We, in the IC/BPS community, know the dangers of artificial, non-sugar sweeteners. Nutrasweet (aka aspartame) is a well known bladder irritant that can trigger agonizing pain. A growing number of studies have found significant and potentially life threatening dangers, so much so that the World Health Organization’s cancer agency is considering listing aspartame as a possible carcinogen this year.(1) 

This follows their warning in May of 2023 that all non-sugar sweeteners (NSS) should be avoided because their long-term use for weight loss is not effective and could pose health risks.(2) ”Replacing free sugars with NSS does not help with weight control in the long term. 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 beverages,” says Francesco Branca, WHO Director for Nutrition and Food Safety. “NSS …  have no nutritional value. People should reduce the sweetness of the diet altogether, starting early in life, to improve their health.”

This recommendation applies to all people except individuals with pre-existing diabetes and includes 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. Common NSS include acesulfame K, aspartame, advantame, cyclamates, neotame, saccharin, sucralose, stevia and stevia derivatives.

The WHO left sugar alcohols out of their ruling but research has shown that they, too, may have serious risks. In February 2023, researchers at the Cleveland Clinic studied 4,000 people in the USA and Europe and found that those with higher blood erythritol levels were at an elevated risk of experiencing a major cardiac event such as heart attack, stroke or death.(3) Why? Erythritol appears to increase blood clot formulation.

“Sweeteners like erythritol, have rapidly increased in popularity in recent years but there needs to be more in-depth research into their long-term effects,” said senior author Stanley Hazen, M.D., Ph.D., chairman for the Department of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences in Lerner Research Institute and co-section head of Preventive Cardiology at Cleveland Clinic. “Cardiovascular disease builds over time, and heart disease is the leading cause of death globally. We need to make sure the foods we eat aren’t hidden contributors.”

He continued “Our study shows that when participants consumed an artificially sweetened beverage with an amount of erythritol found in many processed foods, markedly elevated levels in the blood are observed for days – levels well above those observed to enhance clotting risks.”

Change, of course, will be difficult as fast food manufacturing relies on “sweetness” combined with fat to trigger addictive eating and drinking. After all, their goal is to sell you a product over and over again. You can find sugar or sweeteners in many if not most manufactured foods. A single half cup of Prego spaghetti sauce contains more than two teaspoons of sugar, the equivalent of two oreo cookies. Why? Food engineers design foods heavy in sweet to trigger a “crave” response yet never give you a sensation of “fullness.” The more you crave it, the more eat it.(4)  

This is actually a very clever deception in brain chemistry. Normally, humans and animals crave sugar and fats to store energy for winter or perhaps a period of famine. Bears eat heavily in the summer and fall to store fat to get them through their winter hibernation. Thus, our animal brains say “This is great. I like it.” when you eating sweets and encourages you to keep eating via the production of opioids and dopamine, the same addictive pathway that heroin drug addicts struggle with. Start a child young with sugary cereal and chocolate milk every morning, they will crave sugar and snacks all day leading to weight gain, obesity and diabetes in a growing number of younger children. 

Thus, when sugar was so strongly linked to diabetes, the food industry turned to  sugar substitutes, causing catastrophic damage. My Aunt Shirley, for example, turned to drinking artificially sweetened drinks and soon became obese. Yet, even after sharing the research that these sweeteners cause obesity, she could not stop drinking them. “Sweets” make you feel good so much so that you willingly ignore warning signs that harm is happening. 

Of course, you’ll find many who state that artificial sugars are safe and, not surprisingly, they benefit from the sale of sweeteners. Both the International Council on Beverages Association and the International Sweeteners Association strongly protest any suggestion that artificial sweeteners can cause harm, much less cancer.(4) 

While the US FDA states that their use is “safe” when used in appropriate quantities(5), we cannot deny that they could be causing more harm. The rise in obesity in all age groups coincides with the widespread use of artificial sweeteners.(6)  In 2014, Israeli scientists were the first to link artificial sweeteners to harmful changes in gut bacteria (in an animal model) that led to increases in blood sugar level.(7) The health implications of their long-term use are simply unknown, especially in children.  

Conclusion

In our short and long-term futures, big business will continue to target addictive pathways of sugar and sweeteners if it benefits their bottom line. Don’t assume it’s just food products. In Silicon Valley, there are consultants and research firms that specialize in brain science to optimize addictive patterns in gaming and social networking. Did you notice how difficult it is to turn off TikTok and other short videos?(8) That’s very purposeful. It triggers the same addictive pathways that gambling does. We are literally their prey. It’s time to say No. 

References:

  1. Rigby J, et al. WHO’s cancer research agency to say aspartame sweetener a possible carcinogen Reuters. June 29, 2023
  2. WHO advises not to use non-sugar sweeteners for weight control in newly released guideline. 15 May 2023 https://www.who.int/news/item/15-05-2023-who-advises-not-to-use-non-sugar-sweeteners-for-weight-control-in-newly-released-guideline
  3. Cleveland Clinic Study Finds Common Artificial Sweetener Linked to Higher Rates of Heart Attack and Stroke.  Cleveland Clinic News Release. February 27, 2023.
  4. Castrodale, J. What does the World Health Organization have to do with your Diet Coke. Food & Wine. July 5, 2023 –
  5. Aspartame and Other Sweeteners in Food. US FDA. May 30, 2023.
  6. Yang Q. Gain weight by “going diet?” Artificial sweeteners and the neurobiology of sugar cravings. Yale J Biol Med. 2010 Jun; 83(2): 101–108.
  7. West, H. Do Artificial Sweeteners Spike Your Blood Sugar. Healthline. June 3, 2017.
  8. Biggs J. TikTok addiction: Why is TikTok so additive. Cosmopolitan. 19 May 2022.