Artificial Sweeteners Impact Glucose Absorption

Frequent consumption of artificial sweeteners found within diet drinks can affect the absorption of glucose, glycemic response, and the responses of glucagonlike peptide 1 (GLP-1), according to the results of a recent study.

Previous research has indicated habitual consumption of non-caloric artificial sweeteners (NAS) is associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, but the underlying mechanisms have not been established.
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For their study, researchers randomly assigned 27 healthy adults with average body mass index of 24 ± 1 kg/m² to dietary supplementation with an NAS combination or to placebo, taken as capsules 3 times a day before meals for 2 weeks.

Following an overnight fast, participants underwent non-sedated endoscopy incorporating a 30-minute intraduodenal glucose infusion (30 g/150ml, 3 kcal/min) and biopsy collection.

Overall, significantly increase glucose absorption at 90 to 120 minutes was observed in the NAS supplementation group. Plasma glucose levels also increased by 24% in the NAS group, compared with placebo, and the NAS group had a 34% attenuated GLP-1 response compared with the placebo group.

“This study supports the concept that NAS have a deleterious impact on acute glycemic control, and highlights the potential for exaggerated postprandial glycemic excursions in high habitual NAS consumers, which could predispose to type 2 diabetes,” the researchers concluded.

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Young RL, Isaacs NJ, Schober G, et al. Impact of artificial sweeteners on glycaemic control in healthy humans [presented at theEuropean Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) 2016 Annual Meeting]. September 14, 2017, Lisbon, Portugal. Abstract 193.