Artificial Sweeteners - Are they good or bad?

Introduction

In the rapidly developing market for health and wellness, people have found different ways to effectively achieve weight loss and maintain a healthy diet. Artificial sweeteners - chemically synthesised substances that substitutes sugar with almost no calories - have been a subject of heated debate as to whether they were beneficial or harmful.[1] So, are they good or bad?

How do they work?

First of all, to determine whether they are beneficial or harmful we need to explore the mechanism of artificial sweeteners. They have virtually zero calories because only a small amount of them is needed to create intense sweet flavours in foods. The taste buds on our tongue have receptors that detect different flavours when specific food molecules fit into them. These artificial sweeteners have the perfect fit for receptors that detect sweetness, sending signals to the brain. However, the chemical breakdown of these molecules are very different to normal sugar molecules which is why they have virtually no calories. [1]

Beneficial or harmful?

The major benefits of artificial sweeteners are that they promote weight loss and they do not affect blood sugar levels[1]. Hence, they are widely used for overweight, obese, diabetic people to control their diet while enjoying some sweet flavour. Also, artificial sweeteners do not interact with bacteria in our mouth, so they do not cause tooth decay and cavities.  

However, they do have some cons. While they do promote weight loss in the short term, it is still unclear whether they will be effective in the long-term.[3] This is because of the addictive nature of artificial sweeteners. They can be up to 700 times sweeter than sugar, disrupting the nervous system with an excess secretion of dopamine[2]. Moreover, some sugar substitutes like Stevia and Monk fruit sweeteners can cause bloating, diarrhoea, and gas due to the sugar alcohols added during their production.[3]

Although health agencies have clarified that artificial sweeteners do not cause serious health problems, further research would be needed to rebut the correlation between artificial sweeteners, cancer and gut health.[1][3] 

References

1. Arnarson, A. (2019, October 4). Artificial Sweeteners: Good or Bad? Healthline. Retrieved December 1, 2023, from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/artificial-sweeteners-good-or-bad

2. (Are Artificial Sweeteners Bad for You? – Cleveland Clinic, 2023)

3. (Artificial Sweeteners and Other Sugar Substitutes, 2023)