Posted on 02/20/2025 9:01:06 PM PST by ConservativeMind
New research shows that aspartame, one of the most common sugar substitutes, may impact vascular health.
The team found aspartame triggers increased insulin levels in animals, which in turn contributes to atherosclerosis—buildup of fatty plaque in the arteries, which can lead to higher levels of inflammation and an increased risk of heart attacks and stroke over time.
The researchers fed mice daily doses of food containing 0.15% aspartame for 12 weeks—an amount that corresponds to consuming about three cans of diet soda each day for humans.
Compared to mice without a sweetener-infused diet, aspartame-fed mice developed larger and more fatty plaques in their arteries and exhibited higher levels of inflammation.
When the team analyzed the mice's blood, they found a surge in insulin levels after aspartame entered their system. The team noted that this wasn't a surprising result, given that our mouths, intestines, and other tissues are lined with sweetness-detecting receptors that help guide insulin release. But aspartame, 200 times sweeter than sugar, seemed to trick the receptors into releasing more insulin.
The researchers then demonstrated that the mice's elevated insulin levels fueled the growth of fatty plaques in the mice's arteries, suggesting that insulin may be the key link between aspartame and cardiovascular health.
Next, they investigated how exactly elevated insulin levels lead to arterial plaque buildup and identified an immune signal called CX3CL1 that is especially active under insulin stimulation.
"Because blood flow through the artery is strong and robust, most chemicals would be quickly washed away as the heart pumps," says Cao. "Surprisingly, not CX3CL1. It stays glued to the surface of the inner lining of blood vessels. There, it acts like a bait, catching immune cells as they pass by."
Many of these trapped immune cells are known to stoke blood vessel inflammation, says Cao.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
I buy Sweet Leaf Stevia at Amazon and I think my local Natural Grocer carries it to. My friend’s naturopath says it’s the healthiest choice of sweeteners. It comes in little packets, and half of one is enough for a large cup of coffee.
It is possible other sugar substitutes have the same problem.
Switch to Splenda: dextrose, maltodextrin, and sucralose.
.
Sucralose spikes insulin also.
Stevia, monkfruit, allulose and erithrytol are the “safe” sweeteners that have the least effect on insulin.
Great information. I will check out Stevia, monkfruit, allulose and erithrytol.
Mice are not humans.
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/artificial-sweeteners-blood-sugar-insulin#TOC_TITLE_HDR_6
“Artificial sweeteners like sucralose are marketed as sugar substitutes that don’t raise blood sugar levels, making them a safer choice for diabetics.
While these claims seem promising, they have yet to be confirmed by multiple large studies.
Previous studies have found sucralose to have little to no effects on blood sugar levels in individuals of average weight who regularly used sucralose.
But more recent research suggests that it can cause blood sugar levels to spike in other populations.
A small study found that sucralose elevated blood sugar levels by 14% and insulin levels by 20% in 17 people with severe obesity who didn’t regularly consume artificial sweeteners.
These results indicate that sucralose may elevate blood sugar levels in new users but have little effect on regular consumers.”
https://www.healthline.com/health/diabetes/sucralose-and-diabetes#effects
I use sucraloses all the time while following a keto diet. I lost 35 pounds during the first 6 months. I still had a layer of fat on my belly, but it was a smaller layer than any previous low fat diet had caused during 45 years of yo-yo diets.
Over the last 6-7 years, my weight has held constant. I’ve gained some muscle and the belly fat is almost gone. At the current rate, I should have defined abs by the end of the year.
Regardless, I have BY FAR the least fat and the least belly fat I’ve had for my entire life. I was a fat baby, then the fattest kid in my classes (1960s), then started the low-fat yo-yo diets in the 9th grade. I was almost 60 when I started Keto.
Would not using sucralose result in faster loss of belly fat? Maybe. I don’t know. Would not drinking Diet Coke have made the belly fat go away faster? I don’t know. I do know that 60 years of living with fat doesn’t go away the same as someone who became obese later in life. Many studies indicate fat cells are programmed at a certain number by our teens and never go below that number. My GUESS is that very few people diet effectively and then keep it off for YEARS, and that it takes years for the body to agree to reduce the number of fat cells.
Note: Fat cells DO change size, very quickly. The question is if they can actually cease to exist in the body. With a 99% failure of traditional dieting, it is hard to know.
One of the first rulings of the first ∅bªma administration was to release aspartame from suspicion.
Reason enough to stay away...
Same here. bkmk
Can’t stand the cooling taste of Stevia.
Years ago I had a live blood microscopy done and the person doing it said “You would be fine if you dropped the artificial sweetener”, I replied well I use Splenda, he stated I should just drink Chlorox, that is how it is processed, so I asked what I should use and he replied the raw sugar in the brown packets.
He showed me in my blood sample the “tree bark” pieces that were the Splenda, it was shocking
Bkmk
Who paid for these studies?
“He showed me in my blood sample the “tree bark” pieces that were the Splenda, it was shocking”
It was BOGUS!
I was only addressing effects on insulin.
I use allulose myself.
It appears that the NIH is a major source of the funding.
Are the results of this study conclusive? Not necessarily. If caution advised? Possibly. Note that erythritol is not required to be listed as an ingredient because it is considered “natural” so you don’t always know you are getting it, and it is often present in much greater quantities than you would get from natural sources.
Literally millions of mice have died testing aspartame from day #1 released 40 + years ago, and somebody finally does a histology 101 experiment? Were it true it would be an embarrassment to the medical field to miss it for decades. The only proven side effect of aspartame is to make urine smell like asparagus.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.