Artificial sweeteners use may turn 'healthy' gut bacteria to pathogens: Study
Written By : Dr Kartikeya Kohli
Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli
Published On 2021-06-26 08:00 GMT | Update On 2021-06-26 08:09 GMT
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Artificial sweeteners (AS) are synthetic sugar substitutes that are commonly consumed in the diet. Recent studies have indicated considerable health risks which links the consumption of AS with metabolic derangements and gut microbiota perturbations.
Researchers have found in a new study that use of Artificial sweeteners has potential danger of turning healthy bacteria in the gut microbiome into harmful microbes leading to serious health issues such as blood poisoning and could cause them to invade the intestine.
This is the first study to show the pathogenic effects of some of the most widely used artificial sweeteners - saccharin, sucralose, and aspartame - on two types of gut bacteria, E. coli (Escherichia coli) and E. faecalis (Enterococcus faecalis).
The study has been published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences.
Previous studies have shown that artificial sweeteners can change the number and type of bacteria in the gut, but this new molecular research, led by academics from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), has demonstrated that sweeteners can also make the bacteria pathogenic. It found that these pathogenic bacteria can attach themselves to, invade, and kill Caco-2 cells, which are epithelial cells that line the wall of the intestine.
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