This month, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a new guideline on non-sugar sweeteners that do not recommend their use to control body weight or reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases.
The entity indicated that there is no evidence that demonstrates that these sweeteners do not benefit anyone in the long term in reducing body fat in adults or children. In addition, there could be effects in its long-term use with a greater risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and mortality in adults.
“Replacing free sugars with unsweetened sweeteners does not help control long-term weight. People should consider other ways to reduce their intake of free sugars, such as consume foods with natural sugarssuch as fruit, food and non-sugared drinks”, says the Director of Nutrition and Safety of the Food Organization, Francesco Branca.
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It was not possible to verify if the effects were also evident in those who had pre-existing diabetes.
In addition, it is clarified that the guideline refers to all synthetic and natural or modified non-nutritive sweeteners that are not classified as sugars and are found in manufactured or sold food and beverages.
Among the most common non-nutritive sweeteners are acesulfame K, aspartame, advantamo, cyclamates, neotamo, saccharin, sucralosa, stevia and stevia derivatives.
There are products that contain this type of sweeteners but are not affected by this indication, such as toothpastes, skin creams and medicines, as well as low-calorie sugars and sugar alcohols.
This set of recommendations is based on the conclusions of the review of scientific evidence and forms part of the efforts of the WHO to encourage countries to adopt policies that favor healthy eating habits and quality diets, which reduce the risk of suffering from chronic illnesses . (I)
