Whether using artificial sweeteners instead of sugar results in better health has been a heavily debated issue for years; however, a new research paper published in the journal Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism raises red flags about all sweeteners—even those that don't have any calories.
In her review paper, Susan E. Swithers of Purdue University concluded that recent findings suggest that artificial sweeteners increase the risk for health problems to an extent similar to that of sugar and may also exacerbate the negative effects of sugar.
"It is not uncommon for people to be given messages that artificially-sweetened products are healthy, will help them lose weight or will help prevent weight gain," Swithers said. "The data to support those claims are not very strong, and although it seems like common sense that diet sodas would not be as problematic as regular sodas, common sense is not always right."
Consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks has been linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. As a result, many Americans have turned to artificial sweeteners, which are hundreds of times sweeter than sugar but contain few, if any, calories. However, studies in humans have shown that consumption of artificially sweetened beverages is also associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease. As few as one of these drinks per day is enough to significantly increase the risk for health problems.
Moreover, people who regularly consume artificial sweeteners show altered activation patterns in the brain's pleasure centers in response to sweet taste, suggesting that these products may not satisfy the desire for sweets. Similarly, studies in mice and rats have shown that consumption of noncaloric sweeteners dampens physiological responses to sweet taste, causing the animals to overindulge in calorie-rich, sweet-tasting food and pack on extra pounds.
"These studies suggest that telling people to drink diet sodas could backfire as a public health message," Swithers said. "So the current public health message to limit the intake of sugars needs to be expanded to limit intake of all sweeteners, not just sugars."
