The UN health agency issued new guidelines on Monday advising against the use of non-sugar sweeteners (NSS).
The UN health agency issued new guidelines on Monday advising against the use of non-sugar sweeteners (NSS).
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation is based on a review of available evidence, which indicates that artificial sweeteners do not help control body mass or reduce the risk of weight-related illnesses.
Acesulfame K, aspartame, advantame, cyclamates, neotame, saccharin, sucralose, stevia, and other stevia derivatives are examples of common NSS.
“In the long run, replacing free sugars with NSS does not help with weight control.” “Other ways to reduce free sugar intake, such as eating foods with naturally occurring sugars, such as fruit, or unsweetened food and beverages,” says Francesco Branca, WHO Director for Nutrition and Food Safety.
“NSS have no nutritional value and are not essential dietary factors.” To improve their health, people should eliminate sugar from their diet entirely, beginning early in life.”
Long-term consequences are lethal.
The WHO also stated that “potentially undesirable effects from long-term use” of NSS, such as an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, were possible. The review’s findings also indicate that there may be other dangerous consequences, such as an increased risk of premature death in adults.
Except for people with pre-existing diabetes, the recommendation against using NSS applies to everyone. It includes all synthetic and naturally occurring or modified non-nutritive sweeteners that are not classified as sugars and are found in manufactured foods and beverages, or sold separately for consumers to add to foods and beverages.
Other sugar byproducts
The WHO recommendation does not apply to personal care and hygiene products that contain non-sugar sweeteners, such as toothpaste, skin cream, and medications, or to low-calorie sugars and sugar alcohols (polyols), which are sugars or sugar derivatives with calories and are not considered NSS.
Because the link between consuming NSS and disease outcomes may be subjectively determined due to “baseline characteristics” of those participating in the study, the recommendation has been “assessed as conditional,” in accordance with WHO guidelines development processes.
This indicates that policy decisions based on the WHO recommendation may necessitate extensive debate in specific contexts, such as the extent of consumption in different age groups across countries.
The WHO NSS guideline is part of a suite of existing and upcoming healthy diet guidelines aimed at establishing lifelong healthy eating habits, improving dietary quality, and lowering the risk of noncommunicable diseases worldwide, according to the UN health agency.
