Comparison of aspartame- and sugar-sweetened soft drinks on postprandial metabolism.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to compare the effects of artificially-sweetened (aspartame-containing) beverages versus sugar-sweetened beverages and water on postprandial fat and carbohydrate oxidation, blood glucose, and plasma insulin and triglyceride concentrations when consumed with a mixed meal.
Results Summary
The study found that artificially-sweetened beverages (Diet Coke) did not negatively impact postprandial metabolism, while sugar-sweetened beverages suppressed fat oxidation and increased carbohydrate oxidation compared to both artificially-sweetened beverages and water. Plasma insulin concentration was significantly lower after consuming the artificially-sweetened beverage compared to the sugar-sweetened one.
Population
Eight college-aged, healthy males.
Effective Dosage
20 oz of Diet Coke (AS) consumed with a mixed meal.
Duration
Acute effects measured over 180 minutes post-consumption.
Interactions
None mentioned.
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Diet-Coke (artificially-sweetened beverage) co-ingested with a mixed meal | increase | total fat oxidation | eight college-aged, healthy males | - | significantly higher | #1 |
Water co-ingested with a mixed meal | increase | total fat oxidation | eight college-aged, healthy males | - | significantly higher | #2 |
Diet-Coke (artificially-sweetened beverage) co-ingested with a mixed meal | decrease | total carbohydrate oxidation | eight college-aged, healthy males | - | significantly lower | #3 |
Water co-ingested with a mixed meal | decrease | total carbohydrate oxidation | eight college-aged, healthy males | - | significantly lower | #4 |
Diet-Coke (artificially-sweetened beverage) co-ingested with a mixed meal | decrease | plasma insulin concentration AUC | eight college-aged, healthy males | - | significantly lower | #5 |
Water co-ingested with a mixed meal | decrease | plasma insulin concentration AUC | eight college-aged, healthy males | - | trended lower | #6 |
Sugar-sweetened beverage (Coca-Cola) co-ingested with a mixed meal | decrease | fat oxidation | eight college-aged, healthy males | - | suppresses | #7 |
Sugar-sweetened beverage (Coca-Cola) co-ingested with a mixed meal | increase | carbohydrate oxidation | eight college-aged, healthy males | - | increases | #8 |
Artificially-sweetened beverage (Diet-Coke) co-ingested with a mixed meal | no change | postprandial metabolism | eight college-aged, healthy males | - | does not impact | #9 |
Aim: We compared the impact of artificially- and sugar-sweetened beverages co-ingested with a mixed meal on postprandial fat and carbohydrate oxidation, blood glucose, and plasma insulin and triglyceride concentrations. Methods: Eight college-aged, healthy males completed three randomly assigned trials, which consisted of a mixed macronutrient meal test with 20oz of Diet-Coke (AS), Coca-Cola (NS), or water (CON). One week separated each trial and each participant served as his own control. Resting energy expenditure (REE) via indirect calorimetry, blood pressure, and blood samples were obtained immediately before, 5, 10, 30, 60, 120, and 180 min after meal and beverage ingestion. A two-way (treatment × time) repeated-measures ANOVA was conducted to assess REE, fat and carbohydrate oxidation rates, blood glucose, and plasma insulin and triglyceride concentrations. Results: There was a significant main effect of treatment on total fat oxidation (P = 0.006), fat oxidation was significantly higher after AS (P = 0.006) and CON (P = 0.001) compared to following NS. There was a significant main effect of treatment on total carbohydrate oxidation (P = 0.005), carbohydrate oxidation was significantly lower after AS (P = 0.014) and CON (P = 0.001) compared to following NS. Plasma insulin concentration AUC was significantly lower after AS (P = 0.019) and trended lower in CON (P = 0.054) compared to following NS. Conclusion: Ingestion of a mixed meal with an artificially-sweetened beverage does not impact postprandial metabolism, whereas a sugar-sweetened beverage suppresses fat oxidation and increases carbohydrate oxidation compared to artificially-sweetened beverage and water.