Sweeteners may affect GUT HEALTH
new study of pregnant rats suggests that the consumption of popular sugar alternatives by pregnant mothers may negatively affect the gut health and metabolism of their babies. Obese, pregnant female rats were fed the artificial sweeteners stevia and aspartame. The rats didn’t gain weight, but the researchers found that mothers who consumed either sweetener had fatter, heavier babies, even though their off spring never consumed the sweeteners directly. Their babies also had different concentrations of several bacterial species in their guts compared with the control group. Research in humans is needed before we can say the sweeteners would have similar effects
