Feature from Epoch Times Healthy Corner By George Citroner
A new study suggests that a widely used sugar substitute found in diet drinks, chewing gum, and low-sugar yogurt, may elevate insulin levels, potentially increasing the long-term risk of heart problems.
“Artificial sweeteners have penetrated almost all kinds of food, so we have to know the long-term health impact,” said senior author Yihai Cao, who studies chronic diseases related to blood vessel disorders at Karolinska Institute in Sweden.
Aspartame ‘Tricks’ the Body
The study, recently published in the Cell Press journal Cell Metabolism, found that sugar substitute aspartame triggers increased insulin levels in mice, which in turn contributes to atherosclerosis, the buildup of fatty plaque in the arteries. This buildup can lead to higher levels of inflammation, a known contributing factor that increases the risk of heart attacks and stroke over time.
Mice were fed food containing 0.15 percent aspartame every day for 12 weeks, an amount that corresponds to people drinking about three cans of diet soda each day. Compared with mice without a sweetener-infused diet, aspartame-fed mice developed larger and more fatty plaques in their arteries and exhibited higher levels of inflammation. Read more