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Artificial Sweeteners Are Healthier Than Sugar

John Solokas

Key Takeaways

  • It is a fact that artificial sweeteners are healthier than sugar.

  • Consumption of high amounts of added sugar clearly causes physiological harm.

  • For most people, consumption of artificial sweeteners is likely harmless.

  • Not only is the sentiment, “artificial sweeteners are more harmful than added sugar” wrong, it may very well cause people to make poor food choices and worsen their health.

  • The fraction of studies that point to a harmful effect of artificial sweeteners pales in comparison to the mountain of evidence, including this recent study, in support of it (1).

Full Story

Fact - “something that has actual existence” (2).

I don’t throw around certainties very often. Because there is so much ambiguity in nutrition research, I have never claimed any concept to be a “fact” in this arena. But as my message will improve the health of people across the globe, I’m ready to take the leap: It is a fact that artificial sweeteners are healthier than sugar.

My argument is twofold:

  1. Consumption of high amounts of added sugar clearly causes physiological harm

  2. For most people, consumption of artificial sweeteners is likely harmless

Let’s briefly explore both points.

1. Consumption of high amounts of added sugar clearly causes physiological harm

Added sugar is the one of the most harmful substances you can consume. Overconsumption of sugar has consistently been shown to increase the risk of:

  • Weight Gain + Obesity

  • Inflammation

  • Insulin Resistance + Metabolic Disease

  • Heart Disease

  • Stroke

  • Cognitive Decline

  • Kidney Damage

  • Nerve Damage

Need I go on? There is no doubt that consuming large amounts of added sugar over an extended period of time is one of the most destructive diet choices you can make.

2. For most people, consumption of artificial sweeteners is likely harmless

As we’ve discussed previously, artificial sweetener consumption does not directly cause weight gain, diabetes, or cancer. The jury is still out on the impact of artificial sweetener intake on the gut microbiota and glycemic control (blood sugar), though the majority of controlled studies show no effect (3-16), while few show negative effects (17-20). However, even if the body of research takes a 180 degree turn and begins to consistently show harmful effects of AS intake, it is almost certain that they would be less damaging than the effects of excess added sugar consumption.

A Tinder and a Spark

The public opinion on artificial sweetener intake is a fascinating example of the media’s ability to incite fear and propagate baseless information. Despite the overwhelming majority of evidence showing otherwise, many believe that artificial sweeteners are more harmful than added sugar. Not only is this sentiment wrong, it may very well cause many people to make the poor food choices and worsen their health. The implications of this widespread misinformation was the tinder, and a new 2021 study was the spark that ignited the fire that led me to write this post.

A single study alone can never prove a theory but it can create discussion. This study published just over a week ago showed that 2 weeks of high-dose saccharin intake did not cause changes to the subjects’ gut microbiota or reduce their glucose tolerance. These results are especially noteworthy because:

  • Subjects were given an amount of artificial sweetener that was at the the acceptable daily intake - in other words, way more than any sane human would ever consume.

  • It was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, the gold standard of nutrition research.

  • A parallel mice study, in which the mice received the equivalent of 4x the human ADI of artificial sweetener/day, produced similar results.

The results of this study further support the notion that artificial sweetener intake, even in extremely high amounts, pose little to no health risk. It serves as yet another piece of reliable evidence that can be cited to defend artificial sweeteners against all of the wrongful accusations. At this point, the fraction of studies that point to a harmful effect of artificial sweetener intake pales in comparison to the mountain of evidence in support of it.

Wrap Up

It’s possible I’ll be proved wrong. Maybe a study will be published that supports the notion that artificial sweetener intake directly causes obesity, diabetes, cancer, and death. It is a possibility, sure, but I’m willing to wager my integrity as a health and fitness blogger that this is will never be the case. The current research indicates that artificial sweeteners are superior to sugar for health in every conceivable way, and I don’t expect that to ever change.

Sources:

  1. https://microbiomejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40168-020-00976-w

  2. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fact

  3. Nehrling J, Kobe P, McLane M, Olson R, Kamath S, Horwitz D. Aspartame use by persons with diabetes. Diab Care. 1985;8(5):415–7. https://doi.org/10.2337/diacare.8.5.415.Return to ref 23 in article

  4. Cooper P, Wahlqvist M, Simpson R. Sucrose versus saccharin as an added sweetener in non-insulin-dependent diabetes: short- and medium-term metabolic effects. Diab Med. 1988;5(7):676–80. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-5491.1988.tb01079.x.

  5. Colagiuri S, Miller J, Edwards R. Metabolic effects of adding sucrose and aspartame to the diet of subjects with noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Am J Clin Nutr. 1989;50(3):474–8. 10.1093/ajcn/50.3.474.

  6. Chan P, Tomlinson B, Chen YJ, Liu JC, Hsieh MH, Cheng JT. A double-blind placebo-controlled study of the effectiveness and tolerability of oral stevioside in human hypertension. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2000;50(3):215–20.CAS PubMed PubMed Central Article Google Scholar 

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  8. Hsieh M, Chan P, Sue Y, Liu J, Liang T, Huang T, et al. Efficacy and tolerability of oral stevioside in patients with mild essential hypertension: a two-year, randomized, placebo-controlled study. Clin Ther. 2003;25(11):2797–808. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0149-2918(03)80334-x.

  9. Maki KC, Curry LL, Reeves MS, Toth PD, McKenney JM, Farmer MV, et al. Chronic consumption of rebaudioside A, a steviol glycoside, in men and women with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Food Chem Toxicol. 2008;46(Suppl 7):S47–

  10. GECd S, Assef AH, Albino CC, LdAF F, Tasin G, Takahashi MH, et al. Investigation of the tolerability of oral stevioside in Brazilian hyperlipidemic patients. Braz Arch Biol Technol. 2006;49(4):583–7.

  11. Barriocanal LA, Palacios, Benitez G, Benitez S, Jimenez JT, Jimenez N, et al. MApparent lack of pharmacological effect of steviol glycosides used as sweeteners in humans. A pilot study of repeated exposures in some normotensive and hypotensive individuals and in Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2008;51(1):37–41.

  12. Grotz VL, Pi-Sunyer X, Porte D Jr, Roberts A, Richard TJ. A 12-week randomized clinical trial investigating the potential for sucralose to affect glucose homeostasis. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2017;88:22–33.

  13. Higgins K, Considine R, Mattes R. Aspartame consumption for 12 weeks does not affect glycemia, appetite, or body weight of healthy, lean adults in a randomized controlled trial. J Nutr. 2018;148(4):650–7. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxy021.

  14. Thomson P, Santibañez R, Aguirre C, Galgani J, Garrido D. Short-term Impact of sucralose consumption on the metabolic response and gut microbiome of healthy adults. Br J Nutr. 2019;122(8):856–62. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114519001570.

  15. Higgins KA, Mattes RD. A randomized controlled trial contrasting the effects of 4 low-calorie sweeteners and sucrose on body weight in adults with overweight or obesity. Am J Clin Nutr. 2019;109(5):1288–301.

  16. Ahmad SY, Friel JK, MacKay DS. The effect of the artificial sweeteners on glucose metabolism in healthy adults: a randomized, double-blinded, crossover clinical trial. Appl Physiol Nutr Me. 2020;45(6):606–12.

  17. Suez J, Korem T, Zeevi D, Zilberman-Schapira G, Thaiss CA, Maza O, et al. Artificial sweeteners induce glucose intolerance by altering the gut microbiota. Nature. 2014;514(7521):181–6.

  18. Lertrit A, Srimachai S, Saetung S, Chanprasertyothin S, Chailurkit L, Areevut C, et al. Effects of sucralose on insulin and glucagon-like peptide-1 secretion in healthy subjects: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif). 2018:55–6.

  19. Romo-Romo A, Aguilar-Salinas CA, Brito-Cordova GX, Gomez-Diaz RA, Almeda-Valdes P. Sucralose decreases insulin sensitivity in healthy subjects: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2018;108(3):485–91.

  20. Dalenberg JR, Patel BP, Denis R, Veldhuizen MG, Nakamura Y, Vinke PC, et al. Short-term consumption of sucralose with, but not without, carbohydrate impairs neural and metabolic sensitivity to sugar in humans. Cell Metab. 2020;31(3):493-502 e7.