New research has found that artificial sweeteners could be responsible in disrupting blood sugar regulation in the body, leading to metabolic changes associated with diabetes.
According to Dr. Eran Elinav, immunologist at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, what people are avoiding is the very thing they're getting. Consuming sweeteners is an attempt to avoid metabolic changes that lead to diabetes, supposedly caused by sugar.
Meanwhile, Dr. Elinav and colleagues conducted a series of experiments mainly on mice, only to discover that artificial sweeteners disrupt the microbiome, or the population of bacteria in the digestive system. Such changes in the microbiome alter the metabolism of glucose, boosting it to high levels after eating and slowing down its decline.
Dr. Elinav and his co-researchers added three different sweeteners- saccharin, sucralose, and aspartame- to the drinking water of 10-week-old mice, while other mice drank plain water or water with glucose or table sugar. The research team discovered that the mice who either drank plain water or sugar water displayed little to no change. Meanwhile, the mice who drank water with artificial sweeteners exhibited glucose intolerance, which means that the body has less capability to cope with large amounts of sugar.
Pathology professor Cathryn R. Nagler, who was not part of the research but wrote a commentary in the journal Nature where the study was published, finds the study results compelling. According to Nagler, conditions like diabetes and obesity are associated with microbiome changes. She finds that people should reassess their extensive use of artificial sweeteners, which the study suggests.
Past research endeavors on artificial sweeteners and its health effects have revealed conflicting results- some found that sweeteners brought about weight loss, while others conclude that drinking diet soda makes you gain weight.
Dr. Elinav believes that it is too early to give broad conclusions based on their study, but it is safe to say that it can provide a venue for healthy discussion on the real effects of artificial sweeteners.
