Artificial sweetener’s effect on gut bacteria is a bit of a controversial subject. The facts, however, are beyond doubt, at least for me.

I am not in favour of putting any type of chemical into my body unless there is no other option, e.g. medication, or essential, e.g. food. We are a very complex organism and we do not know all the effects of our actions. Every action results in some reaction and often in the most unusual and unexpected ways. Artificial sweeteners are one of them. Remember we are never alone.

Artificial sweeteners are partly responsible for the obesity epidemic that we are going through.

I was concerned about aspartame’s link to cancer but that has been disproved. But doubts still linger.

Scientific American

The Scientific American (April 2015) has a very interesting article

My favourite topic, is the human microbiota, the microbes (bacteria and fungi living mainly in the large intestine), and our probiotics. Apart from them regulating our immune system, they are responsible for the breakdown and absorption of some foods.

Israeli scientists found that the gut microbiota is changed by the use of artificial sweeteners. So artificial sweeteners’ effect on gut bacteria is detrimental to our microbiome.

Basically, we have two broad types of bacteria in the gut (see at the end of the article for the names). The two types need to be in balance. If the one is dominant then we get obese.

 

This is because it is extremely efficient at extracting energy from foods and they trigger fat storage instead of breaking it down for energy. These bacteria shape our eating by changing the release of leptin, a hormone that is released when we have eaten sufficiently.

The balance of the two types is upset as the inefficient bacteria die out and the efficient, obese bacteria, thrive. This ends up with, strangely enough, more carbohydrates absorbed. There is also an increase in conversion and storage of fats.

Sweeteners to Reduce Weight

The use of sweeteners instead of reducing weight has the opposite effect, obesity.

It is better to cut down on the sugars and have complex carbohydrates from fresh fruit and honey. It is better to have a little sugar, brown preferably than sweeteners. In a mouse experiment, mice fed on sugar were thinner than the mice fed on the sweeteners.

Protect your microbiome by eating correctly, Banting Lifestyle, and exercising as well as a daily probiotic, Noster ProBiotics. Take long walks in the open, get off the couch. Never use antibiotic soaps, excessive cleanliness will destroy your microbes and promote fungal infections as the balance between fungi and bacteria is destroyed.

The two classes of bacteria are Bacteroides and Firmicutes (obesity-promoting). As people lose weight the balance between these changes with Bacteroides increases.