What are artificial sweeteners? Diet drinks often use non-nutritive sweeteners like sucralose and stevia. These substances taste sweet but do not add calories. Because of this, many people use them to manage weight or reduce sugar intake.<\/p>\n However, experts are now raising questions. The World Health Organization<\/a> has even suggested that these sweeteners may not help with weight control and could increase the risk of diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart problems. <\/p>\n Scientists believe these effects may happen because sweeteners change how the body<\/a> handles sugar and energy.<\/p>\n Why scientists are concerned<\/p>\n A study from Universidad de Chile <\/a>explored this issue in detail.<\/p>\n \u201cWe found it intriguing that despite the growing consumption of these additives, the prevalence of obesity and metabolic disorders such as insulin resistance has not declined,\u201d said Dr. Francisca Concha Celume, lead author of the study. <\/p>\n \u201cThis does not mean that sweeteners are responsible for these trends<\/a>, but it raises the question of whether they influence metabolism in ways we do not yet fully understand.\u201d<\/p>\n This question led researchers to study how sweeteners affect not just one generation, but future ones as well.<\/p>\n Studying the pattern<\/p>\n Scientists worked with mice to understand long-term effects. One group drank plain water, while others drank water with sucralose or stevia. Only the parent mice consumed sweeteners. The next generations drank normal water.<\/p>\n \u201cAnimal models allow us to control environmental conditions very precisely and to isolate the effect of a specific factor, such as a dietary compound, while also following several generations within a relatively short time,\u201d explained Concha.<\/p>\n The team tested blood sugar levels, studied gut bacteria, and checked how certain genes behaved in the body.<\/p>\n Sweeteners and blood sugar changes<\/p>\n The study showed small but important changes in how the body<\/a> handled sugar. Parent mice did not show major changes. But the next generations did.<\/p>\n Male offspring of mice exposed to sucralose showed changes in glucose control. By the second generation, fasting blood sugar levels increased in some cases. <\/p>\n This suggests that the effects of sweeteners can appear later, even when the next generation does not consume them directly.<\/p>\n Stevia also caused changes, but these effects were weaker and did not last as long.<\/p>\n What happens in the gut<\/p>\n The gut microbiome plays a key role in health. It helps digest food and produces useful compounds. <\/p>\n One important group of these compounds is short-chain fatty acids, which support metabolism and reduce inflammation.<\/p>\n The study found that both sucralose and stevia reduced these helpful compounds. Even when food intake stayed the same, levels of these compounds dropped. This suggests that sweeteners changed the gut bacteria.<\/p>\n Most of the sweeteners reach the colon, where gut bacteria live. A large portion of both sucralose and stevia compounds interact directly with these microbes. This explains why the microbiome changes so strongly.<\/p>\n Changes in genes and inflammation<\/p>\n The researchers also studied genes linked to inflammation and metabolism. Sucralose increased the activity of genes related to inflammation in the intestine. <\/p>\n At the same time, it reduced the activity of genes that support metabolism in the liver.<\/p>\n These changes can affect how the body stores fat and uses energy. Some of these gene changes even passed on to the next generation.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we compared generations, these effects were generally strongest in the first generation and tended to decrease in the second generation,\u201d said Concha. <\/p>\n \u201cOverall, the effects linked to sucralose were more consistent and persistent across generations.\u201d<\/p>\n Stevia also affected gene activity, but its impact was smaller and mostly limited to one generation.<\/p>\n Different sweeteners act differently<\/p>\n One clear result from the study is that not all sweeteners act the same. Sucralose had stronger and longer lasting effects on the body. It caused bigger changes in gut bacteria and gene activity.<\/p>\n Stevia showed milder effects. Scientists think this may happen because stevia breaks down faster in the body, while sucralose stays in the gut longer and affects bacteria more strongly.<\/p>\n This difference explains why sucralose had more lasting effects across generations.<\/p>\n What do these findings mean?<\/p>\n The animals in the study did not develop diseases like diabetes. However, the changes seen may act as early warning signs.<\/p>\n \u201cThe changes we observed in glucose tolerance and gene expression could be interpreted as early biological signals related to metabolic or inflammatory processes,\u201d said Concha.<\/p>\n Even small changes in metabolism can increase the risk of disease over time, especially when combined with unhealthy diets.<\/p>\n A balanced way forward<\/p>\n These results do not mean that diet drinks are dangerous. Human bodies are more complex, and more research is needed.<\/p>\n \u201cThe goal of this research is not to create alarm, but to highlight the need for further investigation,\u201d said Concha. <\/p>\n \u201cIt may be reasonable to consider moderation in the consumption of these additives and to continue studying their long-term biological effects.\u201d<\/p>\n A simple approach works best. Reduce both sugar and artificial sweeteners when possible. Focus on whole foods and balanced meals. Small choices today can shape long-term health.<\/p>\n The study is published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014\u2013<\/p>\n Like what you read? Subscribe to our newsletter<\/a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.<\/p>\n Check us out on EarthSnap<\/a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls<\/a> and Earth.com.<\/p>\n \u2014\u2013<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A cold fizzy drink can feel refreshing on a hot day. Many people choose the diet version to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":394779,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[103,61,60],"class_list":{"0":"post-394778","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=394778"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394778\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/394779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=394778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=394778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=394778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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