The artificial sweetener, monkey clarose, disrupts the brain and increases hunger, research says

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The ever-growing evidence has more and more linked diet sodas and other low-calorie or low-calorie foods Weight gain – Like the World Health Organization Advisory has been issued In May 2023, I told you not to use sugar substitutes to lose weight.

“Replacing free sugar with non-sugar sweeteners doesn't help people control their weight over the long term,” says Dr. Francesco Blanca, director of the WHO's Nutrition and Food Safety Agency. I said it at the time.

Now, new research could shed light on why taking too much artificial sweetener sucralose can be counterproductive. Instead of sending signals to eat less, sucralose causes an increase in appetite when consumed with drinks.

“Sucralose activates the brain regions that regulate starvation, and its activation is associated with a greater evaluation of starvation,” said Dr. Katy Page, an associate professor in medicine and pediatrics and director of the Institute of Diabetes and Obesity at Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California School of Medicine.

In fact, people who drank water at Sucralose said their appetite increased by nearly 20% compared to drinking water containing table sugar, Page said.

In the US, sucralose is an important ingredient in some splenda sugar substitutes. In Europe, Sucralose is known as E955 It is found in sugar substitutes sold under the brand names Candys, Canderel Yellow, Cukren, Nevella, Splenda, Sucraplus, Sukrana and Zerocal.

This study investigated only the effects of sucralose and did not study other popular artificial sweeteners. Aspartame, Acesulfame-K and Sodium saccharin.

“It's a very high quality research, using cutting-edge methods and careful analysis,” Dr. David Katz, an expert in prevention and lifestyle medicine, said in an email. Katz, the founder of a nonprofit organization True Health Initiativethe global coalition of experts dedicated to evidence-based lifestyle medicine was not involved in this study.

The authors interpreted the results carefully but make the strong claim that “non-calorie sweeteners and specifically, they interfere with normal appetite regulation in ways that can adversely affect weight control and health.”

A spokesman for the Heartland Food Products Group, which makes Splenda, said low-calorie and zero-calorie sweeteners are supported by research and expert recommendations.

“Low or zero-calorie sweeteners like sucralose are recommended by medical professionals, food safety experts, and trusted health organizations for diabetes and weight management based on reliable scientific research. The impact of low or zero-calorie sweeteners on weight is similar to that of water, and levels to reduce sugar, to reduce sugar, to manage sugar uniformity,” the spokesman wrote in an email.

The idea that artificial sweeteners may increase hunger signals from mammalian brains is nothing new – Previous research Women and obese people who were found were particularly sensitive.

“Animal studies suggest some of these effects,” Katz said. However, “This is, to my knowledge, the most definitive study ever for people who have a direct impact on appetite centres.”

Every cell in the body needs glucose for energy. The brain is the biggest user and gobbling Half of all sugar It circulates in the blood. However, nature has designed its brain to respond to natural sugars such as glucose found in whole fruits and vegetables.

Therefore, artificial sweeteners appear to disrupt the brain by sending signals of sweetness without supplying the necessary calories the brain needs. Scientists hypothesize that if the promised calories do not arrive, the brain may send signals to eat more.

New research, Released on Wednesday In the Nature Metabolism magazine, 75 people asked to consume one of three drinks on three separate occasions: regular water, sweetened with table sugar (sucrose) and sweetened with sucralose.

During each visit, the research team tested participants' fasting blood glucose levels, followed by a brain scan called FMRI, which tracks blood flow to capture activity in different regions of the brain.

“They got out of the scanner, consumed one of three drinks and then went back to the scanner,” Page said.

One glass contained 300 ml water and 75 grams (about 2.5 ounces) of sugar (sucrose).

Another drink contained enough sucralose to match its sweetness. Sucralose is about 600 times sweeter than sugarAccording to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The third drink was plain water and served as a control.

During brain scans, Page and her team performed another round of blood sampling at 10 minutes 35 minutes 120 minutes after consuming the drink, asking participants to assess their hunger levels.

“(This study) is particularly powerful because it uses repeated measurements within the same participants and tests hypotheses including various methods such as brain imaging, blood collection, and subjective assessment,” says Kyle Berger, a scientist at the Monel Chemosensory Center, a nonprofit in Philadelphia, which investigates human senses of taste and smell. Burger was not involved in the research.

In addition to the drink with sucralose increasing the sense of hunger by about 17%, Page and her team have found an increased connection with other parts of the brain that control motivation.

“Sucralose appears to affect decision-making skills,” Page said. “For example, we found an increased brain connection between the hypothalamus and the anterior cingulate cortex, which controls decision risk and reward.”

Additionally, blood tests showed that sucralose doesn't affect the hormones the brain uses when it's satisfied and no longer hungry, Page said.

“There's no signal or no signal at all,” she said. “There's a signal of sweetness, but no hormonal signal that you're going to fill up. Sucralose doesn't affect those hormones.”

But not everyone feels the same combination of sucralose, Katz said.

“For example, people with insulin resistance may tend to have a disruption to normal appetite control with sucralose,” he said.

Recommendations on how to manage the body's response to artificial sweeteners are now complicated, Page said. For example, the American Diabetes Association is a source of insulin resistance and diabetes. Use calorie-free drinks and foodsBut be modest.

“I'm an endocrinologist, so I look at patients with diabetes and obesity,” Page said. “I never drink or eat drinks.

“Instead, I'm going to tell my patients not to resort to non-calorie sweeteners as a sugar alternative, and try to reduce the overall intake of common dietary sweeteners,” she said.

Katz agreed and preferred to suggest a format of Ajibud “Rehabilitation“It can reduce the overall use of sugar, no matter what form it is.

“A truly healthy diet doesn't add sugar to the point, so there's no sugar to “substitute” sucralose or related compounds,” Katz said.

Just as many people have reduced their use of salt, he said, it is possible to reduce the use of sweeteners by teaching them to taste their taste. The buds of taste are as tasty as they once were, and in the case of sodium, they react by finding something salty, too salty. Research shows.

Katz told CNN in a previous interview.

“If I ask you to boycott every dessert in your life, you will probably rebel or fail,” Katz said. “But there's a lot of added sugar and sweeteners hidden in unsweet foods, such as salad dressings, pasta sauces, breads, crackers, and even salty chips.”

By choosing a sweetener-free product, he said, “You can take a person's daily sugar or sweetener every day.