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Last week, Israeli scientists suggested that artificial sweeteners may increase, not decrease, the risk of diabetes. Now, they are planning to assess whether they really do assist with weight loss.
A team at the Weizmann Institute of Science concluded from a study that artificial sweeteners can change the balance of microbes in the gut which can result in the onset of metabolic diseases including diabetes.
They did so after finding that people who suddenly started consuming artificial sweeteners stood a significant chance of developing glucose intolerance. The researchers concluded that some people have gut bacteria that is unaffected by sweeteners, while other people have a bacteria "population" that reacts to it by becoming less able to handle sugar.
This followed experiments in which mice developed a glucose intolerance after being fed artificial sweeteners.
Eran Elinav, co-director of the study, said that he was "surprised" by the results and is now keen to probe sweeteners' usefulness - or lack of usefulness - in slimming. "There are many interesting avenues that this opens up," he said of his latest research.
He said that he personally no longer consumes sweeteners, but said this was a "very personal" decision and should not be seen as a precedent. He stressed that policy changes are "not our role".
Dr Elinav also warned against decreasing sweetener intake and eating more sugar. "By no means are we recommending people to stop sweeteners and go back to sugary diets."