Study: Artificial Sweeteners Could Increase Glucose Levels

By Hamodia Staff

YERUSHALAYIM – Research conducted at the Weizmann Institute strongly suggests that artificial sweeteners may actually increase sugar levels in the body.

Immunologist Prof. Eran Elinav at Weizmann told The Times of Israel that unless it is proved that his team’s concerns are unfounded, “we should not assume they are safe.”

According to the study, saccharin and sucralose interferes with the body’s ability to dispose of glucose in a healthy manner.

Elinav and his colleagues first made the argument eight years ago based on a study with laboratory animals. They said at the time that sugar substitutes were introduced to satisfy the sweet tooth without raising glucose levels, but they “may have directly contributed to enhancing the exact epidemic that they themselves were intended to fight.”

 The current findings, based on dozens of adults, broadly corroborated the earlier study.

“Our trial has shown that non-nutritive sweeteners may impair glucose responses by altering our microbiome,” said Elinav.

The scientists conducted their experiment with the four most common sweeteners: saccharin, sucralose, aspartame, and stevia. The first two appeared to significantly impair glucose response, but all four of them caused changes in the gut bacteria, the microbiome, they said.

These changes weren’t detected among other volunteers who were in control groups and didn’t consume sweeteners.

“In my opinion as a physician, once it has been noted that non-nutritive sweeteners are not inert to the human body, the burden of proof of demonstrating or refuting their potential impacts on human health is at the responsibility of those promoting their use, and we should not assume they are safe until proven otherwise. Until then, caution is advised,” Elinav said.