Are artificial sweeteners better or worse for you? What about stevia and monkfruit?

Everybody loves a nice sweet treat from time to time. And everyone knows that eating a lot of sugar or simple carbohydrates is not very good for their metabolism. But what about artificial sweeteners? Stevia and monkfruit are “natural”, right, so they have to be okay?

Wrong. 

There is an odd and confusing history to this topic. In the last century, studies linked saccharin and aspartame to possible increased cancer risks. More recently, a major study in the British Journal of Medicine (a highly respected medical journal) found no convincing evidence that non-sugar sweeteners had any effect in adults on eating behavior, cancer, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, mood, behavior, or cognition. This study addressed all of the artificial sweeteners, sugar alcohols like xylitol and sorbitol, as well as stevia and monkfruit. The takeaway from this study seemed to be that artificial sweeteners really were not good and not bad and that their effects were completely neutral.

But how could that be true? Artificial sweeteners are either man-made chemicals or highly processed food additives derived from a natural product that trick your body into thinking you are taking in sugar when you are not. Ingestion of these artificial sweeteners - which are mistaken for glucose - results in the release of insulin from the pancreas. This increases the levels of insulin in blood eventually leading to decreased insulin receptor activity and the development of insulin resistance. This is terrible! Insulin resistance plays a role in diabetes, obesity, heart disease, stroke, and dementia.

In response to more recent studies, the World Health Organization (WHO) has now warned against using artificial sweeteners to control body weight or reduce the risk of the chronic illnesses listed above, stating that long-term use is not effective and poses health risks.

So, sugar alternatives do NOT reduce body fat and over time they could increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and death. The WHO recommends against using all artificial sweeteners and sugar substitutes, including supposed “natural sweeteners,” such as stevia and monkfruit.

“The recommendation applies to all people except individuals with pre-existing diabetes and includes all synthetic and naturally occurring or modified nonnutritive sweeteners that are not classified as sugars found in manufactured foods and beverages, or sold on their own to be added to foods and beverages by consumers,” the WHO said. 

Be careful and read labels on all of your foods AND supplements. Many packaged foods, most protein powders, and many keto products contain these ingredients. Our recommendation at Rise Precision Medicine is that you avoid all sugar substitutes over the long run. If you are going through a short-term process (a month or less) of reducing sugar intake and need to use a product like stevia or monkfruit sweetener to bridge to a healthier diet, that is probably not going to harm you and may help you meet your goals.