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Artificial Sweeteners: Weight Gain and Other Side Effects


Research has shown that artificial sweeteners contribute to weight gain, neurological effects and more. Over the last several decades, we've learned a lot about sugar and how it negatively impacts our health. In order to help people reduce sugar consumption and lose weight, governments have approved artificial sweeteners in a misguided attempt to improve our health. We've tried to have our cake and eat it too, but the truth is that artificial sweeteners have had the exact opposite effect of what was originally intended. Instead of helping us, they have only caused us harm.

I've spoken many times before about the low-fat craze: we once thought fat was the enemy, and it turns out that all the low-fat advice we were given was totally wrong. I fear that 20 or 30 years from now, we'll be in the same boat with artificial sweeteners and in the meantime for many people, the health effects will be devastating.

Artificial sweeteners are a big part of the low-fat doctrine because they are calorie-free. And even though the evidence overwhelming indicates that fat is beneficial and essential to health, people still have a difficult time giving up their artificial sweeteners. A recent study of 17,000 people reported that artificial sweetener consumption in children rose by a whopping 200% since 1999, with children as young as 2 years old consuming them weekly. In adults, artificial sweetener intake grew by 54% in the same time period.


What Are Artificial Sweeteners?


  • Aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal)
  • Sucralose (Splenda)
  • Acesulfame K (Sunette, Sweet One)
  • Saccharin (Sweet 'N Low, Sweet Twin)
  • Sugar alcohols (Xylitol, Sorbitol, Mannitol, Isomalt)



Dietary Sources of Artificial Sweetener

  • Diet sodas and other low-calorie beverages
  • Condiments (ketchup, salad dressing, etc.)
  • Low-fat yogurt and other dairy
  • Chewable vitamins
  • Toothpaste
  • Breads and crackers
  • Cookies, cakes and other pastries
  • Juice
  • Cereal, granola and granola bars


How Do Artificial Sweeteners Impact Our Health?



weight gain + obesity

As I mentioned earlier, doctors and the public consider artificial sweeteners a calorie-free option and believe that including them in our foods will allow us to lose weight and prevent obesity. Unfortunately, the opposite has happened. A recent meta-analysis of 37 studies that followed over 400,000 people concluded that artificial sweeteners are actually linked to an increased risk of weight gain, obesity, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and metabolic syndrome.

And that meta-analysis wasn't the first to draw this conclusion. An 8-year study in the 1980s of more than 3,000 people in San Antonio, Texas discovered that drinking 2 or more drinks sweetened with artificial sweeteners doubled the risk of obesity and being overweight when compared to those who didn't drink any. Another year-long study of 78,694 women found that those who consumed artificial sweeteners were more likely to gain weight than those who didn't have them at all.

It's a similar story with children: a study of more than 10,000 adolescent boys and girls in the late 1990s concluded that the kids who drank more artificially-sweetened beverages were more likely to have gained weight and have a higher BMI.

So if these artificial sweeteners have no calories, why do they make us gain weight? It isn't about what's on the nutrition panel - it's what's actually in a food that matters. Our brains get faked out by chemical sweeteners, which are sweet on the tongue but don't provide the same level of reward that non-chemical sweeteners do, such as sucrose and glucose.



cancer + tumors

There is a body of research, mostly conducted on animals, that indicate artificial sweeteners are linked to tumor growth and cancer development. Some of this research includes:

Studies in animal models may not mean that the exact same results will happen to us, but they do point to a very real risk and it's enough that some scientists and organizations have raised the alarm about the potential cancer risks in humans.

The Gut Microbiome

The bacteria in our digestive tract is essential to our health. A healthy balance of gut flora not only impacts the obvious - digestion - but also our immunity (70% of our immune system is located in the gut) and our mood (our digestive tract makes 95% of our serotonin, one of the brain's feel-good chemicals).

Evidence points to the fact that artificial sweeteners may alter the gut microbiota and be the cause of some digestive distress and symptoms. A fecal study of animals showed that aspartame consumption led to an increase in bacteria, including the Enterobacteriaceae, a family of bacteria that can include e.coli and salmonella.

Diabetes + Blood Sugar


In one study of 61,440 women, researchers analyzed artificial sweetener packet consumption over a course of nearly 20 years. They found that artificial sweeteners actually increased the risk of Type 2 diabetes. In another piece of research that examined 6,000 middle-aged adults, scientists discovered that artificially-sweetened soft drinks boosted the risk of metabolic syndrome, a collection of factors that includes high blood sugar levels, obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. These findings are echoed in another study of close to 7,000 adults, which associated a daily soft drink with a higher risk of Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

Other evidence points to the microbiome and that disrupting the microbiome can lead to metabolic issues like impaired glucose tolerance.

dental care


However, this study of several different types of sweeteners found that while the artificial versions were less likely to cause cavities than sucrose, they still had the potential to demineralize enamel and disrupt the metabolism of bacteria.

And, as this study points out: "By far the biggest use of sugar substitutes is made without concern for teeth or gums." Most artificial sweeteners are used in diet drinks and other low-fat, low-calorie treats, which may contain other ingredients that damage our teeth such as citric or phosphoric acids.

Also, dental health isn't just about what comes directly in contact with our teeth or what we use to brush them. Holistic dental care is about our entire diet and lifestyle practices that serve to promote oral health and protect our teeth. Artificially-sweetened key lime pie yogurt just isn't a food that I would consider an important part of the dental health picture.

Other health risks


What Benefits Do Artificial Sweeteners Offer Us?

This is the continual question I have about them. Governments classify them as safe for us to consume. And even if you can argue that artificial sweeteners may not harm us, what do they actually give us? I don't need to see proof that something man-made in a lab won't kill me for me to eat it. I want proof that something man-made will heal.

I have never seen a study that proves artificial sweeteners to be healthy, health building or health supportive. The cells of our body are made by what we eat. Artificial sweeteners are a chemical and are therefore an extra burden to be processed through the liver that will result in chemical byproducts, and therefore produce high amounts of free radicals. Low and behold, we have increased the toxic load on the body.

No one has to do a study to tell me that broccoli won't cause blindness in one or both eyes, that carrots won't lead to tinnitus, that honey won't cause severe slurring of speech, and that maple syrup won't cause irreversible brain damage. Any food that we eat doesn't just need to set the low bar of not killing us - it needs to offer us the micro and macronutrients we need to build our health. I believe strongly that intake, in any amount, of artificial sweeteners isn't part of the solution to any health issue.

Are We Addressing the Root Cause?

Companies don't add artificial sweeteners to fresh carrots, berries or dried beans and legumes. They are adding it to processed foods, mainly sweet drinks, snacks and desserts, to help us lose weight or manage diabetes.

However, aren't we bypassing the real issue here? If someone is overweight or has blood sugar issues, shouldn't we be reducing our total sugar consumption? What about focusing on whole food diets that are rich in protein, fat and fibre, which will boost satiety and help us manage blood sugar? What about exercise?

Trying to solve someone's addiction to chocolate cake by giving them artificially-sweetened chocolate cake doesn't get to the root of the problem.

Alternatives to Artificial Sweeteners






Or can you go sugar-free entirely? Get on the waitlist for our next group 7-Day No-Sugar Challenge.


Artificial Sweeteners

Image: MamaMiaPL

49 Responses to “Artificial Sweeteners: Weight Gain and Other Side Effects”

  1. Kelly said…
    Awesome article. Well researched. Well written. And promotes wellness. Thank you!
  2. Dana Vickers said…
    I love healthy food but i wouldnt consider myself the healthiest person necessarily. Lets just say I come from a long line of women stashing chocolate in the freezer... A good dessert is my weakness and I'm working on it BUT my whole life I have always questioned this idea of fake or tampered with food. To me, I don't need to read a study about how low-fat or artificial sweeteners or colors are bad for me. I feel like its common sense that something in it's most original, natural form would be the healthiest version! I'm no health expert or scientist but this idea has always set well with me and guided my choices. As for the aspartame comment, I know many people who get headaches from aspartame and I wonder why that is.
  3. Claudia Finn said…
    Thank you for this information!!What do you think about the substitute Truvia?
    • Meghan Telpner said…
      I am suspicious of Truvia for a couple of reasons. It uses an extract of stevia, not the whole plant itself, making it highly processed. It contains natural flavours, which I'm not a fan of. Lastly, it's a product made by Coca-Cola and Cargill, and I just don't think these large companies have our health as their top priority.
  4. Diana said…
    What a wealth of great, easy to understand information!! Thank you very much.
  5. karen said…
    I am addicted to sweetners (canderel, equal, etc). I am now very concerned that your article mentions that one can actually GAIN weight from using sweetners. Sugar also contributes to weight gain so what suggestions do you have for sweetening my every day fix of coffee? I have an extremely sweet tooth hence thinking sweetners were a great substitute?
    • Meghan Telpner said…
      The best thing you can do is try and eliminate ALL sweeteners for a time. Try a week or two weeks and then add some natural sweeteners back into the diet like honey, maple syrup or dried fruit. You may even find you can enjoy your coffee without adding anything to it. Sweet flavours are highly addictive and the more eat, the more we want.
  6. Aleks said… December 6, 2018
    "green powdered Stevia" ?? Does anyone know where to purchase this and which brand? I have never seen a Stevia powder product which wasn't white. All Stevia sweeteners sold here (GTA) are adulterated with another sweetener or bulking agent. I have settled on SweetLeaf brand because it claims to be cut only with Inulin. I would stay away from Truvia as it is a CocaCola brand which usues more Dextrose & Erythriol than Stevia and, while PureVia was developed by Merisant & Pepsi with a similar mix and also using heavily proccessed "Reb A" extract and the cryptic "Natural Flavors". "Whole Earth" is a sub-brand of the company which now owns PureVia.
    • Check out your local health food store or do a search online for green stevia. Suede Hills is one brand that I know of, but there are likely many others. I personally don't like the taste of stevia so I don't buy it!



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