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Non-nutritive sweeteners — too sweet to be wholesome?

Non-nutritive sweeteners (NNSs) seem to be a good substitute for sugar; they have the much-desired sweet taste but lack caloric content. A multi-arm randomized controlled trial assessing the effects of four NNSs on human metabolic health and the gut microbiome was recently published in Cell. The results further feed the long-standing debate on whether NNS use is indeed wholesome for human health.

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Acknowledgements

M.N. is supported by a personal ZONMW VICI grant 2020 [09150182010020]. H.H. is supported by a Senior Fellowship of the Dutch Diabetes Research Foundation (2019.82.004).

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Correspondence to Max Nieuwdorp or Hilde Herrema.

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M.N. is founder and member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Caelus Pharmaceuticals, the Netherlands, which has no direct relation to the outcomes of this study. H.H. declares no competing interests.

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Nieuwdorp, M., Herrema, H. Non-nutritive sweeteners — too sweet to be wholesome?. Nat Rev Endocrinol 18, 719–720 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-022-00758-4

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