BioQuakes

AP Biology class blog for discussing current research in Biology

Artificial Sugars Causing Health Problems

Examples of Artificial Sugar

Examples of Artificial Sugars

When people consume artificial sugars, they are usually doing so instead of consuming regular sugar.  Scientists have studied the artificial sugar Saccharin in mice and some humans, and have recorded that intaking the sugar leads to obesity and Diabetes. Although the research is relatively recent, scientists recorded that 4 of  7 people with high Saccharine intakes have experienced impaired glucose metabolism, which is a symptom for Type II Diabetes.

Until recently, artificial sugars have been seen as viable alternatives to real sugar. Unlike natural sugar, artificial sugars such as Saccharine have no calories and are in beverages such as Diet Coke. Recently, however, scientists have begun to realize that artificial sugar may not be as harmless as expected, and may even be more damaging than natural sugars.

Scientists studied the intake of artificial sugars with mice. They noticed that over the course of 11 weeks, both skinny and fat mice had abnormally high glucose levels in their blood. Although scientists tested the mice for various types of artificial sugars, they noticed that one kind in particular affected the mice, Saccharin. They then tested mice again, while only feeding them high levels of Saccharin in their diet, and in only 5 weeks were able to see a difference in the glucose levels in the mice.

Next, the scientists studied microbes in mice’s intestines. The scientists noticed that the microbes in mice without Saccharin in their diets and mice with Saccharin in their diets varied greatly.

Although it is not known why Saccharin has such an effect on mice, scientists continued the study on to humans and found similar results. They studied 40 people with high Saccharin intakes and compared them to 236 people who do not intake Saccharin noticed that people who intake Saccharin have more of a tendency to have “impaired glucose metabolism.” Even healthy people who begin to intake Saccharine almost immediately begin to experience different glucose metabolism.

The reason why I chose this article is because the use of Artificial Sugars has always fascinated me. I have always been skeptical about drinking Diet Coke and other zero-calorie drinks because they seemed too good to be true. This article answered those questions for me. How do you feel about Artificial Sugars, such as Saccharin, after reading this?

Scientist Cathryn Nagler stated:”We have to respect the power of the microbiota. We need to step back and see what we are doing.”

Article Link: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/artificial-sweeteners-may-tip-scales-toward-metabolic-problems

Other Related Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_substitute

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saccharin

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/artificial-sweeteners-may-tip-scales-toward-metabolic-problems

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar

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6 Comments

  1. sgagocytosis

    This is a very interesting article Gergory! I try to avoid drinking any sweetened drinks or soda because they contain a ton of sugar. I’ve read before that diet soda is actually a lot worse than people think despite the attractive title of “Zero Calories”. Even The American Diabetes Association recommends people to avoid sugary drinks to help prevent diabetes. http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/myths/
    If people are craving something sweet, they should get their sugar intake from products with natural sugar, like fruits, not artificially flavored and sweetened drinks. Obesity is a huge issue for America, with 1/5 American children being obese. (www.webmd.com/children/guide/obesity-children)

  2. mitokahndria

    This article is so interesting and I feel that it is extremely relevant and relatable! I use an artificial sugar (sweet n low) everyday in my coffee but I realized that I don’t understand the impact and harm it could be causing me. In this article http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-artificial-sweeteners-microbiome-20140917-story.html#page=1
    I learned that artificial sugars are not even digested by the human body. In addiction, in the experiment conducted on Mice, the pathways altered by the artificial sweetener are also major triggers for onset of diabetes and obesity. I also didn’t realize that artificial sugars can increase your hunger. I understood that eating junk food always made you crave it more but now that I think about it, I never have a coffee with out sweet n low. Maybe in the morning I will think twice before putting that sweet n low in my coffee and just go for the regular sugar!

  3. whitebloodcell

    Very interesting article gergory. People have always said that artificial sweeteners, especially the ones in beverages, could have negative side affects. After reading an article on the subject (http://www.popsci.com/article/science/artificial-sweeteners-may-contribute-metabolic-disorders) I agree with your conclusions. While it appears that mice are so greatly affected by Saccharin due to the amount scientists give them with their small body size, studies have shown that Saccharin also affects humans. The most noticeable side affect is that in about half of the cases in humans, they became intolerant to glucose. This change in their metabolic system can cause certain metabolic diseases. Therefore, it seems to me that it would be best to avoid products containing Saccharin until further studies have been completed on its side affects.

  4. Lord J-blood cells

    Greg, great post. Reflects how artificial sugars can really affect our health. The experiments showing how artificial sugars like Saccharin can impair glucose metabolism. It’s pretty scary to think about the amount of artificial sugars out there and how so many people consume them. After reading more on http://arstechnica.com/science/2014/09/artificial-sweeteners-may-leave-their-users-glucose-intolerant/ , I could see how artificial sugars can easily link to obesity. Obesity is a serious problem in our country and could be prevented by better health choices. In this case, the healthy choice would be to not consume artificial sugars.

  5. nicheloss

    This is definitely an alarming side effect for using a supposed “healthy” substitute for sugar. It turns out that Saccharin is only one of the few sugar alternatives that have other health implications. On this website: http://www.onhealth.com/artificial_sweeteners/article.htm , I discovered that Aspartame is what makes up the artificial sweetner “Equal”. Aspartame is highly controversial because it has many health implications, being linked to chronic headaches, cancer, increased hunger, depression, etc. In my opinion, the negative aftermath of using substitutes containing Saccharin or Aspartame truly outweighs the low-caloric benefit it offers.

  6. izotope

    What a great article Gergory! Artificial sugars have always been interesting to me. How something can have no calories but be sweet doesn’t quite make sense. Researchers at Purdue University found that artificial sweeteners “tease” the body more than anything. The body thinks it is getting real food/sugar when you swallow these artificial sweeteners so it gets confused when it doesn’t. So when a diet soda drinker has real sugar, the body is unable to release the hormone to regulate blood sugar and pressure. This causes that person to be limited to only artificial sweeteners, because the body does not know how to react to real sugar.

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