Artificial sweetener may help control autoimmune diseases: study

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have discovered that consuming large amounts of the commonly used artificial sweetener, sucralose decreases the activation of T-cells, which could be beneficial for people with autoimmune diseases.

The study conducted on mice to test the impact of sucralose, a commonly used artificial sweetener which is 600 times sweeter than sugar, reveals the possibility of using it on humans as a therapeutic agent to suppress T-cell responses where uncontrolled activation occurs, reports  SciTechDaily.

"More research and studies are needed to see whether these effects of sucralose in mice can be reproduced in humans. If these initial findings hold up in people, they could one day offer a way to limit some of the harmful effects of autoimmune conditions," said Karen Vousden, senior author and principal group leader at the Crick.

The mice were fed high doses of sucralose, which should not worry common people as humans consuming normal or even moderately elevated levels of sucralose would not be exposed to the levels achieved in this study.

Karis Betts, senior health information manager at Cancer Research UK, said, "The results of this study don't show harmful effects of sucralose for humans so you don't need to think about changing your diet to avoid it."