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Review
. 2024 Feb 23;16(5):622.
doi: 10.3390/nu16050622.

Metabolic Effects of Selected Conventional and Alternative Sweeteners: A Narrative Review

Fabienne Teysseire  1   2 , Valentine Bordier  1   2 , Christoph Beglinger  2 , Bettina K Wölnerhanssen  1   2 , Anne Christin Meyer-Gerspach  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Metabolic Effects of Selected Conventional and Alternative Sweeteners: A Narrative Review

Fabienne Teysseire et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Sugar consumption is known to be associated with a whole range of adverse health effects, including overweight status and type II diabetes mellitus. In 2015, the World Health Organization issued a guideline recommending the reduction of sugar intake. In this context, alternative sweeteners have gained interest as sugar substitutes to achieve this goal without loss of the sweet taste. This review aims to provide an overview of the scientific literature and establish a reference tool for selected conventional sweeteners (sucrose, glucose, and fructose) and alternative sweeteners (sucralose, xylitol, erythritol, and D-allulose), specifically focusing on their important metabolic effects. The results show that alternative sweeteners constitute a diverse group, and each substance exhibits one or more metabolic effects. Therefore, no sweetener can be considered to be inert. Additionally, xylitol, erythritol, and D-allulose seem promising as alternative sweeteners due to favorable metabolic outcomes. These alternative sweeteners replicate the benefits of sugars (e.g., sweetness and gastrointestinal hormone release) while circumventing the detrimental effects of these substances on human health.

Keywords: D-allulose; erythritol; fructose; glucose; metabolic effects; satiation mechanisms; sucralose; sucrose; sweeteners; xylitol.

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Conflict of interest statement

Authors Fabienne Teysseire, Valentine Bordier, Bettina K. Wölnerhanssen and Anne Christin Meyer-Gerspach were employed by the St. Clara Research Ltd.—a non-profit organization. The remaining author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Categories of alternative sweeteners discussed in this review.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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