Effect of Sucralose (Splenda) on the Microbiome

What effect do artificial sweeteners such as sucralose (Splenda), saccharin (Sweet & Low), aspartame (Nutrasweet) and acesulfame K (Sweet One) have on our gut bacteria?



Can’t get enough of artificial sweeteners? Check out

There are some caveats. See:

Who cares if our gut flora gets disrupted? Wait until you see how important the little puppies are:

Image Credit: Dave Crosby via Flickr.

[tamcon]

interesting. The gut microbiome is perhaps our most precious internal resource, and intaking anything that would throw off optimal functioning should probably be avoided. Thanks for posting, Doc!

[hacke]

a friend of mine was told not to use Splenda, by his Dr. due to type 2 Diabetes. She recommended him using stevia instead. Is there a difference? Thank you.

[appropiate]

Considering the valuable information he provides most of the time I wonder why this channel does not have more subscribers.

[MalMilligan]

Dr. Greger, you are an exceptionally gifted speaker and you assemble captivating - well researched presentations. Thank You !! Many of us have been impressed but we have to figure out a way to turn these 2, 000 views into 200, 000 views. Regards -

[TPQ]

Got to love the graphs at 1:30. Sucralose causes 20% more of an insulin response than *water*.... The fact that the comparison is with water and the graphs show that even water has an insulin response makes me unconcerned. If water has an insulin response, there's nothing we can consume that doesn't...

The gut bacteria modification is more interesting though, but it needs more study, as the study here uses a small number of people and shows quite a modest change in both blood glucose and gut bacteria. Still, worthy of larger studies for sure.

The biggest impact on obesity still remains caloric excess though. If Sucralose can cut hundreds calories out of your caloric intake a day, it's still the lesser of two evils in societies where obesity is fast becoming the number one killer.

[mariamboubkraoui]

Why is succralose everywhere in the sport supplements. That's so annoying

[lairdlad]

Thank you! I gave up Sucralose and Aspartame 3 weeks ago after 34 years of daily ingestion of artificial sweeteners. I have had to take smaller doses of insulin in order to avoid hypoglycemic attacks. Overall I am feeling calmer. It seems that the packets of Splenda in my daily 3 cups of coffee and 3 diet sodas were also having a negative effect on my mood.

[Stonehawk]

This makes sense. The reason it tastes sweet is because it stimulates the same sensory nerves that sugar does, and how ELSE does your body know to "prepare for sugar incoming!!" if not by nervous system stimulation? So of COURSE there's an insulin spike. And when your insulin shows up to a sugar party when there's no sugar to be found, it PROFOUNDLY influences your subliminal foraging behaviors until you find actual sugar to fillthat void. Sucralose is not directly putting more sugar into a person's blood stream, as the data shows the correlation is there but there's no study where one party of individuals in a metabolic ward are fed it with no access to carbohydrate rich food, another party is fed it but HAS access to more carbs elsewhere, and a control group is not fed it but has access to carbs if they so choose. My hypothesis is that this is a behavioral manifestation.

[rmiyyel]

I'd love to see Unnatural Vegan's response to this.. 😝

[sontwo]

A lot of flawed correlations here. And 2nd half of this video is directed mostly at Aspartame, and then lumps Splenda in with "all artificial sweeteners in general." Personally, I have been using Splenda in my mid-day coffee (2 envelopes) for 9-10 years - with no side effects. And I use it because regular sugar bothers my teeth. Splenda does not. I am 70 years old, slim, mostly vegetarian diet, and relatively good health. And absolutely NO digestive problems.

[mulimotola]

I recently started drinking Coke Zero and liked it overall, but noticed that I get strong stomach aches after a few weeks of drinking it on a regular basis (whole can after meal). So I searched for Greger's advice and found this great video! Next step is to take all those cans from my refrigerator and put them away, and go back to the water that I'm used to drinking (and maybe find an alternative, healthier, carbonated drink).

[timchard]

A threshold or suggested acceptable amount - specifically of sucralose - would be very helpful. Products like Huel are vegan but contain sucralose to be more palatable (non sucralose versions I find I did not keep up the breakfast habit).

[zachmurray]

this is a very helpful video. I watched this for facts on a study and it helped alot. THX

[bogipepper]

Doc, you made me stop, back up and listen again, great vid.

[mattashton]

man, these videos are really well done, thank you for these Dr. Greger.

[aveganapprentice]

I can't keep up watching all the videos that he pumps out :/, they're all so interesting but I have stuff to do

[Seanthecookchef]

Keep the good videos coming Dr. Greger!

[velo]

more videos about the microbiome and artificial sweetners plz dr greger plz

[mbaxter]

Love your vids. You are on the cutting edge of research into artificial sweeteners and the mucrobiome. Very interesting stuff!

[rosendolugo]

Friendly tip: it might help improve the audio quality if you either take a sip of water or adjust your distance from the microphone while narrating. Those swallowed syllables can be a bit distracting. Keep up the good work otherwise!