Many people turn to diet beverages as a way to enjoy their
favorite drink without the calories. However, while diet drinks may seem to be
a way to “trick” the body, an increasing number of research studies are
indicating that diet drinks may not be as innocuous as many of its consumers
believe it to be.
Uebanso et al. (Nature, 2017) examined the impacts of two
popular calorie-free sweeteners (sucralose and acesulfame-K) on the gut
microbiome using a rodent model. They found that sucralose reduced the relative
amount of Clostridium Cluster XIVa in the gut microbiome. Considering the
evidence that indicates that Clostridium XIVa (in conjunction with Clostridium
IV) plays a role in maintaining gut homeostasis (Lopetuso et al., 2013), the
impacts of sucralose could be deleterious. Additionally, sucralose increased
the amount of cholesterol in the livers of the mice who consumed it. While the
liver is a natural location for cholesterol to be found (the liver both
synthesizes and removes cholesterol), too much cholesterol can overtax the
liver, preventing it from properly performing its function. What was perhaps
most alarming regarding this study was the fact that all of these impacts were
observed over the course of a two-month period.
Before definitive decisions can be made regarding diet
beverages, more research is needed. The Uebanso et al. study involved feeding
the mice up to the maximum acceptable daily intake (ADI) levels of the
artificial sweeteners. To put this into perspective, the ADI for sucralose
(more commonly known as Splenda) is 5 milligrams for each kilogram of body
weight. This means that an individual weighing 150 pounds would be able to
safely consume 340 milligrams of sucralose a day. One 12-ounce can of Diet Coke
with Splenda contains 60 mg of sucralose. So perhaps the bigger message to take
away from the research currently available is that, when it comes to artificial
sweetener consumption, moderation is key.
References:
Lopetuso, L. R., Scaldaferri, F., Petito, V., &
Gasbarrini, A. (2013). Commensal Clostridia: leading players in the maintenance
of gut homeostasis. Gut Pathology, 5(12). doi:10.1186/1757-4749-5-23
Uebanso, T., Ohnishi, A., Kitayama, R., Yoshimoto, A., Nakahashi,
M., Shimohata, T., Takahashi, A. (2017). Effects of Low-Dose Non-Caloric
Sweetener Consumption on Gut Microbiota in Mice. Nutrients, 9(6).
doi:10.3390/nu9060560
University of Alabama at Birmingham. (n.d.). Artificial
Sweeteners. Retrieved October 09, 2017, from
https://www.uab.edu/shp/nutritiontrends/recipes-food-facts/food-facts/artificial-sweeteners
Interesting post! I work in the hospital and we get a lot of diabetic patients who would use artificial sweeteners in almost everything. I had this patient that drank up to ~7 cans of diet coke in one night. According to ADI, that's more than 340 milligrams of sucralose, exceeding the maximum acceptable daily intake considering that this patient is under 150 pounds. Artificial sweetener has always been a popular topic among researchers. I'm noticing that even though there are a lot of studies done on the negative effect of artificial sweeteners, we still don't have enough evidence to say artificial sweetener is bad or good for health. You pointed out that consumption in moderation is key, and I absolutely agree! However, many people don't know how much is enough. You usually see/hear about daily recommendations servings of salt, sugar or macromolecules, but you don't normally hear "here's how much artificial sweeteners you should have a day". Exceeding the recommended amount is actually easy, because the zero calories content is really attractive.
ReplyDeleteI have recently seen a few documentaries that mention how much worse for you “calorie-free” and “low-fat” products can be. In the documentaries they say that since you are essentially taking away all the flavor you have to add chemicals and excessive amounts of sugar to essentially make it taste better again. I am just curious to know if the negative effects of the calorie-free sweetners is because of the addition of these “added chemicals”?
ReplyDeleteAlso is it the calorie-free sweetners themselves that are causing an excessive amount of cholesterol in the liver or is it just the simple fact that the demographic consuming the sweetener is just ingesting too much sugar in general?
Very interesting article, especially since I drink a sugar free monster pretty much everyday. I have to wonder what other issues come up with intaking more artificial sugar than the recommended daily value. Is there any other risks beside increased cholesterol and reduced amount of Clostridium Cluster XIVa. Also in the article "Artificial Sweeteners: sugar-free but at what cost" indicates that the increased amount of artificial sugar in our diet, decreases our sensitivity to more complex tastes such as fruits and vegetables and will make them taste less sweet and less appealing to eat. I also have to wonder in the scheme of things, which would be better to default to, artificial sweeteners or regular sugar.
ReplyDeleteThe articles website that I found is: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/artificial-sweeteners-sugar-free-but-at-what-cost-201207165030