Artificial sweeteners can trick your brain into making you feel more hungry: ScienceAlert

Nothing about life is free, and there are no sugar-free drinks either.

Scientists are currently linking the artificial sweetener sucralose (sold as a splender) to yet another potential health drawback. This time there will be no impact. Intestines; It is in the brain.

A randomized crossover trial showed that a group of 75 adults had increased blood flow to the hypothalamus when they drank a drink containing sucralose – Part of the brain that helps control appetite and cravings.

In contrast, when the same participants drank a drink with sucrose (aka table sugar), there was a hunger effect. Peripheral glucose levels rose sharply, corresponding to a decrease in blood flow to the hypothalamus.

Two hours after taking sucrose, participants reported significantly lower hunger levels than after taking sucralose.

Research results supported by The first study on rodentssuggests that non-calorie sweeteners may not actually help you lose weight or reduce sugar cravings in the long term. In fact, it appears to be changing the way the hypothalamus communicates with other parts of the brain.

Sucralose is 600 times sweeter It has zero calories than sucrose. This could create a “disagreement between calorie intake expectations and actual lack of energy”, the author explain.

“If your body expects calories for sweetness, but it doesn't get the calories it expects, it could change the way your brain is ready to crave those substances over time.” caveat supervisor of the study, Kathleen Alana Page, endocrinologist at the University of Southern California.

Page and her team say it is important that the long-term health effects of sweeteners similar to Splenda will be investigated in further research. Up to 40% Of the American adults, they regularly consume these sugar substitutes.

The recent trial included 75 participants between the ages of 18 and 35 who had three interventions each, and received blood tests and brain scans.

One day they had a drink with sucralose. Another day they had a drink with sucrose. And on the third day they drank a glass of water. All the drinks had an unsweetened cherry flavour, so participants didn't know the difference. Each person served as control.

Drink orders were randomized for each participant, with gaps between sessions anywhere from 2 days to 2 months.

Unlike drinking real sugar, drinking sucralose did not cause peripheral glucose levels or spikes of hormones such as insulin or glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1).

“The body uses these hormones to communicate the brain that burns calories to reduce hunger.” I'll explain it page. “Sucralose had no effect. The difference in hormonal response to sucralose compared to sugar was even more pronounced in obese participants.”

This suggests that metabolic signals in the body are closely linked to brain activity. Sucralose time Interacts with intestinal microorganismsFor example, previous studies have found that it can impair the body's response to glucose. Perhaps this is also fed into the unique hypothalamic response identified in the current study.

Once, splenders were considered Biologically inactiveHowever, a recent study has found that this popular sugar alternative, often found in diet drinks and chewing gum, is linked. DNA damage, Impaired glucose tolerance and altered gut microbiota.

Two years after the World Health Organization issued Health warnings about sucralose and its potential metabolic and inflammatory effects are another reason to worry about consuming the will of sweeteners.

Page and her colleagues are currently conducting follow-up studies to see how sucralose specifically affects the brains of children and adolescents.

“Do these substances lead to changes in the developing brain of children at risk of obesity?” ask page.

“The brain is vulnerable during this period, which could be an important opportunity to intervene.”

This study was published in Natural metabolism.