Nutrition Nugget: 0 Calorie (Zero Calorie) Drinks

[00:00:36] And I'll share with you what many people talk about when they referenced this study and talk about this study. And then I'll share my thoughts and some findings from seeking out the actual study, you know, as it was written up. So. As I've heard it discussed, they say it was a hundred normal individuals divided into four groups, and [00:01:00] then for six months, one group had a liter of sugary soda per day.

[00:01:25] At the end of the six months, the group with the soda gained 10 kilos, which is about 22 pounds. The water group lost two kilos, which is about 4.4 pounds. The milk group saw no change at all. The Diet Soda Group. Jennifer, what do you think happened to the Diet Soda Group? They gained more weight than the regular soda group.

[00:02:17] Remember the old Eat less, move more? Yeah. Well, you know, if you're a long time listener of Salad with a side of fries, you know this isn't the case. If you've read Uncomplicating Wellness, you know this isn't the case. Still though, the question is what causes the issue? Like why is it that this zero calorie thing still creates this weight gain over time?

[00:03:04] Now, we talked about this before. I think it was in one of our electrolytes, nutrition nuggets. Maybe it was IQ mix. I'll explain it a little bit here. You can go back to that episode. But essentially like sweet flavors on the tongue signal the brain. The brain then signals the pancreas to release insulin because a sweet flavor.

[00:03:48] Now, one thing could happen is that our blood sugar then starts to drop and we get a craving, or we get hungry and then we're eating. The other possibility is that it can signal you get a hormone called [00:04:00] glucagon, which then signals the liver to release its stored glucose. And now again, we're burning glucose instead of, you know, ideally fat as fuel.

[00:04:32] A lot of times it's sugar cravings because our body says I need fuel. And the fastest way to get fuel is something higher glycemic, something that's fast fuel, right? And that's sugar. So it can potentially have this group of people increasing their daily food intake. So where does this get us? Right? I agree with both of these answers.

[00:05:16] And so even things that are. Zero calorie sweeteners can keep us addicted to that sweet taste, and that's real. And that can then further create more and more cravings for those sweet flavors. And. All of this, when I first heard it, I, it felt deeply validating, you know? Yeah. And because I feel like I experienced this myself and clients over the years, right, have experienced this too.

[00:06:12] Here's what's interesting because it's not quite exactly as everybody who talks about it says. So. Everybody who talks about it says it was a hundred people. Well, in the actual study that I found, it was six and they said a hundred normal quote unquote people. What I found it was 60 non-diabetic subjects with A BMI.

[00:07:06] Okay. Yeah. I mean, which is pretty high, frankly. You know? That's high. Yeah. Yeah. That's why I wanted you to clarify. Yeah, exactly. So from there, it seems like 47 subjects actually completed the study. It was a mix of male and female bodies. So that happens a lot where like you start up, some people don't comply or they drop out, or they don't do all the things that they were supposed to do in the study or whatever.

[00:07:50] I will point out of the people who completed the study, they were not equally assigned to the four groups between men and women. I don't know if they were originally, but in those [00:08:00] who completed, they weren't. There were more men in the regular soda group and more women in the other three groups. The study's findings as they draw their conclusions were really more about focusing on the impact of the sugar soda drinks and their impact relative to the others.

[00:08:41] I also think this doesn't necessarily mean that the diet soda experience can be downplayed or ignored. Yeah. And the other piece, so there were more women in the Diet Soda Group and that made me wonder, again, given my experience and that with my [00:09:00] clients and that I see all the time. I wonder if this means that biologically female bodies are more susceptible to these artificial sweeteners in the cola.

[00:09:37] You know, like I said, I think their original comparison was about the sugared soda versus the diet. The piece that I like to talk about it for and what all these experts talk about it for is that when we think about zero calorie drinks, we just wanna recognize that there is an impact of the ingredients that are there.

[00:10:08] Jennifer: I find that very interesting and I, it makes me want to like figure more out about that study. Like how many women and men were in each category, how many of each dropped out, because I just realized there's a lot of factors that go along with that.

[00:10:38] Jenn Trepeck: Yeah. I am not a milk fan, I don't think. If I was assigned to that group, I would participate. I've been a dropout real fast. Exactly. Sorry. Exactly. Yeah. And also like why was milk the other thing that they chose, like, and also, which on a serious note, I found it interesting that there was no change. Like they just didn't gain or lose.

[00:11:14] Yeah. I'll link to the study for anybody who wants to dig into it and see how many people were in each group and all that. Some of that stuff is just harder to do in audio. Yeah. You know? Yeah, for sure. So in however many minutes you wrap it up. Exactly. Exactly. Well, as always, everybody, I'm your host, Jenn Trepeck.

[00:11:50] Jennifer, thank you again for joining me for this one. Thank you. It was great. Had fun. And I learned a lot. Yay. That's the best. And of course, everybody, if you are not [00:12:00] already a member, I invite you to the Happy Healthy Hub. You'll go to a salad or the side of fries.com/membership. This shows you support for this podcast, this community.

[00:12:29] Congratulations for making yourself and your health a priority. Thanks so much for joining us. Be sure to click subscribe or follow on your favorite podcast platform. Share us with a friend and we'll be back next week. Always remember you deserve it and you are worth it. Happy, healthy.