Can sweeteners help us lose weight and maintain a healthy gut microbiota?
Somewhat controversial “light” products are once again under the spotlight. A recent European study suggests that sweeteners, when part of a balanced, low-sugar diet, may help facilitate weight loss without harming health or gut microbiota.
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About this article
Can “light” products that use sweeteners help us lose weight? Opinions and scientific data differ and there is no clear answer to this question: some say they are harmful to health and microbiota, others that they are harmless, and others still that they are beneficial.
With more than a billion people obese and 43% of adults overweight worldwide1, the question has major implications.
Sweeteners: good or bad?
In a new study2, European scientists have attempted to provide some unequivocal answers. They studied the impact of sweetened products on weight loss maintenance, health (cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure, etc.), and microbiota.
For the study, they recruited 277 obese or overweight people who had recently lost an average of 10 kg following a 2-month low-calorie diet.
For 10 months, they were put on a balanced, healthy diet relatively low in sugary products, with less than 10% of energy derived from added sugars, as recommended by the World Health Organization.3 There were no restrictions on food quantity.
The participants were divided into two groups:
- A “sweeteners” group in which all sweet foods and drinks contained sweeteners
- A “sugar” group, in which these products contained real sugar.
The results?
No problematic effects
Firstly, all participants maintained a significant portion of their weight loss during the 10 months of eating without restriction, proving that a balanced diet helps us stay slim. However, the sweeteners group maintained an additional 1.6 kg of weight loss compared to the sugar group.
Secondly, their cardiometabolic health parameters improved temporarily, although the differences subsequently diminished. In any case, no harmful effects of sweeteners were observed.
Unexpected positive impact on microbiota
More interestingly, the microbiota of the sweeteners group was significantly enriched with bacteria that produce beneficial short-chain fatty acids ( (sidenote: Short chain fatty acids (SCFA) Short chain fatty acids (SCFA) are a source of energy (fuel) for an individual’s cells. They interact with the immune system and are involved in communication between the intestine and the brain. Silva YP, Bernardi A, Frozza RL. The Role of Short-Chain Fatty Acids From Gut Microbiota in Gut-Brain Communication. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2020;11:25. ) ). In particular, the researchers noted the activation of certain metabolic pathways linked to better fat utilization and increased satiety. All these effects were potentially conducive to better weight control.
Only a few digestive symptoms (bloating, gas, loose stools, etc.) were observed in the sweeteners group.
For the authors, this study proves that the prolonged use of sweeteners as part of a healthy, low-sugar diet contributes to maintaining weight loss without any adverse effects on health or the gut microbiota.
Exciting!
