'Caution' Warranted if Consuming Artificial Sweeteners

Consumption of noncaloric, artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs) is associated with an increased risk for disease variety of chronic diseases, according to an opinion article by Susan E. Swithers, PhD, a professor of behavioral neuroscience at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, published online July 10 in Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism.

"Frequent consumers of these sugar substitutes may...be at increased risk of excessive weight gain, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease,"

The prospective studies Dr. Swithers reviewed found an elevated risk for weight gain and obesity, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, and hypertension in those who consumed ASBs. No decreased risk for weight gain or increased body fat percentage was associated with ASB intake.

 "In [the] short-term, ASBs is preferable to the use of SSBs. For those who want to kick the habit of drinking sugary soda, diet soda may be the beverage equivalent of a nicotine patch: it can be used in small amounts, for a short time. For most people, plain water and unsweetened coffee or tea are more healthy alternatives to either SSBs or ASBs,"
Hormones, Brain Response Altered

Dr. Swithers reviewed 2 interventional studies. The first found that children of normal weight who consume ASBs may have decreased weight gain compared with those who consume SSBs. In the second study, overweight and obese adults who substituted water or ASBs for SSBs had no greater weight loss at 6 months than an attentional control group.

Brain responses are altered in those who consume artificial sweeteners compared with those who consume caloric sweeteners. In imaging studies of the human brain, sucrose activates dopaminergic midbrain areas involved with reward, but sucralose does not. Sucralose also reduces activation in other pathways related to taste when compared with sucrose.

 Dr. Swithers concludes "Current findings suggest that caution about the overall sweetening of the diet is warranted, regardless of whether the sweetener provides energy directly or not,"

Source from Medscape Medical News  by M.Madan Mohan. Librarian VMMC.