Sweeteners - Friend or Foe?

Artificial sweeteners have long been available, as a way to sweeten drinks and food while avoiding the calorie impact of sugar.  Recently, sweeteners have been on the hot seat, as it has been questioned whether these chemicals are friend or foe in the battle of the bulge.


There are several sweeteners currently available (as blogged previously), and the first thing that bears saying is that each of these chemicals is a very different compound, so the effects of each one could be different.   (to jump over the scientific part of this discussion, skip to The Bottom Line below)

Interestingly, in recent years, we have learned that sweeteners can activate not only the sweet receptors in our mouths, but also in our intestines and our pancreas (though it's only the receptors in our mouths that give us the feeling of eating something sweet).  It has therefore been suggested that artificial sweeteners may have an effect on the production of appetite regulating hormones, leading to weight gain.

As recently reviewed, some 'test tube' (in vitro) studies have shown that artificial sweeteners can affect the production of appetite hormones from gut cells, while other test tube studies have shown no effect.  In human and animal studies, most have NOT shown an effect of sweeteners on appetite hormones.  Thus, overall, the research suggests that sweeteners do not have an effect on appetite - though the research is far from complete, and there is still a lot of ongoing study in this area. 

In addition, several studies have shown that a higher consumption of sweeteners is linked with a higher risk of obesity.  However, what these studies are not able to separate is whether higher sweetener consumption is seen in people who are overweight because they are drinking the sweeteners in an attempt to lose the weight, or whether the sweeteners are actually causing the weight struggle.   There is much research being actively done in the area to give us an answer to this question.

The Bottom Line: As it stands now, there is not enough evidence to convince us that sweeteners lead to weight gain, while the evidence that excess sugar leads to weight gain is very clear.  There are many excellent clinical trials underway in this area, which will hopefully give us more clarity on the subject.

Dr Sue Pedersen www.drsue.ca © 2012 drsuetalks@gmail.com

Follow me on Twitter for daily tips! @drsuepedersen

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Bisphenol A Exposure from Canned Soup

There is mounting evidence that exposure to a widely used chemical called bisphenol A is associated with an increased risk of obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome.  A recent study reveals that eating canned soup for just 5 days can dramatically increase exposure to this potentially dangerous chemical.

Bisphenol A is a widely used chemical, found in a variety of products ranging from plastics to cash register receipts.  Most of our exposure is thought to be through food; in addition to being present in many water bottles and plastic food storage containers, it is also present in the interior epoxy coatings of many canned goods used to prevent corrosion.

The study was eloquently simple.  Seventy-five students and staff at the Harvard School of Public Health were each asked to eat soup for lunch for 5 consecutive days, and were randomly assigned to eating either canned soup, versus homemade soup from scratch. The following week, they ate soup each day for lunch once again, but they ate the opposite kind of soup from what they had eaten the week previously (researchers: thereby providing a randomized, single blinded, crossover design). 

The results were, in my opinion, quite astonishing: the researchers found that the bisphenol A levels in the urine were nearly twenty times higher after a week of canned soup consumption, compared to after homemade soup consumption.  Further, the urine bisphenol A levels after the canned food week were 60% higher than the higher end of urine bisphenol A levels noted in the general population. 

The study did not test the bisphenol A levels in the blood, so we don’t know if these people quickly cleared the bisphenol A from their systems, or whether the bisphenol A levels in their blood or other tissues was also elevated, or for how long.  That being said, the study does clearly show that just 5 days of eating canned soup dramatically increases exposure to this potentially harmful compound. 

Let’s hope that this study gives an extra push towards using bisphenol A – free linings to canned goods, as well as yet another reason to cook and enjoy healthy food made at home!  

Thanks to my friend and colleague Jon for pointing out this study!

Dr Sue Pedersen www.drsue.ca © 2012

drsuetalks@gmail.com 

Follow me on Twitter for daily tips! @drsuepedersen 

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Abuse in Childhood Increases Risk of Obesity in Adulthood

The struggle with weight is very complex, and goes so much deeper than simply a balance between calories in and calories out. For many people, there is an emotional contributor to the weight struggle, and for some, a history of abuse in their childhood.

An ongoing study called the ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) study has done much to educate us on the important relationship between childhood abuse and obesity later in life.  This study, which includes data from over 17,000 people, is one of the largest studies ever conducted to help us understand the associations between childhood maltreatment, and health and wellbeing later in life.

The obesity substudy surveyed adults by mail about their first 18 years of life, and looked for associations between their answers and their body weight as adults.

An alarming two thirds of the study population reported some sort of abuse during their childhood years.  Physical and verbal abuse were most strongly associated with obesity.  People who reported being 'often hit and injured' had a 40% increased risk of obesity.  Furthermore, the risk of obesity was higher with the number of different types, and severity, of abuse.

This study shows us that some people's struggles with obesity may be deeply rooted in a history of abuse in their childhood.  It is of the utmost importance for health care providers to do everything they can to help people identify, understand, and manage these complex and serious issues.

Taken as a whole, the ACE study suggest that certain childhood experiences such as abuse, neglect, and family dysfunction are risk factors for several illnesses as well as poor quality of life.  The ACE study is still ongoing, and is now looking at the relationship between these childhood experiences, the use of health care resources, and causes of death.

As the ACE study website notes: Progress in preventing and recovering from the nation's worst health and social problems is likely to benefit from understanding that many of these problems arise as a consequence of adverse childhood experiences.

Thank you to my friend and colleague, Margaret, for bringing this important study to my attention.

Dr Sue Pedersen www.drsue.ca © 2012 drsuetalks@gmail.com

Follow me on Twitter for daily tips! @drsuepedersen 

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