Are Zero-Calorie Sweeteners Truly Healthy and Guilt-Free? WHO Refutes Their Claims!

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WHO's New Guidelines on Non-Sugar Sweeteners

On May 15th, the World Health Organization (WHO) released new guidelines on non-sugar sweeteners titled "WHO advises not to use non-sugar sweeteners for weight control in newly released guideline." The guideline suggests not using non-sugar sweeteners for weight control or reducing the risk of non-communicable diseases.

Today, non-sugar sweeteners have become a label for healthy foods. According to the initial market promotion for non-sugar sweeteners, they are fructose substitutes that allow people to taste sweetness without worrying about calorie intake, making them popular among global consumers who want to enjoy sweets but fear gaining weight. However, the WHO's guidelines on non-sugar sweeteners have effectively stripped away the "healthy food" label from most of these products! The organization states that non-nutritive sweeteners (including both natural and artificial ones) not only fail to help with weight loss but actually increase the likelihood of obesity, as well as raising the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

Types of Sweeteners and Health Implications

The unhealthy sugar substitutes mentioned above do not include sugar alcohols (which provide some energy). Examples include glucose alcohol, xylitol, sorbitol, maltitol, erythritol, lactitol, and mannitol.

So, which non-sugar sweeteners is WHO referring to? "Acesulfame potassium, aspartame, advantame, cyclamate, neotame, saccharin, sucralose, stevia and stevia derivatives."

Currently, the cost of sugar alcohol substitutes is relatively high, and almost no zero-sugar products use 100% sugar alcohols. Instead, they more commonly use cheaper non-sugar sweeteners, or a combination of non-sugar sweeteners and sugar alcohols. If not purely using sugar alcohols, long-term consumption of products and foods containing non-sugar sweeteners is also not healthy.

You can take a walk through any supermarket and look at the ingredient lists of many foods and beverages labeled "zero sugar, zero calories." Many of them use a mixture of non-sugar sweeteners and sugar alcohols. Some may highlight sugar alcohols in their marketing, while sucralose still appears on the ingredient list. For a long time, sugar substitutes have been thought to not easily cause obesity even when consumed because these sweeteners themselves contain no calories, meaning an overall reduction in dietary calories and creating a calorie deficit that helps us lose weight.

Scientific Evidence and Mechanisms

However, some prospective observational study evidence in this WHO report, along with follow-up data spanning up to 10 years, indicates that higher intake of sugar substitutes (non-sugar sweeteners) is associated with higher BMI and increased risk of obesity. This is because after consuming sugar substitutes, people tend to eat more! In recent years, some reports have found that non-sugar sweeteners may affect human energy metabolism, satiety, and hunger regulation through various mechanisms. In 2021, researchers from the University of Southern California published an experimental report in JAMA's subsidiary journal JAMA Network Open on the effects of artificial sweeteners on human brain activity and appetite, showing that sugar substitutes make it harder to feel full, potentially leading to increased food consumption.

Experimental results show that artificial sweeteners affect human neurology and behavior, potentially making people more sensitive to artificial sweeteners and more prone to hunger. If one cannot control their appetite well, this can also lead to weight gain.

Original Purpose and Marketing Reality

The emergence of sugar substitutes was originally intended as a means to help diabetic patients stabilize blood sugar levels and as an effective intervention for short-term weight loss. This does not mean that sugar substitute products can be consumed without restraint. However, many brands in the food industry promote sugar substitute products while downplaying important considerations.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Of course, this WHO guideline recommends reducing consumption rather than complete prohibition. Maintaining health and losing weight essentially requires changing our overall lifestyle, controlling total dietary energy intake, and not placing hopes on any single product or method. After all, there are no shortcuts to weight loss.

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