Today, "zero sugar" and "zero calories" have become the trump cards for many food businesses to compete for consumers.

Since the sugar substitute itself contains almost no calories, it greatly reduces the overall calories of the food, and it is indeed popular with the public.

However, are these foods with sugar-free labels sure to be healthy?

I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed -- research finds that sugar substitutes may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and some cancers.

Even more sadly, there is no clear evidence of its weight loss effect.

　　Take you to know the big sugar substitute family

　　Humans have been fond of sweets for a long time. In ancient Egypt and ancient India, 26,000 years ago, honey was regarded as an important sweetener as a tribute to the gods; in ancient China and India, honey was also used as a treatment for various diseases. prescription.

　　Nowadays, substances are extremely abundant, and sugars enter the human body continuously in various ways, causing various harms, such as dental caries, obesity, type 2 diabetes and so on.

As a result, various "sugar-free" foods that use sugar substitutes as sweeteners compete to appear.

　　Sugar substitutes, including natural sweeteners and artificial sweeteners. The raw materials of natural sweeteners are fruit juice, nectar, honey, etc., which are processed and refined; artificial sweeteners are artificially synthesized compounds. Spartame, xylitol, acesulfame potassium, erythritol, etc.

Many artificial sweeteners are hundreds of times sweeter than sucrose, so they are used in very small amounts, and their calories tend to be zero, which can significantly reduce the calories in food, so they are highly sought after by young people.

In particular, the market share of sugar-free beverages in my country is increasing year by year. It is estimated that by 2027, the market size of sugar-free beverages will reach 27.66 billion yuan.

　　Seemingly innocuous, yet lead to diabetes

　　As scientific evidence emerges, people can't help but question the sugar substitutes that hold the "healthy" banner.

　　Although the sugar substitute itself contains almost no calories, it will not directly stimulate the body's insulin secretion, and it will not raise blood sugar, but the sugar substitute is not completely harmless. Some recent studies have found that artificial sweeteners can still have some adverse effects on the human body.

　　Recently, the top international academic journal "Cell" published a related study. The study screened 120 participants who strictly avoided the use of artificial sweeteners in their daily life and divided them into six groups, two of which were the control group and the rest. The four groups received saccharin, sucralose, steviol glycosides and aspartame, respectively.

It found that intake of artificial sweeteners was associated with changes in the gut microbiome and increased blood sugar.

In particular, saccharin and sucralose have a greater impact on glucose tolerance.

　　In other words, while artificial sweeteners don't raise blood sugar by themselves, they may induce type 2 diabetes by reducing the body's ability to regulate blood sugar levels after eating through changes in the gut microbiome.

Moreover, previous cohort observational studies have found that the use of artificial sweeteners increases the risk of type 2 diabetes.

　　It's not big if you want to lose weight by sugar substitutes

　　Many people use sugar substitutes to lose weight, but there is no definitive evidence that artificial sweeteners can reduce weight.

A 2020 meta-analysis found that artificial sweeteners may have some weight-loss effect in people who are overweight or obese, but not in people who are normal weight or who are on a weight-loss diet. obvious.

　　Even more frightening, a recent study of more than 100,000 people with a 7.7-year follow-up found that participants who consumed more artificial sweeteners had an increased risk of all cancers compared with those who did not consume artificial sweeteners. increased by 13%, of which the dietary additive aspartame increased by 15% and the consumption of acesulfame potassium increased by 13%.

　　It can be seen that although sugar substitutes can stimulate our sweet taste buds, long-term use in large quantities will still cause health hazards.

Therefore, relying on food additives is not as practical as do-it-yourself healthy eating.

　　Text / Liu Jian

　　(Peking University People's Hospital)