Artificial Sweeteners Disturb Gut Biome
By Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen, MDs
Victor Lustig was a true con man, offering fake shares in fake businesses (mob boss Al Capone fell for it), counterfeiting money, and even “selling” the Eiffel Tower.
All those artificial enterprises landed him in Alcatraz, where he died in 1947.
It turns out we were equally conned by artificial sweeteners. They offer the illusion of sugary flavors with none of the health hazards — but it's just make-believe.
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We’ve known for a while that the sugar substitutes can fuel your sweet tooth and cause the body to crank up sugar cravings.
But until U.K. researchers published their recent study in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, it wasn't known just how much damage saccharin, sucralose, and aspartame can do to the linings of your intestine, letting harmful gut bacteria seep into your bloodstream, congregate in your lymph nodes, liver, and spleen, and put you at risk for serious infections.
All it took was the equivalent of two cans of diet soda for the researchers to see that artificial sweeteners significantly increased harmful bacteria's (E. coli and E. faecalis) stickiness to cells in the lining of the gut. That leads to increased formation of biofilms and opened entryways for the bacteria to move throughout the body.
The bottom line: Cultivate a taste for the natural sweetness in foods like 100% whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and spices.
Just like vaping is not a healthy alternative to cigarettes, artificial sweeteners are not a good way to avoid sugary foods.