Aim:
To conduct a systematic review & meta-analysis to synthesize existing scientific evidence from RCT’s on the glycemic impact of NNS
Background:
Obesity is on rise and is a leading cause of morbidity & mortality worldwide. One of the reason for increased prevalence of obesity is increased intake of energy dense food items. Sugar consumption may increase energy intake which is evident from various scientific research documenting the risk of sugar consumption leading to childhood & adult obesity. Restricting calorie intake has become an important strategy in preventing obesity & weight management. As per the 2015-2020 dietary guidelines recommended calories from added sugar is <10 % for Americans. NNS are non-nutritive zero or low calorie alternatives and can be a substitute to table sugars as they provide sweetness with an addition of zero to negligble calories.
Methodology:
Source: Pubmed and Web of scientific database
Selection criteria
1) Study design- RCT
2) Study Subject – Human
3) Intervention- Oral NNS consumption overnight fasting (NNS- Aspartame, Sucralose, Saccharin,Stevia)
4) Outcome: change in blood glucose level in response to NNS consumption.
5) Article type: peer-reviewed publication.
Exclusion Criteria
1) Studies that administered NNS consumption in combination with other caloric foods or beverages
2) Studies not explicitly reporting a fasting protocol
3) Studies reporting no results from blood glucose test, or
4) Presence of other interventi
Outcome Change in blood glucose level in response to NNS consumption; Article type: peer-reviewed publication on components that may affect blood glucose (e.g. exercise).
Results
The exclusion of clinical studies was explicitly done on reasons like lack of blood reports, no reporting of a definitive fasting protocol and the consumption of NNSs with other calorific foods or other parameters (eg. Exercise) that have an effect on blood glucose levels. The meta analysis was eventually performed on 29 full-fledged clinical researches, where subjects mostly were normal weighed (~50%), over weighted (~32%) and rest were obese. The trajectory glycaemic responses recorded from all the clinical findings, found no impact of the NNSs consumption on the serum glucose levels in the subjects. Infact, their levels gradually declined, and were recorded till 210 min post-consumption of the NSSs. A meta-aggression research conducted on the clinical research inclusion criterias like NNS type, BMI, diabetic status, participant’s age found all parameters, except NNS type to have some impact on the glycaemic levels. Although, the parameters had some effect on the glycaemic levels, they were no significant enough to conclude on them.
Conclusion
The consumption of NNS was not found to elevate blood sugar levels.
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