This might surprise people who have switched from sugar to artificial sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners may really contribute to heart disease, according to a recent study. Protein shakes, among other things, include artificial sweeteners, so even folks who don't add them to their tea or coffee may be unintentionally consuming them. In order to assess the risk of heart disease-related to sweets, researchers at the French INSERM (The French National Institute of Health and Medical Research is known as the Institut National de la Santé Et de la Research Médicale) institute analysed data from more than 100,000 French individuals who self-reported their diet, lifestyle, and medical history were collected as part of the NutriNet-Sante project between 2009 and 2021.
An average of 42 milligrams of artificial sweetener was eaten daily by the participants, or about one packet of sweetener or a third of a can of diet soda, by close to 37% of the participants. Over the nine-year follow-up period, 1,502 heart-related disorders, such as heart attacks, angina, and strokes, were recorded. According to the study, 346 out of every 100,000 people who consume a lot of sugar develop heart disease, as opposed to 314 out of every 100,000 people who do not, as reported in the journal BMJ. The findings, according to the study's coordinator Mathilde Touvier of INSERM, are in line with the most recent WHO report released this year and do not support the use of sweeteners as a secure replacement for sugar.
Need For Thorough And More Research
According to a World Health Organization research from April, there is disagreement about whether non-sugar sweeteners are effective for long-term weight loss or maintenance or if they are connected to other long-term health effects. Aspartame, acesulfame potassium, and sucralose, among other sweets, have been linked to cancer, according to a different study that used Nutri-Net data and was published earlier this year.
However, because such observational studies cannot determine the reason for the disparities they discover, which may be due to other factors, they have received more criticism. This is due to the fact that individuals who use artificial sweeteners clearly differ significantly from those who do not use them in many regards.
