Artificial Sweeteners Really Screwup Your Gut Flora

Aspartame, saccharin, stevia, and sucralose make concerning changes to your microbiome, according to new research.

Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

We all love sugar, but our excessive consumption of it is killing us. Global obesity has almost tripled since 1975, according to the WHO. They also claim 39% of adults (1.9 billion) are overweight, 13% of adults (650 million) are obese, and 340 million children over 5 years old are either obese or overweight. Even children under 5 are being affected, with 39 million being well beyond a healthy weight for their age. Our excessive sugar consumption is also directly linked with increased risk of hyperglycemia, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, among many other health problems shortening our lifespans. The main culprit is our sugar-laden diet.

So many have sought sugar alternatives to satisfy their sweet tooth and reduce potential health problems. Artificial sweeteners or non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS) like aspartame, saccharin, stevia, and sucralose are the most popular options for the simple reason that they’re calorie free. Since saccharin, the first of its kind, was accidentally created in 1879 by a chemist working with coal tar, artificial sweeteners were thought to be inert, having no affect on the human body. New research, though…