WASHINGTON — Artificial sweeteners have an effect on the body’s metabolism and can lead to excessive fat accumulation in people, especially those who are already obese, according to a recent study.
Dr. Sabyasachi Sen, an associate professor of medicine and endocrinology at George Washington University, led the study, explaining in a press release by the Endocrine Society that while many people rely on these artificial sweeteners as a low-calorie alternative to natural sweeteners, “there is increasing scientific evidence that these sweeteners promote metabolic dysfunction.”
Sen and his colleagues tested the popular low-calorie sweetener sucralose on stem cells taken from human fat cells. They placed these cells in Petri dishes for 12 days, adding 0.2 millimolars of sucralose. The dosage is based on the concentration of sucralose in the bloodstreams of people with high consumption levels of the artificial sweetener — about four cans of diet soda per day.
The researchers observed increased expression of genes that produce fat and inflammation. They also saw an increased accumulation of fat droplets in the cells, especially when they increased the concentration of sucralose.
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3 comments:
This is one of several studies over the past few years that have come to similar conclusions. What will the FDA do about it?
How's that Coke Zero (Zero Sugar) going for everyone? No sugar but full of aspartame.
Coke really think we'll fall for that trick AGAIN?
I've always suspected that artificial sweeteners were harmful. They have much more intense "sweet taste" than regular sugar, and cause the body to over produce insulin in response to the taste (not the sugar). In addition to obesity, which drives people to consume diet drinks, the diet drinks contribute heavily to the insulin resistance in type 2 diabetics. Ironic that the artificial sweeteners were created for diabetics, and has only had the effect of creating more diabetics. Turns out, sugar is less harmful to a type 2 diabetic than artificial sweeteners. It is natural and contributes less to a type 2 diabetic's blood sugar spikes than artificial sweeteners. Sugar, in moderation, is better for you than those chemicals in artificial sweeteners. We'd all be better off without them.
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