The following is a transcript of a tiny 6 minute portion of a video interview by YouTuber at Growth Minds, Sean Kim with Dr. Robert Lustig of SUGAR: THE BITTER TRUTH fame.
People think they can eat whatever they want as long as they use stevia in their coffee, or order the diet soda. That’s utter nonsense. Here’s why:
The Scary New Research on Sugar and How It Causes Disease — Dr. Robert Lustig
SEAN KIM: 14.14
Um, moving on to this related note around artificial sweeteners — seems to be the trend, now, right — zero sugar — that’s the marketing label that they put — and then they would end up putting a bunch of artificial sweeteners in it.
What are your thoughts on — in general — are there safe artificial sweeteners that are okay, if we were to chew it from gum, drinks, snacks…?
DR. LUSTIG: 14.39
Alright, so everybody wants to know about artificial sweeteners — everybody.
And, I can make it a short answer, and I can make it a long answer. So, let me do both.
SEAN KIM: 14.50
You can make it a long answer.
DR. LUSTIG: 14.51
Okay. The short answer is artificial sweeteners don’t have fructose, and they don’t have calories. So, that sounds like they should be good.
Well, they’re better than sugar, but they’re not good. Okay?
Half as bad. How’s that? Artificial sweeteners are half as bad. But, half as bad does not make them good. It makes them half as bad.
So, the data on artificial sweeteners — the toxicity of one Coca Cola — equals the toxicity of two Diet Coca Colas. Half as bad.
SEAN KIM: 15.29
Wow. Just literally half. Yeah.
DR. LUSTIG: 15.30
Okay? But, the problem is people who drink Diet Coca Cola think ‘I can have ten Diet Coca Colas’. So now, it’s five times as bad.
So, that’s what it comes down to. Now, the question, of course is, well, if there’s no fructose, and there’s no calories, how can it be bad at all? That’s what people want to know. And, the answer is because artificial sweeteners have other things wrong with them.
Number one, they still generate an insulin response. And, the insulin drives chronic metabolic disease.
Number two, they alter the microbiome — the bacteria in the intestine — and they are…have been shown, now, in two separate studies, to alter gut permeability, and lead to what we call leaky gut, which leads to systemic inflammation.
And, number three, there are receptors for artificial sweeteners on adipocytes — on fat cells. And so, if they get into your bloodstream, they might still also cause fat deposition, irrespective of calories or insulin [*I think he meant to say irrespective of calories or fructose, but I’m not sure.]
So, there are a couple of reasons to be very concerned about artificial sweeteners.
Um, if you are a sugar addict, and you are using artificial sweeteners to try to wean off sugar, then that’s a good thing. Just the same way methadone is a, you know, treatment for heroine addiction.
But, the fact is, you know, it would be better to de-sweeten your lives in the first place.
SEAN KIM: 17.15
Yeah, it’s kinda like vaping, instead of…just to nicker off your smoking habits.
DR. LUSTIG: 17.22
Turns out vaping is almost as bad as smoking. We now know that there are all these chemicals in vaping materials, that are actually put there on purpose, and cause harm. So, you know, people who think they’re getting away with something by vaping are sorely mistaken.
SEAN KIM: 17.41
Yeah, I also wonder about the psychology of that, because if people aren’t aware — and I think this is why these interviews are really helpful — to be aware that these zero added sugars are actually more dangerous, because things like vaping — kids, people that are trying to get off of smoking — they actually do it a lot more.
So, the consumption that they get is actually way higher than if they know they’re smoking, because they think it’s bad.
Same thing with sugar, they’re drinking these Diet Cokes probably more often.
Yeah, so — and is it a one-for-one in terms of how — the negative impacts of it — so, for example, someone that is consuming a lot of sugar, ah, you mentioned that it’s half as bad, right, verses artificial sweeteners. Is it affecting the same parts of our body, one-to-one, it’s just — except that it’s maybe less harmful when it’s artificial sweeteners, or is it affecting different parts of our bodies?
DR. LUSTIG: 18.46
Well, the insulin response still occurs. That’s the key.
Um, you know, you’d say, well gee, we didn’t consume sugar, why are we getting an insulin response?
The answer is the sweet taste generates the insulin response.
You put something sweet on the tongue, the message goes tongue-to-brain, sugar is coming. Message goes brain-to-pancreas, sugar’s coming, release the insulin.
But, it was a diet sweetener, it wasn’t sugar — pancreas doesn’t know that — it still releases the insulin.
And, because of that, it still foments weight gain — and it still leads to changes in the vascular, and changes in glandular tissue, and changes in the brain that lead to chronic metabolic disease.
So, anything that makes insulin go up ultimately turns out to be bad for you long term. And, diet sweeteners, even though they’re not calories, even though they’re not sugar, still make insulin go up. [*And, insulin is your fat storing hormone.]
SEAN KIM: 19.51
Yeah.
END./