Artificial sweeteners may cause more harm than help

Sugar substitutes also known as artificial sweeteners are commonly used daily by almost one-third of the American public. Typically we think of artificially sweetened beverages being the main source of these products such as diet soft drinks, diet lemonades, or diet sports drinks.  But there are many other food products containing artificially sweeteners making them a ubiquitous part of our culture. Besides sugary beverages, artificial sweeteners are frequently added to baked goods, fruit juices, yogurts, and other foods to make them taste sweet without the extra calories. Anytime a food is labeled as “diet” or “reduced sugar,” there’s a good chance they probably contain an artificial sweetener.

Many people have concerns with GMO’s, gluten, and pesticides, but few question the use of artificial sweeteners.  From aspartame (Equal, Nutra-Sweet), sucralose (Splenda), stevia (Truvia, Pure Via), and acesulfame-K (Sunett, Sweet One), these substitutes for sugar riddle our food supply without many of us knowing it as they are not always clearly labeled on food packaging.

Recently, the use of artificial sweeteners has been put under the microscope questioning their effectiveness in regards to curbing weight gain.  This is in response to a new review of more than 11,000 studies finding that for individuals who are overweight, have high blood pressure or diabetes, consuming these zero-calorie, “non-nutritive sweeteners” have little to any health benefits.  In fact, for some people in the study, they actually had an increased risk of weight gain, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, stroke and heart disease. 

America’s high intake of artificial sweeteners

About two-thirds of Americans are overweight.  Many people turn to artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, sucralose and stevia to cut back on calories.  In fact, recent studies in the United States have found that over 50% of adults are consuming these products every day without really knowing what the long-term impact might be on their health. Artificial sweeteners are found in many processed foods such as candy, frozen desserts, chewing gum, baked goods, and of course, diet soda and other beverages artificially sweetened like tea, sports drinks and lemonades.  

Study methods

To get a better idea of the safety and health benefits of consuming products containing artificial sweeteners, researchers from the University of Manitoba’s George and Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation conducted a systematic review of 37 studies that followed over 400,000 people for an average of 10 years.  Seven of the studies were randomized controlled trials which are considered to be the gold standard in clinical research.

For the study, the research team evaluated the consumption of non-nutritive sweeteners in people ages 12 and older.  In the trials, half of the participants were asked to consume the alternative sweeteners and the other half did not with the scientists looking for differences between the two groups.  They wanted to find out if the sweeteners were linked to a person’s body mass index but also what each person reported on their weight gain, obesity, glucose metabolism, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and other heart- and kidney-related outcomes.

Study results

Results from the studies did not show a consistent effect of artificial sweeteners on weight loss.  The observational studies which lasted longer did show a link between consumption of artificial sweeteners and a relatively higher risk of weight gain, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and other health issues.  Researchers believe that the data from the clinical trials do not support the intended benefits of artificial sweeteners for weight management. 

Previous research has suggested that artificial sweeteners are not a healthy choice but they were much smaller studies and only looked at weight gain or only their effect on diabetes.  This new study is more comprehensive looking at the whole panel of cardio-metabolic diseases. 

Because of the results, researchers did not think that people had to quit using non-nutritive sweeteners but they should not be considered to be the solution for losing weight either.  At this time, there is still more to learn on how they affect different populations of people. 

Another study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, showed that babies born from mothers who consumed artificial sweeteners were more likely to be overweight by the time they reached their first birthday.  However, it is not known if there is a direct link between the two.