Avoid Artificial Sweeteners To Prevent Diabetes, Suggests WHO

We humans always want to survive and so we adapt to any problem we face in our life. To do so, we take middle routes and one example of this practice is the intake of artificial sweeteners to get the taste of sugar without consuming one. For the longest time, this has been a go-to product for a lot of people who wanted to avoid weight gain or diabetes. But the World Health Organisation ( WHO), in its recent guideline on Non-Sugar Sweeteners ( NSS), recommends that we should avoid such things to control our body weight or to reduce the risk of this non-communicable disease.

The suggestion is based on the findings of a systematic evaluation of the existing research and studies, which indicates that using NSS has no long-term benefit in terms of lowering body fat in adults or children. The review’s findings also imply that long-term use of NSS may have unintended consequences, such as an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and mortality in adults.

“NSS are not essential dietary factors and have no nutritional value,” Said Francesco Branca, WHO director for Nutrition and Food Safety. It is also advised that people should consume food with naturally occurring sugar sweeteners or unsweetened foods or beverages to reduce the free sugar intake in our bodies. Some of the common examples of NSS are Acesulfame K, Aspartame, Advantame, Cyclamates, Neotame, Saccharin, Sucralose, Stevia and its derivatives.

These recommendations should be taken as a precautionary measure because excessive sugar or sweets consumption has frequently been linked to weight gain, obesity, and ailments such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. According to World Health Organisation figures, noncommunicable illnesses are responsible for 74 per cent of all deaths worldwide, killing a substantial number of individuals each year.

This guideline is not applied for the products of personal care and hygiene that contain NSS such as toothpaste, skincare, medications or to any low-calorie sugars.

It is hence important for us to avoid artificial sweeteners and rather focus on exercising and following a balanced diet to prevent diabetes.