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1c/gram of added sugar as a tax would be much more effective. The problem is that unnatural sweeteners produce a similar insulin response as sugar, and also di

1c/gram of added sugar as a tax would be much more effective. The problem is that unnatural sweeteners produce a similar insulin response as sugar, and also disrupt gut biota. We need to restrict sweeteners overall. As an addendum, if you're looking to lose fat, consume zero sugar: no sweets, no juice, no sweeteners, no added sugar in anything - is the most effective way to do it. You will have to inspect the labels of any processed food you buy though.

wpietri 7y ago
I cut out all refined carbs for a while and it was surprising to me how much my appetite changed. Normally I have a hard time leaving sugary things alone if they're nearby. But after a few weeks of not eating them, I just didn't care. I look forward to trying the experiment again soon.
- maxxxxx 7y ago
  I have done that too but somehow the habit seems to always come back. As it seems to have happened to you.
- specialist 7y ago
  It takes about 3 months for me to adapt to my paleo regiment. My hybrid of Dr Terry Wahls' Minding Your Mitochontria, Tim Ferriss' Four Hour Body, and calorie restriction. Works great for as long as I do it. Reverting takes about 1 week. My TLDR: It's super hard to avoid comfort food while in pain. Now that I've experienced this cause & effect a few times, I'm hoping to learn better strategies.
  - wpietri 7y ago
    Yeah, same. Stress reversion is a real thing.
roganartu 7y ago
> The problem is that unnatural sweeteners produce a similar insulin response as sugar Has this been demonstrated in humans? I've heard this many times before but have been unable to find any human studies to support it, and the mice studies I've seen often use ludicrously high dosages of the sweeteners.
- hedora 7y ago
  Yes, artificial sweeteners have repeatedly been shown to cause more weight gain than equivalent sugar, and human studies back that up. Here is a brief survey of studies showing the effect in humans: http://time.com/3746047/diet-soda-weight-gain/ http://time.com/3746047/diet-soda-weight-gain/
  - ebg13 7y ago
    > shown to cause more weight gain than equivalent sugar The article you link doesn't say that. First, almost nothing in it even talks about real sugar. Second, it specifically starts with in the first paragraph "doesn’t prove that diet drinks and artificial sweeteners cause weight gain" and then goes on to have more paragraphs of speculation on correlation. But nothing mentioned in that article demonstrates a causal effect, and definitely not more than equivalent sugar. There's a lot of "may be" and "may cause" in there. Emphasis on may.
  - roganartu 7y ago
    None of the studies in that survey actually support the claim I questioned though, which is specifically about insulin response in humans. Further, they don't even support your claim that artificial sweeteners cause _more_ weight gain than equivalent sugar. imo a big problem with these kinds of studies is the huge number of confounding factors. They tend to be studies that select participants who report drinking diet soda and those who report not drinking it, without taking into the account the fundamental lifestyle differences between the two. This is also why I'm interested in specific, measurable things that are known to cause problems, such as insulin response. It is very common for overweight people to replace sugary soda with diet soda without making any other lifestyle changes. It is unsurprising that this doesn't yield positive results over the long-term. People who report drinking no soda, diet or otherwise, are likely already leading healthier lifestyles than those who report drinking diet soda regularly. Without controlling for these factors properly all that's really being said is that "healthier lifestyles are better for controlling weight". I agree that diet soda is probably worse than no soda, but I haven't seen any evidence to support the idea that diet soda is worse than sugary soda when consumed in otherwise identical diets.
hombre_fatal 7y ago
The other problem is that even sugar-free sweeteners keep you suckling on the tit of sweetness addiction.

wpietri 7y ago

I cut out all refined carbs for a while and it was surprising to me how much my appetite changed. Normally I have a hard time leaving sugary things alone if they're nearby. But after a few weeks of not eating them, I just didn't care. I look forward to trying the experiment again soon.

maxxxxx 7y ago
I have done that too but somehow the habit seems to always come back. As it seems to have happened to you.
specialist 7y ago
It takes about 3 months for me to adapt to my paleo regiment. My hybrid of Dr Terry Wahls' Minding Your Mitochontria, Tim Ferriss' Four Hour Body, and calorie restriction. Works great for as long as I do it. Reverting takes about 1 week. My TLDR: It's super hard to avoid comfort food while in pain. Now that I've experienced this cause & effect a few times, I'm hoping to learn better strategies.
- wpietri 7y ago
  Yeah, same. Stress reversion is a real thing.

roganartu 7y ago

> The problem is that unnatural sweeteners produce a similar insulin response as sugar Has this been demonstrated in humans? I've heard this many times before but have been unable to find any human studies to support it, and the mice studies I've seen often use ludicrously high dosages of the sweeteners.

hedora 7y ago
Yes, artificial sweeteners have repeatedly been shown to cause more weight gain than equivalent sugar, and human studies back that up. Here is a brief survey of studies showing the effect in humans: http://time.com/3746047/diet-soda-weight-gain/ http://time.com/3746047/diet-soda-weight-gain/
- ebg13 7y ago
  > shown to cause more weight gain than equivalent sugar The article you link doesn't say that. First, almost nothing in it even talks about real sugar. Second, it specifically starts with in the first paragraph "doesn’t prove that diet drinks and artificial sweeteners cause weight gain" and then goes on to have more paragraphs of speculation on correlation. But nothing mentioned in that article demonstrates a causal effect, and definitely not more than equivalent sugar. There's a lot of "may be" and "may cause" in there. Emphasis on may.
- roganartu 7y ago
  None of the studies in that survey actually support the claim I questioned though, which is specifically about insulin response in humans. Further, they don't even support your claim that artificial sweeteners cause _more_ weight gain than equivalent sugar. imo a big problem with these kinds of studies is the huge number of confounding factors. They tend to be studies that select participants who report drinking diet soda and those who report not drinking it, without taking into the account the fundamental lifestyle differences between the two. This is also why I'm interested in specific, measurable things that are known to cause problems, such as insulin response. It is very common for overweight people to replace sugary soda with diet soda without making any other lifestyle changes. It is unsurprising that this doesn't yield positive results over the long-term. People who report drinking no soda, diet or otherwise, are likely already leading healthier lifestyles than those who report drinking diet soda regularly. Without controlling for these factors properly all that's really being said is that "healthier lifestyles are better for controlling weight". I agree that diet soda is probably worse than no soda, but I haven't seen any evidence to support the idea that diet soda is worse than sugary soda when consumed in otherwise identical diets.

hombre_fatal 7y ago

The other problem is that even sugar-free sweeteners keep you suckling on the tit of sweetness addiction.