In theory, the principle of artificial sweeteners is simple: they help you to enjoy sweets , without risking to acquire excess weight and sugar-related health problems. But, as always, the reality is much more complicated, and sugar substitutes are not only not help you lose weight, but can lead to serious consequences after long-term use.
The study, published on Monday, States that there is no direct evidence of the effectiveness of sugar substitutes, particularly aspartame and Sucralose, in the fight against excess weight. In addition, the data show that people who regularly consume these sweeteners, more likely to have future health problems, although the study authors can’t exactly say that sugar substitutes are the main cause of ailments.
The study
In a paper published Monday in the journal Canadian Medical Association Journal, researchers analyzed 37 studies, seven of them were randomized trials, involving approximately 1000 people, while the rest tracked the health and habits of nearly 406 000 people for a certain period of time.
Both types of research have their pros and cons. In the case of the first approach, researchers could compare two groups of participants (one had used sugar substitutes, but not others), and with some confidence say what effect a substance has on the body. But because of the cost and complexity of this type of studies, randomized trials usually take place in a shorter time and do not include a large number of subjects. They also may not consider how people behave in the real world. Observational studies are based on the participation of a much larger number of subjects over a longer period. Thus, they better reflect how people actually live, but the results of such studies are only associations and not direct evidence of cause and effect.
Useful or not?
The majority of participants in randomized trials participated in programs for weight loss. After the analysis of all project results, the researchers concluded that artificial sweeteners had no significant impact on the reduction of body mass index (BMI). Observational studies even found a small increase in BMI. In addition, it was found that those who actively use sugar substitutes on a 14% increased chance of developing diabetes type 2 compared with those who almost use. In addition to this, fans of the substitutes are more prone to cardiovascular diseases (32%).
Available evidence suggests that the sweeteners can help with weight loss, but only if they are carefully used as substitutes for sugar one-to-one as part of a structured program for weight loss, but hardly anyone uses them.
Substitutes — worse than sugar?
There are many hypotheses about why artificial sweeteners do not promote weight loss or improve health. They may eventually make you a sweet tooth, encouraging to eat more sweet food or, conversely, to prevent the body’s normal process regular sugar, as it happened with certain laboratory animals (the sweetness is, no calories – the body in disbelief). Sweeteners can also change microbiom, impairing metabolism.
Their study, the authors are trying to emphasize that the absence of proven benefit and concerns about potential harm must be the click that will make people think, and whether artificial sweeteners are a suitable alternative to natural sugar.
