Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity

by Eric Topol

The story of nonnutritive, artificial sweeteners is a bit more complicated, with conflicting reports regarding the many nonsugar substances. A comprehensive review of all the available data from randomized and observational studies found a lack of compelling evidence for associated risk. In contrast, another large cohort of more than one hundred thousand people found a direct association between consuming such sweeteners, particularly aspartame, acesulfame potassium, and sucralose, with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease risk. But that was not the case when different artificial sweeteners were examined separately through a randomized trial. In 120 healthy adults given saccharin, sucralose, aspartame, and stevia, versus controls for two weeks, the first two sweeteners induced impaired glucose regulation (also known as glycemic response), and all four were associated with changes in the oral and gut microbiome. Previous work has shown that such alteration of the gut microbiome is tied to the abnormal glycemic response. Overall, the data for artificial sweeteners is unfavorable, although it is not nearly as worrisome as high sugar consumption. Certain sweeteners, such as stevia, appear to be less concerning than others.