Diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in the United States in 2006, according to the National Institutes of Health, and it's also one of the greatest factors causing disability. Many diabetics are aware that consuming sugary sodas can increase their blood sugar levels, but diet sodas may not be harmless, either. New research is showing that even diet drinks can have a negative impact on the health of diabetics and even non-diabetics.
History
In 1879, a researcher at Johns Hopkins University discovered saccharin after noticing that a derivative of coal tar he'd accidentally spilled on his hand tasted sweet. Saccharin quickly became a food sweetener and was used in both World Wars to help compensate for sugar rationing. Diet drinks using saccharin were developed in the 1950s, although after the FDA proposed a ban on saccharin due to studies that suggested it may cause cancer, other artificial sweeteners soon came on the market, leading to a boom in diet drinks.
Definitions
Blood sugar levels are a way of measuring how well your body uses glucose, a type of sugar that's the main energy supply for cells. In diabetics, this process is interrupted, keeping blood sugar levels higher than normal after meals. Although Type 1 diabetes is inherited, Type 2 diabetes can be caused by factors like obesity and diet.
Types
Artificial sweeteners include saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame potassium and sucralose. There's also another class of sweeteners called sugar alcohols--carbohydrates with a structure resembling both sugar and alcohol--that includes maltitol, sorbitol, isomalt and xylitol. Stevia is a non-sugar product extracted from the leaves of a plant in the chrysanthemum family.
Significance
Most diet drinks don't raise blood sugar, although sugar alcohols can increase your blood sugar level. However, although diet sodas don't directly raise blood glucose, research such as the long-term Framingham Heart Study have found that if you drink diet soda daily, you have an increased risk for developing Type 2 diabetes as well as metabolic syndrome, a term used to describe the combination of high blood pressure, abnormal blood lipid levels, insulin resistance and excess abdominal fat.
Warning
Even though most artificial sweeteners don't affect blood sugar levels, some foods containing artificial sweeteners can still affect blood sugar due to other ingredients in the foods like carbohydrates. Also, one of the complications of diabetes is kidney disease. In a study of over 3,000 women at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, researchers found a link between women who drank two or more artificially sweetened soft drinks a day and declining kidney function.
References
- Mayo Clinic: Can I use artificial sweeteners if I have diabetes?
- "Wall Street Journal": Exploring a Surprising Link Between Obesity and Diet Soda
- Alzheimer's Organization: Blood Sugar
- Diabetes Care: Diet soda intake and risk of incident metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis
- National Public Radio: A Bitter 'Sweet' Family History
