Consuming diet beverages may also make it harder to lose weight. 49 This could be due to hormonal effects, other effects on satiety signals, or effects on gut microbiota. 50

PLoS Medicine 2017: Artificially sweetened beverages and the response to the global obesity crisis [overview article; ungraded] ↩ With brands such as Sweetex and Splenda advertising their sugar substitutes as healthy alternatives for people living with diabetes, the study’s results indicate that these sugar substitutes may actually be harmful to those with the metabolic condition. The other category of artificial sweetener is nutritive, which only includes aspartame. "The nutritive sweeteners may be lower in calories when compared to sugar and add caloric value to the foods that contain them," says Daghigh. Artificial sweeteners can usher in overeating. Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism 2018: The effect of small doses of fructose and allulose on postprandial glucose metabolism in type 2 diabetes: a double-blind, randomized, controlled, acute feeding, equivalence trial [moderate evidence]The Guardian article clearly describes the approach and key findings of the study and also explains that this type of research can only show a link and cannot exclude unknown factors which may have influenced the findings. Canadian Medical Association Journal 2017: Nonnutritive sweeteners and cardiometabolic health: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and prospective cohort studies [systematic review; moderate evidence] Some people are reluctant to use artificial sweeteners – stories linking them to health problems including cancers, liver damage and premature births are probably the reason for this. However, before sweeteners can be added to food in Europe, the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) has to approve their use. This is a rigorous process, so you can feel confident they are safe to eat. Journal of Functional Foods 2020: Ingestion of isomalto-oligosaccharides stimulates insulin and incretin hormone secretion in healthy adults [randomized trial; moderate evidence] ↩ Cell Metabolism 2020: Short-term consumption of sucralose with, but not without, carbohydrate impairs neural and metabolic sensitivity to sugar in humans

Nutrition Journal 2020: Chronic sucralose consumption induces elevation of serum insulin in young healthy adults: a randomized, double blind, controlled trial While other past studies only looked at artificial sweeteners in drinks, this study included artificial sweeteners added to foods, such as yogurts, as well as “table top” sweeteners, which people added to their own food and drink, so its findings about the relationship between sweeteners and cardiovascular disease may be more accurate.Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 2012: Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Use of nutritive and nonnutritive sweeteners [overviewarticle; ungraded] ↩

However, the glucose levels stabilised, and in some cases decreased in the other groups, suggesting that it was not the glucose in the sweeteners responsible for the rises in blood sugar. Popular brands including Splenda and Sweetex contain the sugar substitutes responsible for a rise in glucose levels.In a 2018 trial, participants’ blood glucose levels increased up to 50 mg/dL and their insulin levels increased as much as fivefold within 30 minutes of consuming 25 grams of IMO syrup: European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2012: Consumption of fructose-sweetened beverages for 10 weeks reduces net fat oxidation and energy expenditure in overweight/obese men and women [randomized controlled trial; moderate evidence]

Food Chemistry 2015: Identification, classification, and discrimination of agave syrups from natural sweeteners by infrared spectroscopy and HPAEC-PAD [overview article; ungraded evidence] ↩ Products: Granulated blends with erythritol or stevia, pure liquid drops, or liquid drops with stevia; also used in replacement products like monkfruit-sweetened artificial maple syrup and chocolate syrup. Other sweetenersThe main ingredient of Sweetex is sodium sacchari, the solid form of the non-nutritive sweetener saccharin. One way to reduce your sugar intake without sacrificing taste is by replacing table sugar (sucrose) with low calorie sweeteners, which can be beneficial for people who wish to enjoy certain foods without risking a spike in blood glucose levels as well as those who are overweight and wish to reduce their calorie intake.