The health risks of consuming too much added sugars—those added to foods, as opposed to those naturally present—can include weight gain and increased risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and some cancers. But switching to artificial sweeteners may carry similar risks, according to recent evidence.
Sugar substitutes may be useful, however, to help people transition to a healthier diet, especially when it comes to sugary drinks, according to Vasanti Malik, adjunct lecturer on nutrition and research scientist in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
“The goal isn’t to get people to switch from sugar to diet [drinks],” she said in an April 26, 2019 Consumer Reports article. “It’s to get people to switch from sugar to water, but diet [drinks or foods] might be an intermediate way to help them.”
Read the Consumer Reports article: The Truth About Sugar vs. Artificial Sweeteners