The brain may not be fooled by sugar substitutes

Los Angeles Times ^ | August 31, 2009 | Douglas Fox

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

As the palette of artificial sweeteners has grown and manufacturers have honed the skill with which they blend them to mimic sugar taste, debate has swirled around whether these sensory stand-ins really help people consume fewer calories and avoid weight gain.

New research adds another dimension to the uncertainty: It suggests that even when artificial sweeteners fool the taste buds, they still don't fool the ultimate arbiter of our appetites -- our subconscious brains.

The latest evidence for this comes from a brain scanning study performed in the Netherlands. Paul Smeets, a neuroscientist at University Medical Center Utrecht, used a technique called functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure brain responses in people sipping two versions of orangeade, one containing sugar and one containing a mix of four artificial sweeteners: aspartame, acesulfame K, cyclamate and saccharin.

The mixture of artificial sweeteners was concocted to match the taste of real sugar as closely as possible. And the sugary and artificial drinks were administered on different days -- making it harder for the tasters to notice any difference between the two. Subjects often guessed wrong on which drink was which. "They didn't know," Smeets says.

Yet the fMRI scans revealed consistent differences in how their brains responded.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

fyi

[mysterio]

I don’t buy into demonizing artificial sweeteners. I dropped 100 pounds, and aspartame and sucralose helped me out a lot. Your results may vary.

[Obadiah]

I’ve heard of this possibility before. I’ll wait for the double-blind tests.

[Joiseydude]

One word: TRUVIA

[null and void]

My results do vary. Aspartame makes me VERY depressed. Sucralose is good, acesulfame K is better.

And the dutch got cyclamates???

I want some!!!!

[null and void]

Truvia? I don’t know that bit of trivia.

[Joiseydude]

http://www.truvia.com/

[neverdem]

thanks, bfl

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

It's organic...

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

FDA Clears Use of Herb as Sweetener

New York, NY [December 18, 2008]

The Food and Drug Administration has declared a natural zero-calorie sweetener derived from the herb stevia safe for use in foods and beverages, clearing a path for Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo Inc. and other companies to market it in a variety of products.

Read more: Wall Street Journal

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

See #5 and followons...

[GraceG]

Stevia is supposed to have a anti-diabetic effect in that it increases the effectiveness of insulin.

[neverdem]

FReepmail me if you want on or off the diabetes ping list. No luck with the fMRI study.

Sip size of orangeade: effects on intake and sensory-specific satiation.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Wouldn’t that be huge news....any studies....?

[null and void]

To me stevia has an unpleasant taste.

Perhaps a more purified version would taste better?

Hope so...

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Wikipedia Info:

Stevia

[GOP Poet]

yes. I found it helpful for me as well in keeping my weight in check. Since my body reacts instantly to 'real' sugar in any form (immediately goes into hypercraving mode both conscious and at times unconscious), I use the artificial sweetners in items such as my morning coffee. It doesn't add calories, nor does it set off cravings and I also use sugar free Coffee Mate creamer with french vanilla flavoring and I feel like I have a satisfying sweet creamy coffee with low calories and move on with my day with no sugar cravings.

All these studies often overlook pragmatic daily use and successes. I am thinking about the silly study published recently about how exercise doesn't work to lose weight or whatever silly thing it was. Just not reality at all.

Congratulations on your weight loss! What a fantastic success!! Good for you!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Stevia is a genus of about 240 species of herbs and shrubs in the sunflower family (Asteraceae), native to subtropical and tropical South America and Central America. The species Stevia rebaudiana, commonly known as sweetleaf, sweet leaf, sugarleaf, or simply stevia, is widely grown for its sweet leaves. As a sweetener and sugar substitute, stevia's taste has a slower onset and longer duration than that of sugar, although some of its extracts may have a bitter or licorice-like aftertaste at high concentrations.

With its extracts having up to 300 times the sweetness of sugar, stevia has garnered attention with the rise in demand for low-carbohydrate, low-sugar food alternatives. Medical research has also shown possible benefits of stevia in treating obesity and high blood pressure. Because stevia has a negligible effect on blood glucose, it is attractive as a natural sweetener to people on carbohydrate-controlled diets. However, health and political controversies have limited stevia's availability in many countries; for example, the United States banned it in the early 1990s unless labeled as a supplement. Stevia is widely used as a sweetener in Japan, and it is now available in Canada as a dietary supplement.

Rebiana is a trade name for a zero-calorie sweetener containing mainly the steviol glycoside rebaudioside A (Reb-A), which is extracted from stevia.^[1] Truvia is the consumer brand for a sweetener made of erythritol, Rebiana and natural flavors^[2] marketed by Cargill and developed jointly with The Coca-Cola Company.^[3][4] In December 2008, the United States Food and Drug Administration permitted Reb A based sweeteners as food additives.^[5] PureVia is the PepsiCo and Merisant brand of Reb A.^[6]

[GOP Poet]

To me stevia has an unpleasant taste.

I found Stevia tastes good in something and not in others. For instance it tastes great in hot and cold teas. Yet it alters the taste in others and is not as pleasing.