“Artificial Sweetener, Aspartame, Dangers ?”
Hundreds of millions of people worldwide consume daily artificial sweeteners, which are found in a wide variety of foods and drinks, including soft drinks, cakes and foods for diabetics, as well as medicines. The artificial sweetener aspartame is used globally in more than 6,000 products, including Diet Coke products. It previously was a part of Diet Pepsi, too, until the company changed to another artificial sweetener (a Splenda blend) in response to consumer demand by health conscious folks. Many people turn to artificial sweeteners as a sugar alternative, but according to a 2014 study, these sweeteners may drive diabetes and obesity. The study, published in the journal Nature, suggested artificial sweeteners – including saccharin, sucralose and aspartame – interfere with gut bacteria, increasing the activity of pathways associated with obesity and diabetes, appearing to dramatically increase both. Ironically, artificial sweeteners may enhance the exact epidemic that they themselves were intended to fight. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved aspartame for use in dry foods in 1981 and as a general artificial sweetener in 1996.
