The skinny on artificial sweeteners and weight gain

1
The skinny on artificial sweeteners and weight
gain

• Presented by Ann Cohen
• and Jessica Kovarik

2
Taste how

• Groups of taste cells on papillae (bumps)
• Chemical binds with taste cell
• Depolarization of nerve fibers ? action potential
  to brain
• Adaptation of nerve transmittion

3
Taste what and why

• 5 tastes salty, sour, bitter, umami, and sweet
• No longer taste zones
• Taste and survival
• Avoid bitter
• Seek out sweet

4
Sweetness abounds

• Sugar Carbohydrates
• Simple and complex
• Main source of energy (4 calories per gram)
• Occur naturally in foods and added to foods
• Simple sugars
• Sucrose glucose fructose
• Table sugar
• Lactose glucose galactose
• Dairy
• Maltose glucose glucose
• Germinating grains

5
Sweetness abounds

• Other natural sweeteners
• Honey, molasses, maple syrup, corn syrup, high
  fructose corn syrup
• Sugar alcohols or polyols, such as mannitol,
  sorbitol, isomalt

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Sweet energy

• Nutritive sweeteners
• Contain calories
• Honey, HFCS, table sugar, maple syrup, etc.
• Nonnutritive sweeteners
• Reduced or no calories
• Sugar alcohols and artificial sweeteners

7
Getting 111 artificial sweeteners

• Low-calorie sweeteners
• Sweet taste with fewer or no calories
• Food and Drug Administration approval
• Six intense, low-calorie sweeteners
• Saccharin SweetN Low/Sugar Twin
• Acesulfame potassium (Ace-K)
• Aspartame
• Neotame
• Sucralose - Splenda
• Tagatose

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Getting 111 artificial sweeteners

• Sucralose aka Splenda
• Heat stable use for baking
• 3 chlorine atoms instead of hydroxyl groups
• 600 times sweeter than sugar
• Created from sugar, so tastes similar to sugar
• Body not able to break it down

9
Getting 111 artificial sweeteners

• Stevia
• Natural sweetener extracted from plants
• Not FDA approved, so sold as a supplement
• Body cannot metabolize, so no calories
• Studies inconclusive about safety some show no
  adverse reactions, others suggest smaller
  offspring

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Rumor has it sugar causes

• Cavities
• Contact time of bacteria, not type of food leads
  to decay
• i.e. bread can be worse than caramel
• Hyperactivity
• No scientific research to support
• Is it the sugar or the environment?
• May have a calming affect

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Rumor has it sugar causes

• Diabetes
• Important to monitor to control diabetes
• Obesity
• Energy imbalance leads to weight gain

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High fructose corn syrup

• What is it?
• Corn starch converted to glucose
• Glucose isomerized by enzymes to 42 or 55
  fructose
• Named high fructose to distinguish from glucose
  corn syrup
• Sweet taste, low cost, easy to use resulting in
  wide use
• Soft drinks, fruit drinks, baked goods,
• processed foods, dairy products

13
High fructose corn syrup

• Media claims HFCS causes obesity
• Increase in obesity coincides with increased HFCS
  use
• i.e. added to soft drinks in early 1980s
• But obesity also problematic in countries where
  HFCS use is not as prevalent

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High fructose corn syrup

• Media claims HFCS causes obesity
• Fructose converts to fat easier than glucose
• Absorbed at different site by different mechanism
• Any fructose metabolized same
• HFCS vs. sucrose
• Fructose metabolized differently than glucose
  once in the cell

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Fructose verses glucose

• Insulin
• Glucose causes insulin to be released
• Fructose does not stimulate insulin release
• Satiety
• Glucose used by the brain and helps sense satiety

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Fructose verses glucose

• Leptin
• Increased by insulin release
• Increased leptin ? decreased food intake
• Controls appetite
• Glucose ? insulin release ?increased leptin ?
  decreased food intake

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High fructose corn syrup verdict

• No evidence to support HFCS contributes
  significantly to obesity
• Energy imbalance leads to obesity

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Sweeteners and obesity

• Artificial sweeteners may cause disruption in
  bodys ability to gauge caloric density
• Body appears to gauge calories based on thickness
• Semi-solid and liquid foods/beverages inhibit
  bodys ability to accurately compensate

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Sweeteners and obesity

• Obesity has continued to rise as use of
  artificial sweeteners has risen
• Multi-factorial problem
• Energy balance energy in and energy out
• Sugar calories
• Excess calories (and inactivity) weight gain
• Weight balance energy out vs. energy in

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Laboratory ideas

• Tooth Decay
• Explores the effect of various liquids on
  decaying teeth
• Sugar composition of beverages
• Determine the sugar content of various beverages
• All the same type such as juice or soft drinks
• Compare different types such as milk, juice,
  soft drinks, water, etc.
• Experiments with soft drinks
• http//www.eepybird.com/science1.html

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Resources for teachers

• http//science.nsta.org/enewsletter/2006-06/member
  _high.htm
• http//www.free-science-fair-projects.net/
• http//www.free-science-fair-projects.net/science-
  fair-projects-on-tooth-decay.html
• http//www.splenda.com/
• http//www.eepybird.com/science1.html

22
References

• Physiology of taste. Accessed June 12, 2006 from
  http//biology.about.com/library/organs/blpathodig
  est2.htm
• Schorin MD. (2005). High fructose corn syrups,
  part 1. Nutrition Today, 40(6), 248-252.
• Hein GL, Lineback DR, Storey ML, White JS.
  (2005). Highs and lows of high fructose corn
  syrup. Nutrition Today, 40(6), 253-256.
• Science fair projects on tooth decay. Accessed
  June 12, 2006 from http//www.free-science-fair-pr
  ojects.net/science-fair-projects-on-tooth-deecary.
  html
• Juices. Accessed May 31, 2006, from
  http//www.selah.k12.wa.us/MS/SciProj98/8TH/tarrah
  w/JUICES.HTML
• Which beverage contains the most sugar? Accessed
  May 31, 2006, from http//www.selah.k12.wa.us/MS/S
  ciProj98/6TH/Sugar/COURTNEYA.HTML
• Duyff RL. (2002). Complete food and nutrition
  guide. 2nd ed. Hoboken, New Jersey Wiley.
• Physiology of taste. Accessed June 13, 2006, from
  http//biology.about.com/library/organs/blpathodig
  est2.htm
• Study artificial sweeteners may disrupt bodys
  ability to count calories. (2004). Purdue News.
  Accessed June 13, 2006, from http//www.purdue.edu
  /UNS/html4ever/2004/040629.Swithers.research.html