[bradknowles]

Not so much. Sure, they don’t have the calories, but the human body still responds to them the same way it would to a sugared drink — it produces insulin. But if there wasn’t any sugar in the drink, then you don’t actually need that insulin.

Do that enough over a long enough period of time, and your body starts to become immune to the insulin it produces. And you become a Type 2 diabetic. And as a T2 diabetic, it becomes very easy to put on weight and very hard to lose it.

That’s not the only mechanism for becoming a T2, but it is a key one.

[jjeaff]

There are some issues with artificial sweeteners, but I don't believe that most of them cause an insulin spike. However, there have been studies indicating that some types of artificial sweeteners may make you more sensitive to real sugar, even in smaller amounts. There are also a lot of hypothesis about affecting gut biome and appetite.

This article from a Dr does a pretty good job of clarifying. https://www.imaware.health/blog/artificial-sweeteners-and-in...