Saccharin is one of six artificial sweeteners approved by FDA
A new study led by researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and The Ohio University College of Medicine in the US found that the sugar substitute saccharin doesn’t lead to the development of diabetes in healthy adults as previous studies have suggested.
Kyriazis collaborated with researchers at Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, Ohio State’s College of Arts and Sciences, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute in California, and the Translational Research Institute for Metabolism and Diabetes at Advent-Health in Florida.
Non-caloric artificial sweeteners are often consumed as a substitute for dietary sugars, and saccharin is one of six artificial sweeteners approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
A total of 46 healthy adults ages 18-45 with body mass indexes of 25 or less completed this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
Participants ingested capsules that contained the maximum acceptable daily amount of either saccharin, or lactisole (a sweet taste receptor inhibitor, or saccharin with lactisole or placebo) every day for two weeks. The maximum acceptable daily amount of saccharin is 400 milligrams per day, which is far more than the average consumer would consume.
Researchers also tested for 10 weeks the effects of an even higher dose of saccharin in mice that genetically lack sweet taste receptors with the same results: the artificial sweetener didn’t affect glucose tolerance, or cause any significant gut microbiota changes or apparent adverse health effects.