Artificial sweeteners could give you diabetes, according to new research. They affect gut bacteria - potentially altering blood glucose levels, say scientists. Many switch to them to get a sweet-tooth rush - without the calories.
The sugar substitutes are also in thousands of diet products such as fizzzy drinks, desserts, ready meals and cakes. They include saccharin and aspartame - even found in chewing gum and toothpaste. Manufacturers have long claimed they have no affect on the human body.
But researchers have now discovered they are far from inert. In fact, some can alter consumers' microbiomes in a way that changes blood sugar.
