Acute Response of Nutritive vs Non‐Nutritive Sweeteners in Sodas on Blood Glucose, Insulin and Levels of Satiety
Authors: Taylor Lem W. , Tinsley Grant , Zaragoza Javier W. , Urbina Stacie , Villa Katelyn , Tinnin Matthias W. , Foster Cliffa W. , Wilborn Colin W. 
Published: April 2020

Artificial sweeteners, both nutritive and non‐nutritive, are widely used in soft drinks and various food products in the United States. Claims have been made that non‐nutritive sweeteners used in a product like Diet Coke can have negative effects on blood sugar, satiety, and insulin release following consumption. However, the research on this is limited.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a popular soda brand, both regular and diet, on how acute ingestion of these products affects blood glucose, insulin, and satiety levels.

METHODS

Sixteen (age: 28.63 ± 5.55 yrs.; height: 169.75 ± 7.94 cm; weight: 84.65 ± 33.36 kg; body fat %: 19.49 ± 7.14 BF%; systolic BP: 115.94 ± 10.15 mm hg; diastolic BP: 68.97 ± 7.13 mm hg) males and females participated in this randomized, single‐blind crossover design. Participants reported to the lab fasted (10 hours) on two separate occasions and consumed either 24 fluid ounces of regular Coke (RC) or Diet Coke (DC) separated by one week. Fasting blood samples were obtained via venipuncture prior to consumption and participants remained in the lab in a rested state and had subsequent blood samples collected at 30, 60, 90 and 120‐minutes post‐ingestion. Satiety scale was administered at each time point prior to the blood collection. Glucose, insulin, and satiety were analyzed using 2 × 5 (condition × time) analysis of variance with repeated measures, follow‐up pairwise comparisons, and evaluation of partial eta‐squared (ηp2) effect sizes.

RESULTS

No variables differed between conditions at baseline. Condition × time interactions were present for glucose (p=0.0001, ηp2=0.45) and insulin (p=0.0001, ηp2=0.42), but not satiety (p=0.80, ηp2=0.02). A time main effect (p=0.004, ηp2=0.32) was present for satiety. Follow‐up testing indicated that glucose concentration was significantly elevated 30 minutes after RC ingestion as compared to DC ingestion ([mean difference ± SE] 28.0 ± 4.6 mg/dL; p <0.001), with no differences at other time points. In contrast, insulin concentrations were significantly higher at all post‐ingestion time points in the RC condition as compared to the DC condition (range: 3.6 ± 1.7 to 14.0 ± 1.7 μIU/mL; p ≤0.04 for all post‐ingestion time points). Satiety was significantly elevated at 30 minutes post‐ingestion (p=0.009) regardless of which drink was consumed but did not differ from baseline values for the remaining time points.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, it appears that acute ingestion of RC increases both blood glucose and insulin levels in the post absorptive period with no differential effects than DC on levels of satiety. The significant sustained elevation in circulating insulin levels following the ingestion of a sugar sweetened beverage could lead to a sub‐optimal acute metabolic environment. This data suggests that acute consumption of non‐nutritive sweetened beverages does not have negative effects on blood glucose, insulin, or appetite in a healthy population and seems to be a better alternative to nutritive sweetened beverage options.

Support or Funding Information

This study was supported by a Graduate Faculty Research Grant at the University of Mary Hardin‐Baylor.