Harvard Health Content API

Zero-calorie sweeteners can help some people with weight loss. However, their effect on metabolism is less clear. A new article takes a look at the evidence. Several studies have found higher rates of metabolic syndrome in people who consume artificially sweetened drinks. Metabolic syndrome is a group of harmful health factors that tend to occur together. The factors include high blood sugar, high blood pressure, high triglycerides (a blood fat), a large waist and low HDL (“good cholesterol”). Metabolic syndrome increases the risk of heart disease. In other studies, people who started out with similar weights tended to gain more weight if they drank zero-calorie sweetened sodas than if they drank water. The study authors say that the artificial sweeteners may confuse the body’s response to sweets. When diet soda drinkers consume real sugar, the body may not react properly.

Low-dose CT scans could be most useful as a lung-cancer screening test if given only to those with the very highest risk, a new study suggests. The study suggests a way to further refine criteria for who should get the scans. Chest CT finds many lung cancers but also causes many false alarms. Researchers took a closer look at results from the National Lung Cancer Screening Trial. That study reported results in 2011. It found that chest CT screening of a high-risk group could reduce lung cancer deaths 20%. Scans were given to heavy smokers, ages 55 through 74 years. The study also included former heavy smokers who had quit no more than 15 years earlier. The new study further divided people into risk groups based on how much they smoked, family history of lung cancer and other factors.