes is a fine example of the body not knowing what to do with it.<p>I don't want to let go of my artificially sweetened coffees - any solid empirical evidence in either direction would be much appreciated!
MD (but not an endocrinologist) here.<p>My family and I have been on a low carb diet for years now. I frequently do literature searches on the topic, and the scientific evidence remains less than perfect for just about anything nutrition related.<p>In talking to metabolism people over the years, the bad artificial sweeteners theories go something like this. When you taste something sweet, your body prepares itself for true sugar. When you don't input the sugar to the body, you become hungry faster. Additionally, when you repeatedly use artificial sugars, you may decrease your sensitivity to the actual sweet taste. Thus, once again, subconsciously you end up eating more sweet things (and thus more calories) to make things taste better.<p>Anecdotally, I believe I see this. When I drink a diet beverage, I end up getting very hungry soon afterwards. Additionally, when I drop all diet beverages for a while, I notice that things such as veggies taste sweeter. But you asked for empirical evidence. Here are the latest articles that I've noticed...<p>Diet beverages increased risk of diabetes in middle-aged men. <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23575771" rel="nofollow">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23575771</a><p>fMRI shows the process of taste is altered in chronic diet soda drinkers. <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22583859" rel="nofollow">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22583859</a><p>Sugar and diet sodas associated with stroke. <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22492378" rel="nofollow">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22492378</a>
I've looked into it and couldn't find any hard evidence linking artificial sweetener to cancer, alzeimers, or other problems. Sure there may be side effects, but so far they are undocumented.<p>Sugar, on the other hand, is one of the most toxic substances we know, with proven links to diabetes, alzheimers, and other ailments. I'll take my chances with Aspartame!
Recent and past research has linked sweeteners to obesity, diabetes, and even heart disease. Some studies show it results in larger weight gain than consuming sugar.<p>In addition to those, substances like sodium cyclamate and aspartame have been linked to cancer after being considered 'safe' for decades. Who knows when they'll declare the same for neotame and other new sweeteners? If only xilitol made from bark was cheaper...<p>I think the conclusion is that there is no magic formula for eating sweets without the consequences, avoiding refined sugar, high-fructose and similar stuff is the way to keep healthy and out of trouble.<p>ps: stevia is probably safe, but I find it has too much of a bitter aftertaste.
There's the documentary Sweet Misery, that goes into some first hand accounts and history of aspertaime's effects and shady approval... <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owtF2nt2VX4" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owtF2nt2VX4</a><p>I can say for myself I had felt the bad effects of diet soda and now keep clear of it. Maybe it varies based on different folk's physiology? I know people who chug the stuff at work and seem to do well. But it's good to be aware of the symptoms in case you start feeling sick.
I wouldn't worry about. Personally, I drink Diet Coke (nectar of the gods). I don't think there has ever been a study on humans with a link to any cancer or specific issues. They have shown in rodents a link to cancer. However, the amount relative to body weight that the rodents were given was extreme. Anything in the extreme amounts in the studies is bound to cause problems. As they say, too much of anything is a bad thing. I bet they could link cancer to any chemical, mineral, supplement, etc in such quantities.<p>Here are 2 studies:<p><a href="http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/15/9/1654.full?ijkey=ac6c97b1ce31ada1c45888d3101fd0b9d5901fe7" rel="nofollow">http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/15/9/1654.full?ijkey=ac...</a><p><a href="http://annonc.oxfordjournals.org/content/18/1/40.full" rel="nofollow">http://annonc.oxfordjournals.org/content/18/1/40.full</a><p>My honest humble opinion is don't worry about. Drink your sweetened coffee and Diet Coke if you enjoy it. I believe I read some where that sweeteners are the most studied elements in the world and if there was a problem, a serious problem, I think it would have been known by now.