When people eat or drink things with low-calorie sweeteners like they normally do, studies show it doesn’t hurt their health.

Several official health groups have looked at lots of science studies over and over, and they all agree that artificial sweeteners won’t hurt you if you eat or drink them in normal amounts.

Using sugar substitutes like stevia or aspartame doesn’t make you more likely to have bad health effects than eating sugar, drinking water, or taking a fake pill—so they’re probably safe if you’re trying to lose weight.

Even if you have existing health issues like diabetes, studies show that drinking diet soda or eating foods with artificial sweeteners doesn’t seem to make your health worse.

Studies with people who drink diet sodas or eat foods with artificial sweeteners don’t show that these sweeteners change the good bacteria in your gut or how your body handles sugar, as long as you’re eating or drinking them in normal amounts.

The artificial sweeteners you find in diet sodas and sugar-free snacks, if approved by health agencies, are considered safe when you eat them in normal amounts — and there’s no solid proof they cause cancer, make you gain weight, or hurt your gut bacteria.