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What We Know and Don’t About High-Intensity Sweeteners

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Obesity and Diabetes

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Abstract

The joint position statement by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the American Heart Association (AHA) supports the use of high-intensity sweeteners (HIS) or commonly referred to as non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS), replacing sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) among individuals with prediabetes and diabetes. There is much heterogeneity in results regarding the use of HIS in the literature. Nonhuman models have previously demonstrated obesogenic and carcinogenic potential with high utilization of HIS. However, to date, there is inconsistent evidence regarding HISs and their impacts on obesity and diabetes. In a few well-controlled studies, there appear to be inconsistent effects of HIS on metabolic syndrome. This chapter will describe the different available HISs in the United States. The effects on appetite, taste receptors, and glucose homeostasis will be explored. Furthermore, a review of the potential health impacts from consuming HIS, especially on weight and blood glucose, will be discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Osteopathic Medicine, Touro University California, Vallejo, CA, USA

    Clipper F. Young & Anne Lee

  2. College of Education and Health Sciences, Touro University California, Vallejo, CA, USA

    Joy Dugan

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  1. Clipper F. Young
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  2. Anne Lee
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  3. Joy Dugan
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Correspondence to Clipper F. Young .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hospital das Clinicas, Sao Paulo University Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil

    Joel Faintuch

  2. Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA

    Salomão Faintuch

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Young, C.F., Lee, A., Dugan, J. (2020). What We Know and Don’t About High-Intensity Sweeteners. In: Faintuch, J., Faintuch, S. (eds) Obesity and Diabetes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53370-0_38

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