SIPPING SWEET – Sweeteners and metabolic health

Summary

Low/no-calorie sweeteners have gained considerable attention as a promising alternative to sugar, particularly in beverages. While they offer the potential to reduce calorie intake, studies on the potential long-term health impact of beverages sweetened with low/no-calorie beverages as replacements for sugar-sweetened beverages so far are limited. Similarly, fruit juice is often considered as healthier option compared to sugar-sweetened beverages, but current evidence has been mixed. Regarding low/no-calorie sweeteners, their widespread presence in both beverages and various foods makes it challenging to accurately capture their intake with current self-report dietary methods. Using urinary biomarkers provides a more precise estimation of their intake. Therefore, this thesis aimed to investigate the long-term associations between sweetened beverages and urinary biomarkers of low/no-calorie sweeteners with metabolic health, which may help to better understand of their impact on metabolic health.