Artificial Sweeteners: Bad for Your Health?

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.