A new study has found a link between the consumption of artificial sweeteners, generally found in dietary beverages, and increased cardiovascular disease risk like stroke.
A sugar substitute is a food additive that provides a sweet taste like that of sugar while containing significantly less food energy than sugar-based sweeteners, making it a zero-calorie (non-nutritive)or low-calorie sweetener. Artificial sweeteners may be derived through manufacturing of plant extracts or processed by chemical synthesis. Sugar substitute products are commercially available in various forms, such as small pills, powders, and packets.
"Aspartame intake was associated with increased risk of cerebrovascular events, and acesulfame potassium and sucralose were associated with increased coronary heart disease risk," said the researchers.
The findings were published in the journal BMJ.
The main goal was to investigate the relations between nutrition and health over the years. It studied early markers of cardiovascular health like weight status, hypertension, inflammation, vascular dysfunction, or gut microbiota perturbation in association with consumption of artificial sweeteners or artificially sweetened beverages, the researchers revealed.
"The main vectors of artificial sweeteners are products that are generally consumed on a regular basis as part of daily dietary habits, including artificially sweetened beverages, tabletop sweeteners, and dairy products," said the researcher.
Previously, Several studies have linked the consumption of artificial sweeteners to potential adverse effects, while others suggested it to be neutral or beneficial.
Nevertheless, this was a large study that assessed individuals' artificial sweetener intake using precise, high quality dietary data, and the findings are in line with other studies linking exposure to artificial sweeteners with several markers of poor health.
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As such, the researchers say their results suggest no benefit from substituting artificial sweeteners for added sugar on CVD outcomes.
Further prospective cohort studies need to confirm these results and experimental studies are needed to clarify biological pathways, they add.
Artificial sweeteners remain a controversial topic and are currently being re-evaluated by the European Food Safety Authority, the World Health Organisation, and other health agencies.