In the last decade, neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman has gained a lot of popularity among health enthusiasts. He regularly uploads podcast videos where he talks with guests on health and other topics. In the latest episode of Huberman Lab, he invited endocrinologist Dr. Robert Lustig. One of the topics they discussed was how non-caloric sweeteners impact one’s health.
Diabetes and obesity are the most common and probably among the most chronic health diseases in America. While working out remains one solution, shifting to a healthy diet is probably the most fundamental thing to do to fight these diseases. And when people try to do that, craving sugar and sugary products hits hard. To cater to this problem, some companies have come up with artificial sweeteners, or non-caloric sweeteners, that claim that they taste just like sugar but have no calories or downsides that sugar brings.
Dr. Robert Lustig touched upon this and debunked a big myth. Huberman and Lustig discussed whether or not artificial sweeteners help reduce fat. And the answer was very surprising, to say the least.
“So, when people go on diet sweeteners, what are they doing? Are they really reducing the fat? And the answer is, no.”
Dr. Lustig pointed out that any sort of sweetener, or, in a broader category, non-caloric sweetener, like aspartame, sucralose, stevia, monk fruit, or allulose, does not help in reducing weight. Hearing this, Huberman was also shocked, as he had also been consuming stevia for a long time. After seeing some studies, the Stanford professor was of the belief that dieters who drank water only as their main liquid vs. those who consumed diet sodas with typically aspartame or stevia had very different results and believed the latter group actually lost more weight.
But soon, he got a reality check from Dr. Lustig. The endocrinologist noted that there is fat deposition on the liver because of the insulin response from the artificial sweeteners. Mentioning a study that took place in Copenhagen in which 100 normal individuals participated, Dr. Lustig explained the whole thing in depth.
Dr. Lustig shocks Dr. Andrew Huberman with the results of the study done on diet soda
The endocrinologist stated that the participants were divided into four groups of 25 each and were studied for six months. The groups were divided based on their primary liquid consumption. One group had to consume one liter of sugared soda each day. Similarly, the second had to drink one liter of diet soda. Whereas, the third and fourth groups were asked to drink one liter of full-fat milk and one liter of water for six months.
The results for the two groups (sugared soda and water groups) came as expected. One group had an interesting but, more so, an expected result. But one group gave absolutely unexpected results.
“The one liter of soda per day in six months gained 10 kilos… The one liter of water per day lost two kilos… Also, no surprise, those were the easy ones.”
The group that drank milk saw no changes in weight. But the group that consumed diet soda saw an increase in weight of 2 kilos. Though Huberman expected the weight loss of this group to be greater than that of the water group, the result jolted him.
“One liter of milk per day, no change… And finally, the key the kicker to the whole thing, diet soda—one liter of diet soda. What would you predict their weight would do?… They gained two kilos.“
The reason for this result was that these sweeteners generated an insulin response, which, in turn, generated more hunger and ultimately increased weight. So, it wasn’t as bad as the sugared soda, but in no way was it better than water when it comes to dieting or losing weight.
Dr. Lustig and Dr. Huberman made it clear that, though artificial sweeteners or diet sodas did not lead to exceptional weight gain like sugared soda, in no way did they help in reducing weight. So, people who have diabetes or have weight issues might need to rethink their soda and liquid preferences.
