Abstract

Objective: To determine the effect of artificial sweeteners on glucose, insulin and GLP-1 in humans.

Research Design and Methods: Twenty-two healthy volunteers (mean age 18.5 ± 4.2 years) underwent two 75g oral glucose tolerance tests with frequent measurements of glucose, insulin, and GLP-1 for 180 minutes. Ten minutes prior to the glucose load, subjects drank 240 mL of diet soda or carbonated water, in randomized order.

Results: Glucose excursions were similar following carbonated water and diet soda. Serum insulin levels tended to be higher after diet soda, without statistical significance. GLP-1 peak and area under the curve (AUC) were significantly higher with diet soda (AUC 79.2 ± 50.1 pmol/L·180min) vs. carbonated water (AUC 53.5 ± 29.7 pmol/L·180min, p = 0.003).

Conclusions: Artificial sweeteners synergize with glucose to enhance GLP-1 release in humans. This increase in GLP-1 secretion may be mediated via stimulation of sweet-taste receptors on L-cells by artificial sweetener.