Fake sweetener used in kids lip balm might be damaging your gut: study

This news is more sour than sweet.

 A new-generation artificial sweetener — used in a variety of kids lip balms among other products — might be damaging your gut. 

Neotame, which can be found in fizzy drinks, chewing gum, ice cream, and flavored lip balms, can trigger IBS or even sepsis, according to new research released Thursday. 

The latest findings, published in Frontiers in Nutrition, add to a growing body of evidence that point to potentially negative health consequences of fake sugars and additives in common packaged foods and drinks. 

“There is now growing awareness of the health impacts of sweeteners such as saccharin, sucralose and aspartame, with our own previous work demonstrating the problems they can cause to the wall of the intestine and the damage to the ‘good bacteria’ which form in our gut,” Dr. Havovi Chichger, author of the study and professor at Anglia Ruskin University, told MedicalXpress.com.

“This can lead to a range of potential health issues including diarrhea, intestinal inflammation, and even infections such as septicemia if the bacteria were to enter the blood stream,” Chichger continued. “It is important to also study sweeteners that have been introduced more recently and our new research demonstrates that neotame causes similar problems, including gut bacteria becoming diseased.”

Neotame is a relatively new sweetener, and was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under certain conditions in 2002. Sold under the brand name Newtame, it is 7,000 – 13,000 times sweeter than table sugar. It’s ideal for baking and cooking because it does not lose its sweetness under heat. 

For comparison, sucralose (aka Splenda) is 600 times sweeter than table sugar; and aspartame (aka NutraSweet, Equal or Sugar Twin) is about 200 times sweeter than table sugar.

To approve the use of neotame in food, the FDA notes that it reviewed over 110 animal and human studies designed to identify “possible toxic  effects, including effects on the immune, reproductive, and nervous systems.”

Chichger, who has conducted similar studies on fake sugars in the past, stressed that even in low quantities — well below the approved daily amounts — neotame still caused damage.

“Even when we studied neotame at very low concentrations, 10 times lower than the acceptable daily intake, we saw the breakdown of the gut barrier and a shift in bacteria to a more damaging behavior, including increased invasion of healthy gut cells leading to cell death. This can be linked to issues such as irritable bowel diseases and sepsis,” the researcher told The Guardian.

Neotame can be found in a number of candy-flavored lip balms targeted at kids, according to the EWG. Some of the products include Sour Patch Kids flavored lip balm, Oreo flavored lip balm, certain Nickelodeon flavored lip balms and Star Wars The Mandalorian strawberry-flavored lip balm. 

Neotame can also be found in several flavors of Kroger sparkling water and HEB Tampico Mango Punch, among other drinks and baked goods. 

This is hardly the first time artificial sweeteners have come under fire. Although some studies have shown they may help with weight loss and managing conditions such as Type 2 diabetes, last year the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the sugary substitutes should not be used in weight management because it ultimately didn’t help people long term.

The WHO also announced in July 2023 that aspartame fell into a category of items that were “possibly carcinogenic” to humans. The FDA continues to maintain the use of artificial sweeteners is safe.