Artificial sweeteners may sound like the magic bullet for many people. This zero-calorie option provides all the sweetness but without the sugar. This is thought to lead to weight loss and a lowered risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. What could be better, right? After all, artificial sweeteners are encouraged by conventional medical doctors around the country. They’re also incorporated into standardized hospital meals for diabetic patients. Unfortunately, these facts don’t mean that artificial sweeteners are safe nor even effective against heart disease or diabetes. Let’s dig deeper to find out why.
Artificial Sweeteners’ Effect on Weight
Despite being zero-calorie, studies have shown that artificial sweeteners may actually increase overall daily calorie intake. Here’s how:
- After eating an artificially sweetened food, your brain may send you hunger signals. This is because it’s used to eating sugar-sweetened versions of food, which contain calories. Instead, your body is getting the same sweetness it’s used to, but without the calories. Studies show that people eat more artificially sweetened food compared to their sugared varieties before they feel full.
- Artificial sweeteners are more intensely sweet than table sugar or even high-fructose corn syrup. This over-stimulates the “sweetness receptors” of your tongue, which reinforce brain messages, causing increased cravings for sugary foods. At the same time, you may find less-sweet foods to be unpalatable (like legumes or vegetables).
So, whether you’re satisfying your hunger or calming your cravings, both of the above points lead to one common side effect: reaching for more food. In other words, artificial sweeteners can encourage people to eat more artificially sweetened foods (or sugary foods) to the exclusion of healthy, nutrient-dense foods. Shunning healthy foods in favor of sweetened foods inevitably leads to weight gain and increased risk for any and all chronic diseases, including heart disease and diabetes.
Artificial Sweeteners’ Effect on Disease
In addition to increased cravings and hunger, artificial sweeteners may actually increase your risk of developing chronic disease. However, this risk comes not through what you eat, but rather what you drink. The most common delivery method of artificial sweeteners into a person’s body arrives through diet soda. In fact, roughly 30% of American adults drink diet soda on any given day, typically to the tune of 24 ounces (or two cans) per day. Studies show that just one can of diet soda per day is associated with an 8%-13% increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Another study set that risk even higher, at 21%. Other than diabetes, diet soda has been linked to a higher risk of hypertension and heart disease. If this isn’t scary enough, drinkers of diet soda have a 36% increased risk of metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that include high blood pressure, high blood sugar, abnormal cholesterol, and excess abdominal fat. Those with metabolic syndrome are at risk of developing cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Ironically, the most popular delivery method of artificial sweeteners leads to the very diseases that these sweeteners were supposed to protect against.
Another chronic condition brought on by diet soda is kidney disease. According to the National Kidney Foundation, those who drank more than seven cans of diet soda per week saw a doubled risk of developing kidney disease than those who consumed less than one can per week. This correlation was not seen in those who drank regular soda, leading scientists to believe that artificial sweeteners may be responsible. In fact, studies of those who drank diet soda saw a 30% reduction in kidney function over 20 years’ time compared to those who did not drink diet soda. It was further found that drinking two or more diet sodas per day caused kidney problems as opposed to drinking one can per day.
Artificial sweeteners, from any source, also damage the microbiome in our gut, killing off our good gut bacteria. This altered gut biome then leads to poor blood sugar control and increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Not to mention that the health of our gut plays vital roles in our immune system, mood, mental health, hormone balance, and much more.
Artificial sweeteners have enjoyed massive popularity in recent decades, with the claim that it can help you lose weight and lower your risk for diabetes and heart disease. It was an easy sell for manufacturers since it didn’t require any huge dietary sacrifice. Furthermore, it even enhanced the sweetness of our favorite junk foods. It seemed like the miracle drug. In reality, artificial sweeteners are too good to be true. Despite the positive outcomes and health benefits found in studies funded by the artificial sweetener industry, non-industry studies show the unbiased reality of the negative effects of these sugar substitutes. Not only do they lead to weight gain and increased sugar cravings, but they also invite a higher risk of getting several chronic diseases. Your best bet is to taper off any dependence on artificial sweeteners and added sugars, replacing them with whole foods that are nutrient-dense and richly fulfilling.