The Study
Potential Effects of Low-Calorie Sweeteners on Human Health
This study is like a big summary of lots of different smaller studies — some with people, some with mice. It says, 'Some studies noticed that when people drink diet soda, they sometimes have more health problems.' But it can't prove the soda caused the problems — maybe people who drink diet soda eat other unhealthy things too.
Analysis score
Maximum 5 for a narrative review.
Where the score came from
Some sugar substitutes might help with weight or diabetes, but others could hurt your blood sugar, heart, or gut bacteria—even if they have no calories.
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—these effects could matter for daily users, especially those with diabetes or heart risks.
- 2Sucralose: worsened insulin sensitivity in 45 people over 2 weeks.
- 3Erythritol: 1,000x spike in blood, stays high for 48+ hours.
- 4Aspartame: linked to more cancer in long-term French users.
- 5Stevioside: improved blood sugar in diabetics.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Nutrients
Year
2025
Authors
Huang-Pin Chen, Yuan Kao, Meng-Wei Lin, Chun-Te Lee, Hung-Tsung Wu, Hsin‐Yu Kuo
Related Content
Claims (8)
When people eat or drink things with low-calorie sweeteners like they normally do, studies show it doesn’t hurt their health.
Some artificial sweeteners with no calories might raise your chances of having a stroke.
Eating a lot of sucralose (an artificial sweetener) over time might make your body less responsive to insulin and change the good bacteria in your gut, which could make it harder for your body to manage blood sugar.
Taking stevioside every day might help people who are overweight or have type 2 diabetes keep their blood sugar and bad cholesterol lower after meals.
People who eat or drink things with aspartame (like diet soda) might be more likely to get cancer or stroke, based on a big study of over 100,000 French adults followed for about 8 years.
Eating a lot of erythritol (like 30 grams) causes a huge spike in your blood levels of it that lasts for more than two days, and this might make your blood more likely to clot, which could raise your risk of heart problems over the next few years.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.