Effect of Acute Consumption of Artificially Sweetened Beverages on Blood Glucose and Insulin in Healthy Subjects

Abstract

Introduction: Non-caloric artificial sweeteners (NAS) consumption may not be safe for health. Several cohort studies have found a positive association between consumption of artificially sweetened beverages (ASB) with weight gain chronic non-communicable diseases. Therefore, it is of interest to study the effect of the consumption of NAS on glucose and insulin response in different conditions.Aim: To determine the effect of acute NAS consumption on blood glucose and insulin curves in healthy people.Methods: A randomized double-blind clinical trial was conducted in 9 apparently healthy subjects who were randomly assigned to drink one can of ASB and one can of sugar sweetened beverages (SSB) and repeated under identical conditions for 3 times each beverage. Blood glucose and insulin levels were measured in the fasted state and during 180 min after the ingestion of the beverage. Areas Under the Curve (AUC) for glucose and insulin were calculated for the values above baseline for the 3 hour period following the drink intake. Within and between coefficients of variation were calculated.Results: The ASB beverage induced a significantly lower area under the curve (AUC) for plasma glucose (87 ± 182 mg* min/dl) and plasma insulin (36 ± 50 μ UI * min/ml) compared with the SSB drink (glucose 954 ± 669 mg * min/dl and insulin 1738 ± 887 μ UI * min/ml) p <0.05.Conclusion: The acute consumption of NAS in carbonated beverages, under fasting conditions, does not produce change in blood glucose or insulin in healthy subjects.