Your zero calorie sweetener is changing how your brain works

Not all zero calorie sugar substitutes are as sweet as they may seem.

New research suggests that Sukralosis – one of the most popular artificial sweeteners in the market – clutter with a region of brain responsible for hunger control, especially in overweight people.

Finding raises new questions if sugar alternatives, used by about 40% of Americans to satisfy their sweet calorie -free tooth, are an effective weight management tool.

Sugar

The American Heart Association recommends that men consume no more than 9 teaspoons and women no more than 6 tablespoons of sugar added a day. However, the average American is striking a 17 teaspoon a day.

Excessive sugar intake is a major contributor to weight gain, mainly due to the additional calories it offers. With 40% of US adults and nearly 1 in 5 children and adolescents considered obese, it is not surprising that sugar substitutes have increased in popularity.

Sign in sucrose. It is usually marketed as splenda, this ingredient is often found in diet soda, mature goods and gum. It is 600 times sweeter than sugar and calorie-without calorie-but it may not be the product of the miracle that is cracked to be.

Happy what happens with your brain in sucrose?

Previous studies have hinted for a possible link between calorie -free sweeteners and overweight, but they have not fully explained how these substances affect hunger in humans.

To discover, researchers at the University of Southern California studied how 75 participants of different body weights responded after consuming water, a sweetened sucralosis or a sweetened sugar drink in three special occasions.

During each session, researchers closely monitored the participants’ brain activity, blood levels and urine before and after drinking.

Compared to sugar, the team found that consumption of sucralosis caused increased brain activity in the hypothalamus, the area responsible for regulating appetite and led to hunger growth – especially in people with overweight.

Researchers also found that succalosis increased the bond between the hypothalamus and other brain regions associated with motivation and decision -making.

The study underlines how success “confuses the brain” by providing a sweet taste without the expected caloric energy, explained Dr. Kathleen Alanna Page, the relevant author and director of the study of the USC Diabetes Research and Obesity Research.

She warned that this “mismatch” could lead to long -term shifts in the desires and behavior of eating.

“If your body is waiting for a calorie because of sweetness, but it doesn’t get the calorie waiting, it can change the way the brain is willing to want those substances over time,” she said.

As expected, Pages and its team found that consumption of sugar raised blood sugar levels and caused hormone release such as insulin and peptide-like glucagon (GLP-1), which help regulate hunger.

However, drinking sucrose had zero impact on those hormones.

“The body uses these hormones to tell the brain you have consumed calories in order to reduce hunger,” Page said. “Sukralosis did not have that effect – and changes in hormone responses to sucrose than sugar were even more pronounced in overweight participants.”

Researchers also found that female participants underwent greater changes in brain activity compared to their male counterparts, suggesting that sucticious can have a different effect on gender.

Other limit

The study raises key questions if the changes observed in brain and hormone activity have long -term effects. Researchers are calling for further studies that pursue body weight and eating habits to better understand the possible connection.

Meanwhile, Page and her colleagues have begun a subsequent study to explore how calorie -free sweeteners affect the development of children and adolescents, a group that consumes more sugar and sugar substitutes than any other.

“Are these substances leading to changes in the developing brain of children who are at risk for being overweight?” Page asked. “The brain is vulnerable during this time, so it can be a critical opportunity to intervene.”

Sugar vs artificial sweeteners

Despite the seduction of zero or low calorie options, there are increasing concerns if artificial sweeteners are really effective for losing weight.

The American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association support the use of these sweeteners as sugar substitutes to combat overweight, metabolic syndrome and diabetes – all risk factors for heart disease.

But in 2023, the World Health Organization warned against the use of non-relevance of weight management, after a review that found no long-term benefits for weight loss or adults or children.

While the added sugars keep their group of health risks, some research suggests that sugar substitutes can come with their lower group.

Studies have shown that succalosis can adversely affect intestinal health, damage DNA, disrupt the process of detoxifying the liver, and even potentially increasing the risk of diabetes.

That is to say, the International Sweethejetiers Association, the main commercial group representing the artificial sweetener industry, argues that a broad research body has confirmed the safety of low -calorie sweeteners for consumers.