HWN Suggests

Growing medical evidence shows non-nutritive sweeteners, widely used in drinks and food, sabotage health

Results of new studies on non-sugar sweeteners are a dramatic departure from decades of received public health wisdom that advocated for replacing sugar with sugar substitutes. Alarmingly, nutritionists are finding that although sugar substitutes help with weight management in the short term, in the long term they are associated with increased risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and higher body-mass index.

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Featured

 Are Non-Nutritive Sweeteners Better Than Table Sugar?

People who use high amounts of non-nutritive sweeteners may be at a higher risk for weight gain, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

 Don’t buy the lazy nutrition science on artificial sweeteners

Poor research can be worse than no research at all.

 Zero-Calorie, Not Zero-Consequence: Sweetener Study Finds Effects Echo Across Generations

A study reveals that non-nutritive sweeteners like sucralose and stevia affect not only those who consume them but also their unexposed descendants, altering gut microbiota and metabolic health across generations.

Articles of Interest

An Update on Nonnutritive Sweeteners

Though research is inconclusive and ongoing, most studies indicate that there just isn’t enough high quality, evidence-based research available to support higher intakes of NNS in the diet.

Artificial sweeteners: sugar-free, but at what cost?

The FDA has approved five artificial sweeteners: saccharin, acesulfame, aspartame, neotame, and sucralose. It has also approved one natural low-calorie sweetener, stevia. How the human body and brain respond to these sweeteners is very complex.

Do no-calorie artificial sweeteners have any effect on gut health or metabolism?

Researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial to investigate the effects of artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, saccharin, stevia, and sucralose on the human metabolism and the gut microbiome. They found that these non-nutritive sweeteners can induce individual and specific changes in glycemic response via modifying the gut microbiome. This discovery challenges the popular notion that sugar substitutes have no effect on the human body, and highlights the need for further clinical studies.

How fake sugars sneak into foods and disrupt metabolic health

Artificial sweeteners and other sugar substitutes sweeten foods without extra calories. But studies show the ingredients can affect gut and heart health.

Non-nutritional sweeteners and cardiovascular risk

The widely used artificial sweetener erythritol affects platelet function and is associated with major cardiovascular events — fuelling calls for a re-evaluation of the use and regulation of non-nutritive sweeteners.

Non-Nutritive Sweeteners and Their Implications on the Development of Metabolic Syndrome

Individuals widely use non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS) in attempts to lower their overall daily caloric intake, lose weight, and sustain a healthy diet. There are insufficient scientific data that support the safety of consuming NNS. However, recent studies have suggested that NNS consumption can induce gut microbiota dysbiosis and promote glucose intolerance in healthy individuals that may result in the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus

Non-Nutritive Sweeteners: Separating Fact from Fiction and Fear

Can we say AS have a benign influence on human health? Can we say that there are no long-term consequences for human health from AS? In relation to both questions, the answer – which many people don’t want to hear – is “we’re not sure”. Overall, it does appear that much of the profoundly negative effects are exaggerated. Arguably, at current habitual levels of consumption in the population, AS would not appear to negatively impact human health to any identifiable degree: but that cannot be stated with authority having regard to grey areas in the literature and the reliance on animal models from toxicology to the microbiome.

The widespread presence of non-nutritive sweeteners challenges adherence to beverage guidance for children

While NNS are believed to be safe for human consumption, there is continued controversy regarding their role in weight management and cardiometabolic disease prevention. Among adults, findings of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in which NNS are used to replace added sugars demonstrate that NNS may favor weight reduction and maintenance, especially when used as part of structured diet plans.

What we know—and don’t— about non-nutritive sweeteners

However, concerns remain about the safety of these agents and their effect on weight, appetite, and the body’s glycemic response. This article reviews the available research and current recommendations regarding the use of NNSs.

Resources

Clemson University

In addition to some controversy over the safety of non-nutritive sweeteners, there are other questions related to the benefits of these low-calorie sweeteners, especially for individuals who have diabetes. The use of non-nutritive sweeteners has the potential to reduce the overall caloric and carbohydrate intake if they are substituted for caloric sweeteners. Non-nutritive sweeteners may influence health outcomes in people with diabetes by improving glycemic control and weight management. Non-nutritive sweeteners have few or no calories, compared with about 16 calories in 1 teaspoon (4 grams) of sugar.

Nutritional Sciences

One of the first, readily available non-nutritive sweeteners was saccharine, but others used in the US include acesulfame potassium (Ace K), neotame, sucralose, stevia, monk fruit extract, and allulose. Aspartame does have calories but can be used in such small amounts that it contributes almost no calories to foods or beverages to which it is added and is generally also considered an NNS.