The Risk of Consuming Artificial Sweeteners

As I’ve discussed before, food science is an advanced industry that has the ability to address many issues that face global food and health challenges. Unfortunately, the ability to create a solution to every problem is not always in the best interest of an individual’s overall health. The first artificial sweetener, Saccharin, was originally synthesized in 1879. The US banned a subsequent artificial sweetener, Cyclamate, in 1971. Since this time, the influx and downfall of varying artificial sweeteners has been prolific. There have been many challenges to determining the safety of the category of artificial sweeteners. The two largest challenges are that they are all different in either their chemical composition or plant derivation, which means each sweetener needs an individual study and that it is extremely difficult to isolate the effects of artificial sweeteners from other dietary and lifestyle components. With that being said, it appears that the overall benefits of consuming a zero-calorie sweetener are outweighed by the potential negative consequences.

A 2021 review paper published in Frontiers in Nutrition discussed that the overall evidence of previous studies showed that replacing natural sweeteners such as sugar and honey with zero calorie artificial sweeteners has a neutral effect on body weight and glycemic control, but causes alterations in the gut microbiome that can both induce glucose intolerance and cause negative effects on overall metabolic homeostasis. So whether you are consuming artificial sweeteners as a way to reduce your risk of diabetes or for weight loss, the evidence suggests the opposite outcome. Between 2009 and 2012, the increase in consumption of artificial sweeteners in children was 200% and 54% in adults. I would love to say the the past 20 years has allowed us to determine the health outcomes of this increase, but there have been no studies that can isolate the increase is artificial sweetener consumption from other dietary habits. The CDC states that from 2001 to 2017, the number of people under age 20 living with type 1 diabetes increased by 45%, and the number living with type 2 diabetes grew by 95%. I AM NOT stating that one is the cause of the other as I believe there are many reasons that our children have had an increase in concerning health trends, but I also believe that artificial sweeteners are not a solution.

While much of the click bait news on artificial sweeteners focuses on their possible carcinogenic effects, the more recent studies that I came across also indicated that the populations studied who had the highest consumption of artificial sweeteners along with higher incidence of cancer, also had poor dietary and lifestyle habits, including smoking, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle. Far more intriguing were the studies on the antimicrobial effect of artificial sweeteners and the potential negative effect this could be having on our bodies and the environment. In July of 2022 the Journal of Hazardous Material published a study on these effects. They determined that the four most common artificial sweeteners all have antimicrobial effects that their common use in food and animal feed could be driving the “bacterial evolution of antibiotic tolerance.” Additionally, these sweeteners are being increasingly detected as a pollutant due to their environmental persistence where they are causing DNA damage and metabolic abnormalities which are consistent with antibiotics.

I have always been a believer is consuming natural foods in moderation versus engineered food, but the sugary beverage and zero calorie beverage industry has really hit a nerve for me. For the record, I do let my children consume an occasional soda as I don’t believe in forbidding specific foods. But I have let them know that I feel the long-term health risks of consuming artificially sweetened drinks and foods are not worth the potential or unknown risks. We also let them have the occasional sports drink after a truly intensive workout, but in general we make our own electrolyte waters. (See recipe below) They often remark on the frequent consumption of Gatorade and ,most recently, Prime, that they witness both at school and during sport’s practice. This always leads to a discussion on how difficult it is for parents to decide what the best choices are for nourishing their children. As parents, we often feel judged or guilt for the decisions we make in regards to our daily choices, whether these be food choices, screen time, cell phones, homework, general freedom, ect. As we share experiences and knowledge among each other, without judgement, we can aim to raise healthy and happy kids by making the decisions that feel right for our families.

With that, please do not feel judged or guilty and take the information I’ve provided to do what works for you. I’m happy to have further discussions both in the comments or via email.

Our system for electrolyte waters: *The kids use these for sports and this was my go-to when running multi-day Ragnar races.

Fill desired bottle 3/4 full of water. Or when it’s particularly hot or exertion is going to be high, we may use 1/2 water and 1/2 coconut or watermelon water. Per 1/2 gallon, add 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4-1/2 cup juice (I let the kids experiment with different juices here and sometimes they probably use as much as 1 cup). They love pineapple, orange, and mango. We haven’t tried grape, but I imagine that would emulate many of the commercial sports drinks quite well! Add 1-2 tbls lemon or lime juice. Depending on the sweetness of the chosen juice, we might add up to a tablespoon of honey or maple syrup. Close up the jug and shake vigorously…and if your bottle doesn’t leak then please tell me what water jugs you buy!

Resources:

Front. Nutr., 07 January 2021
Sec. Nutrition and Metabolism
Volume 7 – 2020 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2020.598340

Zhigang Yu, Jianhua Guo
Journal of Hazardous Materials
Volume 433, 5 July 2022, 128840
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.128840