Many of us have replaced sugar with sweeteners to keep the line under control and avoid gaining weight, but the World Health Organization turns on an alarm bell.
Spring is now well advanced (although judging by the weather it would not seem) and the summer season is knocking on the doors. As usual, in view of the costume rehearsal many of us have started to be more careful about eating, trying to limit sugars, fats and carbohydrates. We often start with the cup of coffee: instead of a teaspoon or a sachet of sugar, the use of a sweetener can help us lose some excess weight. Or so we believe.
To dampen the enthusiasm is the World Health Organization (WHO), according to which sweeteners are not essential elements of the diet and have no nutritional value. To really lose weight and improve your health, you should eliminate or almost eliminate the consumption of sweets, and from early childhood. In its recommendation, WHO refers to low- or no-calorie synthetic sweeteners and natural extracts, which may or may not be chemically modified, such as acesulfame K, aspartame, advantame, cyclamates, neotame, saccharin, sucralose, stevia and its derivatives.
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According to a new guideline from the World Health Organization, the use of unsweetened sweeteners “it has no long-term benefit in reducing body fat in adults or children”. Not only that: there could be “potential side effects” linked to long-term use of sugar substitutes, such as an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
The role of sweeteners in the diet as a substitute for sugar (Buttalapasta.it)
“Replacing free sugars with sweeteners does not help with long-term weight control” – explains Francesco Branca, director of the WHO Nutrition and Food Safety Division – “People need to consider other ways to reduce their free sugar intake, such as consuming foods with naturally occurring sugars, such as fruit, or unsweetened foods and beverages”. It must be remembered that unsweetened sweeteners are widely used as ingredients in packaged foods and beverages, and are often added directly to foods and beverages by the end consumer.
WHO specifies that the above applies to all people, except those with pre-existing diabetes. His recommendation is based on one review of a total of 283 studies, but it is “conditioned”, since the link identified between sweeteners and the outcomes of various pathologies could be influenced by particular consumption patterns and the characteristics of the study participants. As a result, a press release reads, “policy decisions based on this recommendation may require in-depth discussions in specific country contexts, for example related to the extent of consumption in different age groups”.