Artificial sweeteners are among the most commonly used food additives worldwide. In a recent study published in the medical journal ‘Nature’ it was shown that consumption of artificial sweeteners adversely impacts health by altering the microbes that live in the gut – called the microbiome. These adverse metabolic effects also were found to be transferable to germ-free mice via faecal transplant.
Researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel added artificial sweeteners saccharin, sucralose, or aspartame to the drinking water of three different groups of lean mice. They also had control groups of mice drinking plain water or water supplemented with sugar to see how the artificial sweeteners compared to normal sugar. After 11 weeks of feeding, the control groups who had plain water, or water + sugar, had unchanged glucose tolerance curves, whereas all mice drinking artificial sweetener had developed significant glucose intolerance.
The researchers next wanted to see if the microbiota was responsible for the glucose intolerance by transferring microbes from the gut of mice that were fed artificial sweeteners to germ free mice. They found that the germ free mice immediately developed significant glucose intolerance compared to mice that received the sugar-fed microbiota. This confirmed that changed microbiota were in fact responsible for the deterioration in glucose tolerance.
Researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel added artificial sweeteners saccharin, sucralose, or aspartame to the drinking water of three different groups of lean mice. They also had control groups of mice drinking plain water or water supplemented with sugar to see how the artificial sweeteners compared to normal sugar. After 11 weeks of feeding, the control groups who had plain water, or water + sugar, had unchanged glucose tolerance curves, whereas all mice drinking artificial sweetener had developed significant glucose intolerance.
The researchers next wanted to see if the microbiota was responsible for the glucose intolerance by transferring microbes from the gut of mice that were fed artificial sweeteners to germ free mice. They found that the germ free mice immediately developed significant glucose intolerance compared to mice that received the sugar-fed microbiota. This confirmed that changed microbiota were in fact responsible for the deterioration in glucose tolerance.