Commercial sugar substitutes have been used since the late 1800s when saccharin was accidentally developed by a chemist at Johns Hopkins University. Due to widespread sugar rationing during World Wars I and II, saccharin grew in popularity.
In more recent times, the US Food and Drug Administration has approved six synthetic nonnutritive sweeteners as being "generally recognized as safe": saccharin, aspartame, sucralose, neotame, acesulfame-K, and stevia. Several sugar alcohols (types of carbohydrates derived from fruit and vegetables) and naturally occurring low-calorie sweeteners extracted from monk fruit, licorice root, and other sources have saturated the market further.
As rates of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome have steadily grown, consumers have increasingly turned to artificial sweeteners as seemingly healthier alternatives to sugar, but ongoing research suggests that some of these products may not be as safe as initially suspected.
Microbiome-Altering Sugar Substitutes
Investigators have begun to elucidate the pathways by which diet, among other factors, can negatively affect gut microbiota and cause chronic inflammation. Certain research has linked widespread use of sugar substitutes with this process, which can eventually result in the development of several proinflammatory disease states.
