German farmers have used artificial sweeteners in pig fattening for decades. It was always assumed that the sweet taste increases appetite and therefore calorie intake. The researchers Dr. Eran Elinav of the Immunology Department and Prof. Eran Segal of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics Department of the Weizmann Institute published their test results in the scientific journal ‘Nature’, suggesting that the fattening effects of artificial sweeteners are much worse! Artificial sweeteners are affecting gut bacteria in a way that is contributing to the obesity and diabetes epidemic.
Prof. Segal: “The results of our experiments highlight the importance of personalized medicine and nutrition to our overall health. We believe that an integrated analysis of individualized ‘big data’ from our genome, microbiome and dietary habits could transform our ability to understand how foods and nutritional supplements affect a person’s health and risk of disease.”
Artificial sweeteners, even though they do not contain sugar, nonetheless have a direct effect on the body’s ability to utilize glucose. Glucose intolerance – generally thought to occur when the body cannot cope with large amounts of sugar in the diet – is the first step on the path to metabolic syndrome and adult-onset diabetes.
Source: Weizmann Institute
I actively avoid sweeteners!
