The Dangers Of Sugar-Free Sweeteners

A recent study done by Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis questioned whether nonnutritive sweeteners (NNS), such as sucralose (commonly known as Splenda), have negative metabolic effects on obese subjects.

"Our results indicate that... it does have an effect," said researcher M. Yanina Pepino, Ph. D., in a statement.  "We need to do more studies to determine whether this observation means long-term use could be harmful."

Seventeen subjects were studied, who were all considered to be obese, and didn't regularly use NNS products. In the test, they drank a sucralose solution (experimental group) or water (control group), followed by consuming glucose to measure how well the body responds to sugar.

Opposed to the control group, the participants who consumed sucralose faced higher blood sugar peaks and 20 percent higher insulin levels. The study, which was recently published in the journal of Diabetes Care, concluded at the end, "These data demonstrate that sucralose affects the glycemic and insulin responses to an oral glucose load in obese people who do not normally consume NNS. "