Sweeteners are a salvation not only for diabetics but also for people on a diet. And while we know perfectly well that sugar leads to diabetes, cancer or obesity, sweeteners seem to us with impunity. It turns out, however, that even such a seemingly innocent sweetener can cause weight gain. Are sweeteners healthy? Can you use sweeteners on your diet? Are sweeteners dietary? How to replace sugar on the diet?
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In this article you will learn, among others:
- Are sweeteners safe?
- Are sweeteners harmful?
- Is a sweetener good for weight loss?
Are sweeteners safe?
Aspartame is the methyl ester of an aspartic acid dipeptide and phenylalanine. It is 200 times sweeter than sucrose and approved for use in food products in over 90 countries around the world. Aspartame has been evaluated for genotoxic effects on microbes, cell cultures, and animal models. It has also undergone extensive carcinogenicity tests. The available in vitro and in vivo data on the genotoxicity of aspartame have been verified [1] and have been found to be in line with the latest EFSA study recommendations (2011b) confirming no aspartame toxicity for humans [2].
Are sweeteners harmful?
It turns out, however, that sweeteners containing aspartame in their composition may not be as helpful in the fight against overweight and obesity as we thought, and what is more – may contribute to the occurrence of the metabolic syndrome [4,3]. All because of the metabolite of aspartame – phenylalanine, which blocks intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP), an enzyme that prevents, among others, obesity, diabetes. A 2013 study published in the Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences proved that administering IAP to mice fed a high-fat diet can prevent the development of metabolic syndrome and reduce symptoms in animals that had previously been ill [3]. Thus, inhibition of it by phenylalanine deprives the body of any protection.
A metabolite of aspartame blocks the enzyme that prevents the metabolic syndrome with intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP).
Is a sweetener good for weight loss?
Scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) injected aspartame into different sections of the rats’ small intestine (because that is where IAP is produced). As expected, IAP activity was decreased. The next stage of the study was an 18-week observation of four groups of mice. Two groups were eating regular food, but one group had access to aspartame-sweetened water and the other to clean water. The next two groups of animals were fed a high-fat diet and, as before, one group was given water with aspartame, and the other was given water without the addition. It turned out that the mice were on a diet high fat with a sweetener weighed more than mice on the same diet without sweetener. All mice taking aspartame had higher blood sugar and higher levels of tumor necrosis factor, indicating inflammation associated with the metabolic syndrome [3].
So let’s use sweeteners wisely, it is better to treat sweeteners as a method of getting used to the sweet taste, gradually reducing the addition of the substitute.
And what do you replace sugar with? Do you use sweeteners on your diet? What is your opinion on sweeteners?
1. Kirkland D, Gatehouse D. Aspartame: A review of genotoxicity data Food Chem Toxicol. 2015; 84: 161-8.
2. EFSA, 2011b. Scientific opinion on genotoxicity testing strategies applicable to food and feed safety assessment. EFSA J. 9 (9), 2379.
3. Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)
4. Ferland A, Brassard P, Poirier P. Is aspartame really safer in reducing the risk of hypoglycemia during exercise in patients with type 2 diabetes? Diabetes Care. 2007;30:e59.
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