Abstract
Despite the reduced caloric content of artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs) relative to those sweetened with sucrose, consumption of ASBs fail to consistently decrease the risk of obesity and associated diseases. This failure may be due to the inability of ASBs to effectively reduce appetite and hence overall caloric intake. A variety of non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS), however, remain to be screened for effectiveness in promoting satiety and reducing calorie consumption. Erythritol is well-tolerated, low-calorie sugar alcohol widely used as a sugar substitute. It is unique among NNS due to its low sweetness index relative to glucose, meaning that it is typically served at much higher concentrations than other common NNS. Animal and human studies have noted correlations between osmolarity, satiety, and levels of satiety hormones, independent of the effects of sweetness or nutritive value. We hypothesized that consumption of a beverage sweetened with erythritol to the sweetness and osmolarity of a common soft drink will improve self-reported satiety and more strongly affect the magnitude of changes in the hormone ghrelin than would an iso sweet beverage sweetened only with aspartame, a sweetener with a high sweetness index relative to glucose. Using a randomized double-blind crossover trial, we found that serum ghrelin was significantly decreased after consumption of an erythritol-sweetened beverage compared to aspartame. Likewise, consumption of the erythritol-sweetened beverage increased various measures of satiety in volunteers. Knowledge gained from this project demonstrates that high-osmolarity NNS may be useful in formulating ASBs that are satiating and low in calories.
Highlights
Low-calorie artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs) have been used in place of sucrose-sweetened drinks for decades, but their use is not typically associated with lower obesity rates, improved satiety, or modulation of physiologic satiety markers [1,2,3]
Using a randomized double-blind crossover trial, we found that serum ghrelin was significantly decreased after consumption of an erythritol-sweetened beverage compared to aspartame
Following administration of test beverages, collection of serum samples at various time-points, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) detection of total ghrelin, ghrelin suppression was compared between the aspartame and erythritol beverage groups
Summary
Low-calorie artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs) have been used in place of sucrose-sweetened drinks for decades, but their use is not typically associated with lower obesity rates, improved satiety, or modulation of physiologic satiety markers [1,2,3]. Glucose induces the release of satiety hormones and suppression of ghrelin, congruent with research indicating that satiety hormone modulation depends on many other factors besides taste [1,6]. Consumption of ASBs activates different neural reward pathways than the consumption of sucrosesweetened beverages [7]. Considering these findings, additional properties of NNS besides sweetness should be considered in predicting efficacy in satiety induction
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