Since the late 19th century, nonnutritive sweeteners have promised to provide the sweet taste of sugar without the calories. They were long thought to have no effect on the human body, but a new study finds that these sugar substitutes are not inert, and in fact, some of them can

Category：regimen

2024-11-29

Since the late 19th century, non-nutritive sweeteners have promised to provide the sweet taste of sugar without the calories. They were long thought to have no effect on the human body, but a new study finds that these sugar substitutes are not inert, and in fact, some of them can alter the body's microbiome, thereby altering the body's blood sugar levels. The related paper was published in the magazine " cell " on August 19.

As early as 2014, , the corresponding author of the paper , immunologist Eran Elinav of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and the German National Cancer Center (DKFZ) and his team discovered that non-nutritive sweeteners can affect the microorganisms of mice. groups, thereby affecting their blood sugar response. What interests the research team is whether these results also appear in humans.

To address this issue, the research team carefully screened more than 1,300 people who strictly avoided non-nutritive sweeteners in their daily lives and ultimately identified a cohort of 120 people. These participants were divided into 6 groups: 2 groups were the control group, and 4 groups consumed much less aspartame , saccharin, stevia , or sucralose than U.S. Food and Drug Administration prescribed daily intake.

"In subjects who consumed non-nutritive sweeteners, we could identify very significant changes in the composition and function of the gut microbes, as well as the molecules they secrete into the peripheral blood. This seems to indicate that "The gut microbes are quite sensitive to each sweetener," says Elinav, "when we consume non-nutritive sweeteners. When consumers were divided into 2 groups, we found that 2 nonnutritive sweeteners, saccharin and sucralose, had significant effects on glucose tolerance in healthy adults. Interestingly, microbial changes were related to people's blood sugar responses. The changes were highly correlated."

To determine cause and effect, the researchers transferred microbial samples from the subjects into germ-free mice. Germ-free mice are raised under completely sterile conditions and have no microbiome of their own.

“The results were pretty striking,” Elinav said. “Across all the non-nutritive sweetener consumption groups, but not including any of the control groups, when we took the microbiomes collected from the individuals who had the most pronounced response while consuming various sweeteners. When transferred to these germ-free mice, the recipient mice's blood glucose changes were very similar to those of the donors. "In contrast, the microbiomes of the non-significant responders were mostly unable to trigger this blood glucose response in the mice. He added, "These results suggest that microbiome responses to human consumption of non-nutritive sweeteners may sometimes induce glycemic changes in consumers in highly individualized ways."

Elinav expects the effects of sweeteners to vary from person to person. vary because the composition of microorganisms in the human body is extremely unique. "We need to raise awareness of the fact that non-nutritive sweeteners are not as ineffective in humans as we originally thought. Nonetheless, the clinical health effects they may cause remain unknown and warrant future long-term study."

"In the meantime, we need to continue to find ways to 'fend off' sweet cravings. We should avoid sugar, which is clearly best for our metabolic health Harmful. "Elinav said, "In my personal opinion, just drinking water seems to be the best solution."