Millions of people consume artificial sweeteners every day. From diet sodas to candy, it’s hard to avoid synthetic sugar substitutes.
Numerous studies over the years have identified a variety of potential harmful effects from artificial sweeteners. From increasing your risk of cancer to developing diabetes, artificial sweeteners can be worse for your health than you think.
Health professionals and nutritionists should be aware of the ingredients they are consuming in products they claim to be “healthy”. It may be filled with artificial sweeteners associated with many conditions.
Using research published in StudyFinds, here are eight reasons why artificial sweeteners can be dangerous to your health.
Artificial sweeteners linked to increased cancer risk
If you think that if you opt for a zero-calorie packet of Splenda, you can have cake and eat it, think again. It became clear.
Researchers analyzed data from 102,865 adults living in France who had already participated in an ongoing nutrition study since 2009. The team obtained people’s data on their intake of artificial sweeteners from their dietary records.
Follow-up appointments with study participants helped collect new diagnoses of cancer. Considering a variety of factors that may contribute to cancer, including a person’s age, body mass index, and smoking habits The researchers then performed a statistical analysis to calculate the relationship between artificial sweeteners and cancer.
People who consumed high amounts of artificial sweeteners, particularly aspartame and acesulfame-K, had a higher risk of developing cancer than those who did not consume artificial sweeteners. We observed more breast and obesity-related cancer diagnoses among individuals.
diet soda can cause weight gain
Diet soda is often the go-to drink for many people trying to lose weight. Unfortunately, studies have found that beverages containing the artificial sweetener sucralose can undermine diet efforts in both women and obese women. says it causes the brain to experience more food cravings than regular sugary drinks.
The study’s authors say it’s the largest study to date to look at how artificial or non-nutritive sweeteners (NNSs) affect brain activity and appetite. More than 40% of US adults drink her NNS in various varieties as a calorie-free alternative to regular soda. Some dieters can lose weight while drinking diet soda, but researchers say the health benefits and drawbacks of artificial sweeteners are still unknown. , sugar metabolism, and the extent to which it affects body weight.
Researchers examined 74 participants in three experiments measuring brain activity while drinking various drinks. Volunteers ranged from healthy weight to overweight to obese dieters. This group drank 300 milliliters of a drink containing sucrose (the usual table sugar), a diet his drink sweetened with NNS sucralose, and water.
Two hours later, the study authors used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans to examine each person’s brain activity when they viewed pictures of high-calorie foods such as burgers and donuts. Specifically, as the group viewed these delicious images, the researchers focused on brain regions involved in appetite and food cravings.
The team also measured each person’s blood sugar levels, insulin, other metabolic hormones in their blood, and the amount of food each person ate at the snack buffet following brain scans. revealed that both experienced increased activity in brain regions that control food cravings and appetite after drinking diet soda sucralose beverages. It was bigger than when I drank
Sugar-free alternatives can cause healthy gut bacteria to damage your gut
Artificial sweeteners are a common sight on diners and restaurant tables across the country. Well, research may make you think twice about getting to some packets. can penetrate the intestinal wall and cause more serious health problems.
More specifically, this study is the first to document the pathogenic effects of saccharin, sucralose, and aspartame (three of the most popular artificial sweeteners) on two types of gut bacteria. Escherichia coli (Escherichia coli) and E. faecalis (Enterococcus faecalis).
Previous studies had already shown that artificial sweeteners have the ability to alter the number and types of bacteria in the gut. We take things a step further by revealing that there is potential. When we get sick, the bacteria attach to, invade, and ultimately kill the Caco-2 cells that line the intestinal wall.
Artificially sweetened drinks that are bad for your heart
Sugary drinks are often targeted by health professionals and even local governments. While many try to curb sugar intake in the general public, research has found that common alternatives to these drinks can be just as bad. says that artificially sweetened beverages also increase the risk of heart disease.
Artificial sweeteners have long been considered a healthier option than soft drinks and other beverages high in sugar. We investigated how beverages affect cardiovascular health.
Previous studies have linked sugary drinks to increased risk of obesity, cancer, diabetes and even dementia. The effects of sugar have also been linked to reduced cognitive development in children who were breastfed by parents who drink these drinks.
“Our study suggests that artificially sweetened beverages may not be a healthy alternative to sugar-sweetened beverages, and these data suggest that sugar-sweetened and artificially-sweetened beverages may not be a healthy alternative.” It provides additional arguments that further the current debates on taxes, labeling and regulation,” said Eloy Chazeras, lead author of the Nutrition Epidemiology Research Team at the Sorbonne Paris Nord University.
Using low-calorie sweeteners during pregnancy can harm your baby
Low-calorie sweeteners are considered a healthy choice, but for pregnant women, consuming such products can be harmful to the unborn baby. Babies born to mothers who used low-calorie sweeteners showed increased body fat and disrupted gut microbiota.
The excess fat is reason enough for mothers-to-be to avoid these products, but the gut bacteria in an infant are very important. Abnormal organisms and microorganisms can lead to serious health risks and various diseases.
Scientists at the University of Calgary have warned that consuming low-calorie sweeteners during pregnancy can have serious adverse effects during the critical first years of a child’s life.
“Although low-calorie sweeteners are considered safe to consume during pregnancy and breastfeeding, evidence suggests they may increase body weight and other cardiovascular risk factors. are emerging from human studies,” the authors of the study. “Even stevia, which has been hailed as a natural alternative to aspartame and other low-calorie artificial sweeteners, showed a similar effect on increased risk of obesity in early offspring.”
sugar-free products Getting worse risk of diabetes
In recent decades, both the popularity and use of low-calorie, sugar-free alternative sweeteners like Splenda have increased. It is marketed as a healthier, leaner option for those looking to lose weight. I have found that there may be
Additionally, the research team says that people who use such products are actually more likely to gain extra pounds.
Led by Professor Peter Clifton, these findings also run counter to many controlled clinical trials that have concluded that artificial sweeteners can help with weight loss. ) use increased a staggering 200% and 54% in adults over the same period.
A seven-year study of data from 5,158 American adults found that those who frequently consumed low-calorie sweeteners actually gained more weight than those who avoided such products. .
Negative effect on metabolism
Studies show that artificial sweeteners can affect the body’s metabolism and cause excess fat accumulation, especially in people who are already obese.
Dr. Sabyasachi Sen, an associate professor of medicine and endocrinology at George Washington University, led the study and said in a press release that many people are relying on these artificial sweeteners as a low-calorie alternative to natural sweeteners. On the other hand, there is evidence that these sweeteners promote metabolic dysfunction. “
Sen and his colleagues tested the popular low-calorie sweetener sucralose on stem cells harvested from human adipocytes. They placed these cells in Petri dishes for 12 days and added 0.2 millimolar sucralose. Dosage is based on the concentration of sucralose in the bloodstream of people with high levels of artificial sweetener consumption: about 4 cans of diet soda per day.
Researchers observed increased expression of genes that cause fat and inflammation. They also found that intracellular lipid droplet accumulation increased, especially when the concentration of sucralose was increased.
Sugar Substitutes Linked to Heart-Related Problems
Using artificial sweeteners may be one way to limit sugar intake, but studies have found they are still linked to weight gain and other heart-related illnesses. .
Researchers at the University of Manitoba, Canada, reviewed the results of 37 previous longitudinal studies that surveyed 400,000 people over 10 years in hopes of identifying the effects of artificial sweeteners on various health markers.
Rather than being associated with weight loss, common sugar substitutes such as sucralose and aspartame were actually associated with weight gain, researchers found.
Other common health problems, such as weight gain and obesity, increased risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease, were also more common among people who frequently consumed artificial sweeteners.
As always, check with your doctor before changing your diet.
