A theory on how insulin resistance, metabolic disease begin • Hacker News Board

Re: A theory on how insulin resistance, metabolic disease begin

#51

Post by e40 » Thu, Oct 06, 2016, 7:22 PM UTC

credit_guy wrote: post #49

akiselev wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The amount of artificial sweetener in a can of diet soda is going to weigh an order of magnitude more than your one piece of gum (which is mostly made of an undisgestible polymer anyway, with very little in the way of actual flavorings). You might as well dissolve a packet of splenda in an eye dropper and take a few drops.

I understand the GP's comment a bit differently. What matters is how much the taste buds are stimulated, not the amount of artificial sweeteners. If that is true, the sugarless chewing gum is many many times worse than the diet soda. The drink passes through your mouth in a few seconds, the gum stays in contact with your tong for half an hour (or more).

This is precisely what I'm worried about.

Re: A theory on how insulin resistance, metabolic disease begin

#52

Post by Declanomous » Thu, Oct 06, 2016, 7:24 PM UTC

credit_guy wrote: post #49

akiselev wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The amount of artificial sweetener in a can of diet soda is going to weigh an order of magnitude more than your one piece of gum (which is mostly made of an undisgestible polymer anyway, with very little in the way of actual flavorings). You might as well dissolve a packet of splenda in an eye dropper and take a few drops.

I understand the GP's comment a bit differently. What matters is how much the taste buds are stimulated, not the amount of artificial sweeteners. If that is true, the sugarless chewing gum is many many times worse than the diet soda. The drink passes through your mouth in a few seconds, the gum stays in contact with your tong for half an hour (or more).

Ah, I see. I guess I've been unclear. The taste buds in your mouth don't cause the insulin response. There are separate taste buds embedded in the wall of your small intestine that activate the insulin response, and play a role in insulin resistance.

On a somewhat related note, my non-expert opinion is that sugarless gum is probably still better for you than gum with actual sugar in it for reasons relating to oral heath.

Re: A theory on how insulin resistance, metabolic disease begin

#53

Post by Declanomous » Thu, Oct 06, 2016, 7:30 PM UTC

e40 wrote: post #44

Declanomous wrote: post #16

My capstone project was actually about how sugar affects metabolism. There is a lot of interesting research and unexpected interactions in this area. One of the things that is most interesting is that they have found the same proteins that form our taste buds in the walls of our small intestine. It appears that the gut "tastes" food and "tells" the body what kind of food is coming and how to prepare for it. One of th…

Interesting. What do you think about sugarless gum? I chew it because it helps with my acid reflux. I'm wondering if it might cause a spike in insulin, like diet soda would. I guess one good thing is I usually chew it after a meal, but I do occasionally chew on an empty stomach if I'm having trouble burping.

I just replied to a comment further down the thread. The taste buds in your mouth don't play a role in insulin resistance. There are separate taste buds embedded in the wall of your gut that are responsible.

I'd still recommend chewing gum, but you'd have to weigh the evidence for yourself, cause I'm not a doctor. However I believe the oral health benefits outweigh the potential risks. Acid reflux is also correlated with a lot of really nasty health issues, like esophageal cancer and heart disease. (It's my understanding that the heart disease link may be due to the elevated calcium levels caused by consuming large quantities of antacids) If chewing gum helps control your acid reflux I'd keep chewing gum. I'm actually considering this myself now that you mention it, since I suffer from acid reflux as well.

Re: A theory on how insulin resistance, metabolic disease begin

#54

Post by Declanomous » Thu, Oct 06, 2016, 7:35 PM UTC

choicewords wrote: post #42

Declanomous wrote: post #16

My capstone project was actually about how sugar affects metabolism. There is a lot of interesting research and unexpected interactions in this area. One of the things that is most interesting is that they have found the same proteins that form our taste buds in the walls of our small intestine. It appears that the gut "tastes" food and "tells" the body what kind of food is coming and how to prepare for it. One of th…

Interesting. Any ideas on how the bacterial flora interacts with the sensing small intestines? Would they react as well when the sensation of sweetness goes over them?

I don't know a lot about the flora of the gut, especially the flora in the small intestine. There is a lot of really interesting research going on in that area though. I'm really interested in the relationship between diet and the flora in the gut myself.

Re: A theory on how insulin resistance, metabolic disease begin

#55

Post by e40 » Fri, Oct 07, 2016, 1:55 PM UTC

Declanomous wrote: post #52

credit_guy wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I understand the GP's comment a bit differently. What matters is how much the taste buds are stimulated, not the amount of artificial sweeteners. If that is true, the sugarless chewing gum is many many times worse than the diet soda. The drink passes through your mouth in a few seconds, the gum stays in contact with your tong for half an hour (or more).

Ah, I see. I guess I've been unclear. The taste buds in your mouth don't cause the insulin response. There are separate taste buds embedded in the wall of your small intestine that activate the insulin response, and play a role in insulin resistance. On a somewhat related note, my non-expert opinion is that sugarless gum is probably still better for you than gum with actual sugar in it for reasons relating to oral he…

Thanks for the clarification. Much clearer now.

Re: A theory on how insulin resistance, metabolic disease begin

#56

Post by e40 » Fri, Oct 07, 2016, 1:57 PM UTC

Declanomous wrote: post #53

e40 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting. What do you think about sugarless gum? I chew it because it helps with my acid reflux. I'm wondering if it might cause a spike in insulin, like diet soda would. I guess one good thing is I usually chew it after a meal, but I do occasionally chew on an empty stomach if I'm having trouble burping.

I just replied to a comment further down the thread. The taste buds in your mouth don't play a role in insulin resistance. There are separate taste buds embedded in the wall of your gut that are responsible. I'd still recommend chewing gum, but you'd have to weigh the evidence for yourself, cause I'm not a doctor. However I believe the oral health benefits outweigh the potential risks. Acid reflux is also correlated…

I'm actually considering this myself now that you mention it, since I suffer from acid reflux as well.

Chewing gum greatly reduces the amount of antacids I need to consume. The other thing that really surprised me was my low-carb diet further reduced antacid use to almost zero. For a month after my low-carb diet, I didn't even think to take a single antacid.