Reacción a "Reactions: high-dose sucralose sweetener reduces immune response in mice"

Artificial sweeteners seem to be getting a bit of bad press recently. Last month we heard a lot about over a possible (but unproven) association between erythritol and an increased risk of blood clotting and now we hear sucralose may affect the immune system – but does it?

Sucralose is probably the most widely used artificial sweetener worldwide, and there has some discussion about its potential effects of the bacteria living in the gut and/or how it breaks down above 120 degrees C. The data on both is limited. There is no conclusive evidence that sucralose, erythritol or any other common sweetener are anything but very safe.

The paper by Zani et al is the first I have seen looking at the possible effects of sucralose on the immune system. I think the work is detailed and interesting. It is important to stress however, that, as the authors themselves point out, the work does not show that normal sucralose consumption can affect the immune system. The effects seen in the work were minimal and only found at very high doses, well above what a person would eat in a day (or possibly several days). The study was also conducted only on mice which are not mini humans and don’t always respond to chemicals the same way we do.  The number of animals used in the work is also quite low so the results should be thought of as indicative not conclusive.

In short, while this is clever work and tells an interesting biochemical story I don’t think people need be alarmed about these results.