#141 - AMA #18: Deep dive: sugar and sugar substitutes

The Peter Attia Drive

In this “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) episode, Peter and Bob talk all about sugar and sugar substitutes and provide a way to think about sugar consumption. The conversation begins by defining the various forms of sugar, delineating between added sugar and naturally occurring sugar, and describing the important variables that determine the potential for metabolic damage from consumption. They then take a dive deep into three main categories of sugar substitutes—non-nutritive sweeteners, alcohol sugars, and leaving allulose, in a class by itself—including the safety profile of each, impact on blood sugar and insulin, side-effects, taste preferences, and more.

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We discuss:

• Delineating the various forms of “sugar” (2:00);
• Added sugar vs. naturally occurring sugar (12:30);
• Important variables related to sugar consumption: Density, volume, and velocity (17:00);
• Alternatives to sugar: Non-nutritive sweeteners (22:30);
• Alternatives to sugar: Alcohol sugars (34:15);
• Alternatives to sugar: Allulose (39:00);
• Contextualizing risk when it comes to sugar substitutes (45:00);
• Why some people report feeling better when eliminating non-nutritive sweeteners from their diet (46:30);
• The impact of sweetness—Cephalic insulin response and the metabolic drive to eat more (49:45); and
• More.

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