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Is fasting blood glucose a reliable parameter to investigate the effect of non-nutritive sweeteners on glucose metabolism?

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 73, pages 331–332 (2019)Cite this article

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A Correspondence to this article was published on 13 January 2020

In the October issue of the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Nichol et al. [1] present results of a meta-analysis assessing the glycemic impact of non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS), molecules largely used to sweeten food and beverage preparations. With the dramatic increase in their consumption, this question is of interest, in order to evaluate the potential effect of NNS on human health, especially metabolic and cardiovascular risk factors. In this context, the effect of NNS on glucose metabolism is often discussed in the literature, as well as by international health agencies, as several epidemiological studies have revealed association between chronic NNS consumption and an increase in cardiometabolic disease prevalence.

The authors did an extensive search of the literature and report on findings from 29 studies with 741 subjects that measured the glycemic impact of NNS. The authors focused specifically on studies comparing the acute effects of four NNS (aspartame, saccharin, steviosides, and sucralose) on several biological parameters with a focus on fasting blood glucose level. Considering any of the four NNS mentioned, the meta-analysis reported no increase in fasting glucose blood level and described a gradual decline over 210 min after NNS ingestion. Meta-regressions have further shown that age, weight, and diabetic status of subjects significantly influence change in blood glucose following NNS consumption.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Avignon University, LAPEC EA4278, F-84000, Avignon, France

    Sydney Risdon, Gregory Meyer & Guillaume Walther

  2. Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Inserm U1042, 38000, Grenoble, France

    Matthieu Roustit

  3. Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Grenoble Alpes University Hospital, Inserm CIC1406, 38000, Grenoble, France

    Matthieu Roustit

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  1. Sydney Risdon
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  2. Matthieu Roustit
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  4. Guillaume Walther
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Correspondence to Guillaume Walther.

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Correspondence to the article: “Glycemic impact of non-nutritive sweeteners: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials” Nichol AD, Holle MJ, An R. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2018 May 15

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Risdon, S., Roustit, M., Meyer, G. et al. Is fasting blood glucose a reliable parameter to investigate the effect of non-nutritive sweeteners on glucose metabolism?. Eur J Clin Nutr 73, 331–332 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-018-0366-9

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