New Delhi, July 19 (IANS). Often people use diet drinks, sugar-free sweets or low-calorie products to avoid sugar. These are considered a better option for health, but now a study by scientists at the University of Cambridge shows that these sweeteners can affect the good bacteria living in our intestines.
Billions of microorganisms live in our intestines, which together are called ‘gut microbiome’. These bacteria not only help in digesting food, but also play an important role in controlling blood sugar, strengthening the immune system and many other important processes of the body. Therefore, if the balance of these bacteria gets disturbed, it can also affect our health.
Scientists from the Medical Research Council (MRC) Toxicology Unit of Cambridge University tried to find out what effect common sweeteners used in the market directly have on gut bacteria. For this, he developed 25 different types of gut bacteria in the lab. Some of these were beneficial, some were normal and there were some which could cause harm. These bacteria were then exposed to 39 different artificial and low-calorie sweeteners.
Research revealed that about 75 percent of sweeteners affected the growth of at least one type of bacteria. Some sweeteners slow the growth of bacteria that are considered important for a healthy gut.
Scientists also looked at what happens when these sweeteners are combined with other things, such as caffeine, vanilla extract, other sweeteners, and some common medications. During this time, they found more than 100 such cases where the effect of the sweetener changed compared to using it alone. In some cases the effect increased further, while in some it decreased.
The most surprising results came from a special sweetener isosteviol and the antidepressant duloxetine. Scientists found that when the two were used together, they significantly inhibited the growth of two important gut bacteria, Roseburia intestinalis and Parabacteroides meridae. Both these bacteria play an important role in balancing blood sugar, keeping the digestive system healthy and the body’s immunity.
Scientists then created an artificial group of 25 bacteria to understand what changes might occur in conditions similar to real intestines. In this model also, the mixture of isosteviol and duloxetine appeared to reduce the diversity of the microbiome, i.e. the number of different species of bacteria. Generally, the more diverse the microbiome, the healthier it is considered to be. Apart from this, this mixture also showed toxic effects on some cells and there were indications of affecting the processes related to inflammation and immune system of the body.
Dr. Sonja Blasche, the lead scientist of the research, says that sweeteners are often promoted as if they have no significant effect on the body, but her study challenges this notion. According to him, when these substances are combined with medicines or other food additives, their effects can change and have unwanted effects on the gut microbiome.
At the same time, senior author of the study, Professor Kiran Patil, says that this research opens the way for further studies in this direction. He says that artificial sweeteners not only pass out of the body without any effect, but they can also react with gut bacteria and when combined with other ingredients, their effects may change further.
However, scientists have also made it clear that at present this research has been done only in the lab and it cannot be claimed to have a direct effect on humans.
–IANS
PIM/AS
