The Study
Dietary Guidance, Sensory, Health and Safety Considerations When Choosing Low and No-Calorie Sweeteners
This article doesn't do any new experiments — it just reads and tells you what other scientists have found. So it can tell you what people think or what past studies said, but it can't prove that sweeteners cause weight loss or are safe — it just reports what others claim.
Analysis score
Maximum 5 for a narrative review.
Where the score came from
This paper explains that sugar substitutes like stevia and aspartame don't have calories, won't make you gain weight if you swap them for sugar, and are considered safe by health agencies.
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 51 / 100
Quality score
Based on clinical experience or non-systematic literature reviews. The lowest level of evidence as they are most susceptible to bias and personal perspective.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — replacing sugary drinks with diet ones can help overweight people lose weight and lower disease risk without needing to cut all sweets.
- 2Swapping sugary drinks for diet drinks can help people lose a little weight (e.g., 1–2 kg over months); no link found between these sweeteners and cancer or gut problems in studies.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Nutrients
Year
2025
Authors
J. Sievenpiper, S. Purkayastha, V. L. Grotz, M. Mora, Jing Zhou, Katherine Hennings, Cynthia M. Goody, Kristen Germana
Related Content
Claims (8)
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, like aspartame or stevia, are considered safe by health agencies when you eat them in normal amounts — and there’s no solid proof they cause cancer, make you gain weight, or hurt your pregnancy.
The sweet compounds from stevia and monk fruit don’t get absorbed into your bloodstream like sugar does. Instead, your gut bacteria break them down, and your body flushes out the leftovers—so they don’t give you any calories.
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.
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.
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.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.