Artificial sweeteners not recommended for weight loss, says WHO

Swapping that soda for a diet option may not be the best choice for weight loss, after all.

On Monday, the World Health Organization released new guidelines warning the public not to use non-sugar sweeteners for weight loss, revealing that it may actually do more harm to the body than help it.

New findings showed that artificial sweeteners — like aspartame, a sugar substitute found in Diet Coke — don’t do much to reduce your waistline. In fact, long-term use of these fake sugars could even potentially increase the risk for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and mortality in adults, WHO said.

“Replacing free sugars with NSS (non-sugar sweeteners) does not help with weight control in the long term,” said Francesco Branca, WHO’s director for nutrition and food safety, in a statement.

Some of the most common and non-sugar sweeteners include “acesulfame K, aspartame, advantame, cyclamates, neotame, saccharin, sucralose, stevia and stevia derivatives,” according to the WHO.

Artificial sweeteners like sucralose can be found in popular drinks such as Brisk iced tea, Diet Mountain Dew and Gatorade Zero, according to Livestrong.

Sugar-free chewing gum, sugar-free cocoa mix and sugar-free gelatin typically contain non-sugar sweeteners as well, according to the outlet.

Branca advised that people should instead try to focus on eating foods with natural sugar, like fruit.

“People need to consider other ways to reduce free sugars intake, such as consuming food with naturally occurring sugars, like fruit, or unsweetened food and beverage,” he continued. “NSS (non-sugar sweeteners) are not essential dietary factors and have no nutritional value. People should reduce the sweetness of the diet altogether, starting early in life, to improve their health.”

WHO noted that these new guidelines are applicable to everyone except for those who have pre-existing diabetes.

The review was compiled through 283 studies, according to CNN, but some of them were observational, which means that they just show an association.

The new guidelines include a wide array of non-sugar sweeteners, too – including ones that are naturally occurring.

However, a statement put out by the Calorie Control Council, which is an “international association representing the low and reduced-calorie food and beverage industry,” maintained that these artificial sweeteners were still safe for consumption.

‎“A substantial body of evidence shows that low- and no-calorie sweeteners provide effective and safe options to reduce sugar and calorie consumption,” said Robert Rankin, president of the Calorie Control Council. “This is supported by rigorous reviews of this evidence by the world’s most highly regarded health and regulatory agencies, who have validated the role of these ingredients.”

“Along with exercise and a healthy diet low- and no-calorie sweeteners are a critical tool that can help consumers manage body weight and reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases.”

The WHO advised that the new recommendations encompassed “all synthetic and naturally occurring or modified non-nutritive sweeteners that are not classified as sugars found in manufactured foods and beverages, or sold on their own to be added to foods and beverages by consumers.”

However, it does not apply to artificial sweeteners that are found in hygiene products, like toothpastes, skin cream or medications.

It also does not apply to “low-calorie sugars and sugar alcohols (polyols),” which are technically sugars or sugar byproducts that do contain calories.

This is not the first time that non-sugar sweeteners have been at the forefront of a health debate.

Last year, a study found that artificial sweeteners could potentially cause diabetes because they can “alter the body’s microbes” resulting in a change in blood sugar levels.

“In subjects consuming the non-nutritive sweeteners, we could identify very distinct changes in the composition and function of gut microbes and the molecules they secret into peripheral blood,” senior author and professor Eran Elinav of the German National Cancer Centre told South West News Service at the time.

Another study out of the Medical College of Wisconsin last April found that these sugar substitutes could potentially affect the liver’s ability to detoxify itself.

In 2019, experts from The University of Sussex in England challenged a 2013 review from the European Food Safety Authority that stated aspartame was safe, claiming that it was indeed flawed.