A guy got diabetes after drinking sugar-free drinks as water... He thought sugar-free means healthy, but he was really wrong!

There was a report not long ago that a young man in Hubei drank large amounts of sugar-free beverages for a long time. He wanted to control his blood sugar levels for a healthy way, but he didn't expect it to backfire and he developed type 2 diabetes because of the "sugar-free" drink.

According to the doctor, the reason why this young man got sick was that the excessive intake of sweeteners in sugar-free drinks led to insulin secretion disorders. At the same time, carbonated drinks also stimulated the gastrointestinal tract, causing intestinal flora disorders.

Many young people believe that sugar-free drinks are healthy drinks that can reduce sugar intake and help control weight. So, does "sugar-free" really mean there is no sugar? Does no sugar mean health?

The sweetness of sugar-free drinks depends on TA

The sugar we often talk about is the sucrose, glucose, and white sugar listed in the ingredient list. Sugar-free beverages are actually a type of beverage that imitates the taste of traditional soda, and produces sweetness by adding artificial sweeteners such as sodium cyclamate, saccharin, or aspartame to replace sucrose and glucose. The sweetness of some artificial sweeteners is even higher than that of natural sugar. For example, the sweetness of aspartame is 200 times that of sucrose.

Sweeteners are safe in themselves. They are easily soluble in water and very stable. They produce sweetness but hardly any energy. From this perspective, beverages with added sweeteners are less likely to make people fat than other high-sugar beverages. However, sweeteners are not nutrients and cannot be used by the human body. Excessive intake of sweeteners will also increase the burden on the body. Moreover, some sweeteners can produce an excitatory effect in the brain, which will lead people to consume other high-energy foods.

Sugar-free also has health risks

In addition to the influence of sweeteners, sugar-free carbonated drinks will have strong binding with metal ions, which may lead to osteoporosis; the drinks also contain a lot of caffeine; and some sugar-free foods, although no sugar is added, the starch itself can increase blood sugar... Therefore, sugar-free drinks and sugar-free foods still pose certain health risks to people.

A 2014 Japanese study found that after excluding interfering factors such as family history, age and lifestyle factors, people who drank sugar-free beverages were more likely to develop diabetes than the blank control group. In 2012, a foreign study showed that sugar-free beverages would change the brain's feedback on sweetness through dopamine, causing a person to crave food more, especially sweets. The results showed that sugar-free beverages were not effective in reducing weight and even increased the risk of obesity.

Recent studies have also found that in addition to increasing the prevalence of diabetes and obesity, sugar-free beverages also increase the incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, affect liver function, and increase the prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. A 2017 study showed that drinking one sugar-free beverage a day almost doubled the risk of stroke and Alzheimer's disease.

Tips for Healthy Sugar Reduction

On April 27 this year, the National Health Commission proposed to carry out the "Three Reductions and Three Healths" special action of reducing salt, oil and sugar, and maintaining healthy oral cavity, healthy weight and healthy bones during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period. It introduced several tips for reducing sugar:

1. Reduce the consumption of high-sugar packaged snacks

Typical examples are biscuits, ice cream, chocolate, candy, cakes, candied fruit, jam, etc. If sugar is listed high on the ingredient list of the food packaging, it means that the sugar content is high. When buying, you should pay attention to check the food packaging.

2. Avoid or limit sugary drinks

Choose tea, boiled water, and pure milk instead of sugary drinks. Sugary drinks are the main source of added sugar intake for children and adolescents. It is recommended not to drink or drink less sugary drinks. Use boiled water instead of drinks. It is recommended that infants and young children drink boiled water as the main drink. When making complementary foods, artificially added sugar should also be avoided. The best way for the human body to replenish water is to drink boiled water.

3. Tips on how to order food when dining out

Sweet and sour spare ribs, sweet and sour pork, pot-fried pork, and fish-flavored shredded pork are all dishes with high sugar content, so try to order less or not at all.

4. Use sweet ingredients instead of added sugar

For example, dates, yam, honey, carrots, pumpkin, potatoes, etc.

Author: Xiao Misu, Chief Pharmacist, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Review expert: Zhang Jianping, deputy chief pharmacist of the Sixth People's Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University