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For decades, scientists have struggled to understand what artificial sweeteners actually do on our bodies.
To date, researchers have conducted more than 210,000 different studies on sugar substitutes. But despite all the research, we still know very little about the health effects of powdered substances, which are often used to soften beverages without stacking extra calories from sugar.
The only thing we can say with certainty is that a moderate consumption of artificial sweeteners will probably not cause cancer in humans. However, with the risks of cancer put aside, the jury still has not determined whether sugar substitutes are better for your body than regular sugar, and some scientists worry more and more.
"My recommendation is not to use artificial sweeteners," Business Insider Ariel Kushmaro, a professor of microbial biotechnology at Ben-Gurion University, told Business Insider.
Artificial sweeteners could be bad for your intestine
Kushmaro's latest research on artificial sweeteners was published in the journal Molecules last week. According to his study, a collaboration between researchers from Ben Gurion University of Negev in Israel and the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore has modified some of the most common artificial sweeteners, which could interfere with how the essential intestinal bacterium does its work.
For this study, Kushmaro and his team exposed a special type of bioluminescent E. coli bacteria to common artificial sweeteners. E. coli often has a bad reputation as a dangerous and pathogenic bacteria, but that's not bad for us: Coli colonize our intestines almost immediately after birth and stick to the mucus of our intestines digestive tract gently snoring.
The researchers exposed their strain of E. Coli, designed to light up when exposed to toxins, to six sweeteners that the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has found safe, including aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet), sucralose (Splenda), saccharin (Sweet & # 39; n Low) and others. They even tried protein powders for athletes and flavoring sachets containing these sweeteners as key ingredients.
After measuring the E. coli bacteria with artificial sweeteners "hundreds of times," Kushmaro concluded that sweeteners have a stressful and toxic effect, making growth and reproduction of intestinal microbes difficult. Researchers believe that a few artificially sweetened sodas or coffees a day may be enough to influence the health of the gut – and may even make it more difficult for the body to turn into sugar and other carbohydrates.
[[[[Read more:Artificial sweeteners in diet sodas can cause weight gain and other health problems in the same way as regular sugar.]
That said, researchers are not sure because they only tested the effects on E. coli and not on humans.
"We do not claim that this product is toxic to humans," Kushmaro said. "We say that it could be toxic to the bacteria in the intestine and so we influence."
Artificial sweeteners will not reduce appetite or satisfy sugar cravings
His team is not the first to ring the alarm. Another recent study on artificial sweeteners in rats suggests that artificial sweeteners can change the way their body processes fats and energy. In rats, this also resulted in muscle breakdown.
In humans, previous research suggested that consumption of artificial sweeteners was related to higher rates of obesity, diabetes, hypertension and stroke. Other studies have concluded that calorie-free sweeteners can help people lose weight, but even this research has shown that a low-calorie drink would not curb appetite. There is even limited evidence that artificial sweeteners could make our brain believe that we are not as satisfied as consuming regular sugar, which could lead us to eat and drink more.
Kushmaro plans to do more tests on intestinal bacteria in the hope of focusing on the mechanisms at work in a human digestive tract altered by an artificial sweetener.
"In recent years, we are beginning to understand how important these microbial communities are," he said.
Consumers are already starting to fear this type of sugar substitute and are opting instead for stevia leaf sweeteners. Sales of stevia rose nearly 12% in the US last year, while aspartame lost 8% and sucralose and saccharin both fell by about 6%, according to Food Navigator.
Researchers remain cautious about all artificial sweeteners, including stevia, as research to date has painted a confusing picture of their potential health benefits and drawbacks. The stevia leaf is still not approved by the FDA in the United States and its effect on the kidneys, reproductive health, glycemic control and the cardiovascular system is causing concern.
In short, if you want to be good for your belly, it is probably best to limit your intake of sweets of all kinds, sweet or not.
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