The Study
Effects of saccharin on insulin sensitivity in adult, overweight individuals without diabetes: a real-world pilot study
This study watched 13 people eat saccharin for three months and checked if their blood sugar got worse. It didn't find a change, but we can't say saccharin caused that — maybe they ate less sugar or exercised more. Without a group that didn't eat saccharin, we don't know what really happened.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Scientists gave 13 overweight people a daily sugar-free sweetener called saccharin for 3 months to see if it hurt their body's ability to handle sugar.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 553 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1The HbA1c drop is small and unexplained — not clearly good or bad.
- 2Most people saw no effect on insulin or gut health, so saccharin likely doesn't harm blood sugar control for most people at this dose.
- 3Their insulin sensitivity didn't change (0.1% drop, not significant).
- 4Their long-term blood sugar marker (HbA1c) dropped a little (from 38.7 to 36.8 mmol/mol).
- 5Their gut bacteria didn't change.
- 6Two people had worse insulin sensitivity, but most didn't.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Journal of the Endocrine Society
Year
2026
Authors
Kenny Kalin, Karin Rådholm, Lisa M. Olsson, V. Tremaroli, Mark Woodward, Maria Wennberg, Fredrik Bäckhed, O. Rolandsson
Related Content
Claims (10)
Consuming saccharin changes the types of bacteria in the gut and leads to higher blood sugar levels in some people.
Consuming saccharin and sucralose for a short time changes gut bacteria and reduces the body's ability to regulate blood sugar in some people, while acesulfame-K and stevia do not produce these effects.
Consuming non-nutritive sweeteners repeatedly without eating calories reduces the body's ability to regulate blood sugar and respond to metabolic signals.
In overweight adults without diabetes, taking saccharin at the highest approved daily dose for three months does not change fasting blood sugar, insulin levels, or insulin resistance measures.
In overweight adults without diabetes, taking 5 mg of saccharin per kilogram of body weight every day for three months does not change how well the body responds to insulin, based on measurements using the hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp.
In overweight adults without diabetes, taking 5 mg/kg of saccharin every day for three months is linked to a measurable drop in long-term blood sugar levels, even when body weight and fasting blood sugar remain unchanged.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.