Despite the fact that artificial sweeteners represent a useful resource for weight loss or to prevent diabetes , and that nutritionists often recommend, a new study carried out by scientists from the Weizmann Institute of Sciences (Israel) has revealed that this substance , used to reduce sugar consumption, could contribute to the development of glucose intolerance (a form of prediabetes) and metabolic disease.
The work, which has been published in the journal Nature , shows that, although this substance or the foods that contain these substances (ice cream, yogurt, soft drinks …) do not contain sugar, they do have a direct effect on the the body’s ability to use glucose because it alters the gut microbiota , that is, the population of bacteria found in the intestine.
For their experiment, the researchers carried out a test with mice divided into three groups: mice to which they administered water mixed with the three most consumed artificial sweeteners, that is, saccharin, aspartame and sucralose, and with the amounts suggested by the US Food Agency and Medications (FDA); mice given sugar water; and a third control group who only gave water to drink. The results revealed that mice that had taken artificial sweeteners developed greater glucose intolerance compared to rodents that drank water or even sugar water .
After analyzing the microbes in the intestine, the scientists discovered changes in the intestinal bacteria, which they deduced that the harmful nature of the artificial sweetener for the metabolism of the mice. Even though artificial sweeteners are not absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, they do encounter billions of bacteria from your microbiota.
“The results highlight the importance of personalized medicine and nutrition for our health. Integrated analysis of our genome, microbiome and eating habits could transform our ability to understand how food and nutritional supplements affect health and disease risk of a person ”, affirms Eran Segal, co-author of the study to the Sinc agency.
Despite these results, experts are cautious about whether the human microbiome works in the same way as in mice, but they call for more research on the subject: “The relationship with our gut bacteria is a key factor in determining how The food we eat affects us, especially the relationship between the use of artificial sweeteners – through intestinal bacteria – and the tendency to develop the same disorders that they were designed to avoid, which requires a reassessment of massive and unsupervised consumption that exists today. “
