The Mind-Gut Connection: How the Hidden Conversation Within Our Bodies Impacts Our Mood, Our Choices, and Our Overall Health

by Emeran Mayer

sweeteners changed metabolic pathways in gut microbes so they produce more short-chain fatty acids, which can be absorbed by the colon, providing additional calories. This means that when you consume artificial sweeteners, your body enlists your gut microbiota to harvest more calories in the colon from the microbial metabolic products to compensate for the missing sugar available in the small intestine. It suggests that trying to cut calories with artificial sweeteners won’t work because your gut, with the help of its microbes, will just extract proportionally more calories from the food you eat.