Sugar-free sweeteners could increase glucose
intolerance and diabetes risk by affecting bacteria in the gut, a study
has suggested.
From improving metabolism and helping people to slim, widespread use of artificial sweeteners may be fuelling the obesity and diabetes epidemic, it is claimed.
www.theguardian.com/science/2014/sep/17/artificial-sweeteners-diabetes-saccharin-blood-sugar
Scientists found giving mice water laced with three commonly used artificial sweeteners in doses equivalent to those recommended for humans caused them to develop glucose intolerance.
The condition occurs when sugar levels in the blood rise and can lead to type-2 diabetes.
Tests showed that in mice, sweeteners altered the balance of gut microbes that have been linked to susceptibility to metabolic diseases. They also affected the composition and function of gut bacteria in a small number of human volunteers, resulting in glucose intolerance after one week.
Lead researcher Dr Eran Elinav, from the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, Israel, said: “Our relationship with our own individual mix of gut bacteria is a huge factor in determining how the food we eat affects us.
“Especially intriguing is the link between use of artificial sweeteners — through the bacteria in our guts — to a tendency to develop the very disorders they were designed to prevent.
“This calls for reassessment of today’s massive, unsupervised consumption of these substances.”
The study, reported in the journal Nature, found that people’s reaction to artificial sweeteners varied depending on the kind of bacteria they harboured.
Two different populations of human gut microbes were identified, one that induced glucose intolerance when exposed to the sweeteners and another that did not.
From improving metabolism and helping people to slim, widespread use of artificial sweeteners may be fuelling the obesity and diabetes epidemic, it is claimed.
www.theguardian.com/science/2014/sep/17/artificial-sweeteners-diabetes-saccharin-blood-sugar
Scientists found giving mice water laced with three commonly used artificial sweeteners in doses equivalent to those recommended for humans caused them to develop glucose intolerance.
The condition occurs when sugar levels in the blood rise and can lead to type-2 diabetes.
Tests showed that in mice, sweeteners altered the balance of gut microbes that have been linked to susceptibility to metabolic diseases. They also affected the composition and function of gut bacteria in a small number of human volunteers, resulting in glucose intolerance after one week.
Lead researcher Dr Eran Elinav, from the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, Israel, said: “Our relationship with our own individual mix of gut bacteria is a huge factor in determining how the food we eat affects us.
“Especially intriguing is the link between use of artificial sweeteners — through the bacteria in our guts — to a tendency to develop the very disorders they were designed to prevent.
The study, reported in the journal Nature, found that people’s reaction to artificial sweeteners varied depending on the kind of bacteria they harboured.
Two different populations of human gut microbes were identified, one that induced glucose intolerance when exposed to the sweeteners and another that did not.
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