By Mark Smith
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August 21, 2023
Hello again: The World Health Organization has stated that they are now advising against the use of non-sugar sweeteners…something that most natural health advocates have warned against for decades. Here is what they have to say: 15 May 2023 Departmental news The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a new guideline on non-sugar sweeteners (NSS), which recommends against the use of NSS to control body weight or reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). The recommendation is based on the findings of a systematic review of the available evidence which suggests that use of NSS does not confer any long-term benefit in reducing body fat in adults or children. Results of the review also suggest that there may be potential undesirable effects from long-term use of NSS, such as an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and mortality in adults. "Replacing free sugars with NSS does not help with weight control in the long term. People need to consider other ways to reduce free sugars intake, such as consuming food with naturally occurring sugars, like fruit, or unsweetened food and beverages,” says Francesco Branca, WHO Director for Nutrition and Food Safety. "NSS are not essential dietary factors and have no nutritional value. People should reduce the sweetness of the diet altogether, starting early in life, to improve their health." The WHO guideline on NSS is part of a suite of existing and forthcoming guidelines on healthy diets that aim to establish lifelong healthy eating habits, improve dietary quality and decrease the risk of NCDs worldwide. https://www.who.int/news/item/15-05-2023-who-advises-not-to-use-non-sugar-sweeteners-for-weight-control-in-newly-released-guideline https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240046429 Bottom Line: These reviews did not focus on potential negative effects of these NSS’s, such as other known toxic effects including how they impair the microbiome and how that negatively effects our health and inflammatory burden (see the link below). So, our best bet is just to avoid these chemicals altogether and focus on consuming a super healthy food plan…i.e., a predominantly whole food plant-based diet!! https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35987213/