Some sugar substitutes are linked to diabetes

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In a new study of four sugar substitutes, researchers found that these nonnutritive sweeteners don’t just travel through the body unnoticed. The study results, published on August 19 in Cell, link two of the sweeteners—saccharin and sucralose—to spikes in glucose levels and suggest all four are tied to a shift in gut microbe profiles. Whether these findings translate into trouble, benefit or neither remains to be seen, and aficionados of diet drinks don’t need to trash the diet soda can just yet.

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In 2014 researchers found a link between microbiome changes and blood glucose responses in mice after intake of sugar substitutes. To see if those same links applied to humans in the new study, the scientists selected participants from a potential pool of more than 1,375 people, ruling out anyone who consumed noncaloric sweeteners in their regular daily life. Some had unknowingly done so by way of protein powders, chewing gum, or low-sugar snacks or desserts.

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The participants who consumed saccharin or sucralose had a steeper blood glucose response than any of the other groups. When participants consumed any of the four sugar substitutes, their gut bacteria profile changed during the two weeks of intake. Along with these changes, levels of the metabolic products changed, too. For example, in participants who took saccharin, the production of a type of amino acid increased, echoing patterns seen in people with diabetes.

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