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Sugar Substitutes: Are They Good for Your Gut?

Diet, Digestive Health, Probiotics / By Staff Writer

What Are Sugar Substitutes?

Sugar substitutes, or sugar alternatives, replace sugar in foods and drinks to reduce calories and help people manage their blood sugar levels. The most common types include artificial sweeteners (like Aspartame and Sucralose,) and natural alternatives (like Stevia and Erythritol). These are found in processed food products of all types, including: sodas, chewing gum, packaged snacks, and almost anything labeled “sugar-free”.

Why Do People Use Sugar Substitutes?

Many people switch to sugar substitutes because they want to avoid the negative health effects associated with regular sugar, like weight gain and diabetes. The growing demand for healthier options to replace sugar pushed sugar alternatives into focus, especially for those who are health-conscious.

How Do Sugar Substitutes Affect Gut Bacteria?

Your gut microbiome comprises trillions of bacteria that help you digest food, fight disease, and keep your body balanced. The type of sweetener you consume has very different effects on these bacteria:

Artificial Sweeteners (Sucralose, Saccharin, Aspartame):
Research shows that synthetic sweeteners like Sucralose and Saccharin can reduce the diversity of gut bacteria and even promote the growth of certain harmful bacteria with sustained consumption of artificial sugar substitutes. This imbalance, called “dysbiosis,” may affect digestion, immune function, and even blood sugar control.
Natural Sweeteners (Stevia, Erythritol):
Stevia is considered safer for the gut microbiome compared to most artificial sweeteners, with studies showing no significant changes in the overall makeup of gut bacteria after regular use of natural sweeteners. Interestingly, some studies suggest Stevia might help maintain “good” bacteria, and Stevia’s natural anti-inflammatory properties might help support gut health.
Individual Differences:
However, not everyone reacts the same way – some people experience bigger changes in their microbiome than others after consuming either natural or artificial sweeteners. Consequently, caution is advised for anyone considering sugar substitutes to replace or reduce the amount of sugar in their individual diets.
Peer-Reviewed Research: To read a recent (May 2025) peer reviewed study on Synthetic vs. non-synthetic sweeteners click here to download the PDF.

The Good, the Bad, and the Unknown

Best Options for Gut Health

Stevia:
Doesn’t seem to harm the gut microbiome in healthy adults and might provide benefits thanks to its anti-inflammatory effects. Stevia’s effect on blood sugar depends on the amount consumed and your diet.
Erythritol:
Generally, it is considered safe for most people and doesn’t appear to upset the balance of gut bacteria, but more research is needed to understand Erythritol’s long-term impact on both gut and overall health.

Watch Out For:

Aspartame/Sucralose/Saccharin:
Frequent use can lower the diversity of bacteria in the gut, which is linked to health problems like weight gain and poor glucose control.

Can Probiotics Help?

If you use artificial sweeteners and are concerned about how they affect your gut microbiome, probiotics may be helpful. Probiotics are “good” bacteria that support a healthy gut environment and can restore balance if your microbiome is disrupted by all types of sweeteners or a poor diet with lots of processed food. Regularly adding probiotics to your routine may help offset some of the negative effects artificially sweetened foods have on your gut.

Shop now for high-quality probiotics that support gut health: https://endomune.com/shop-probiotics/

Key Takeaways

Choose natural sweeteners like Stevia or Erythritol when possible.
Limit the amount of artificial sweeteners (Aspartame, Sucralose, Saccharin) in your diet since the current research suggests artificial sweeteners inhibit/reduce optimal gut health.
Support your gut with probiotics like EndoMune Advanced Probiotics, and eat a diverse, fiber-rich diet. Fiber is a natural prebiotic and helps maintain gut health naturally without artificial additives.

References & Further Reading

Cedars-Sinai Study on Sweeteners and Gut Health: https://www.cedars-sinai.org/newsroom/research-alert-artificial-sweeteners-significantly-alter-the-small-bowel-microbiome/cedars-sinai
“Effects of Sweeteners on the Gut Microbiota”: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6363527/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih
“Effect of Non-Nutritive Sweeteners on Gut Microbiota”: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10144565/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih
Stevia Long-Term Effects Study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38257188/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih
Artificial vs Natural Sweeteners Impact: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1531131/full frontiersin
Stevia Microbiome Review: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9028423/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih
Effects of Low/Non-Calorie Sweeteners: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0899900723002654 sciencedirect
Artificial Sweeteners and Pathogenic Bacteria: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2024.1366409/full frontiersin

Sugar Substitutes: Are They Good for Your Gut? Read More »

Is Stevia Really a “Gut-Safe” Sugar?

Diet, Digestive Health / By Staff Writer

For a long time, people have been looking for ways to satisfy their sweet tooth cravings without having to sacrifice their waistlines or gut health for it. The real refined sugar contained in most processed foods that populate Western diets (including ones you’d never imagine) is a big no and the same applies for artificial sweeteners.

Whether it’s real sugar or the artificial sweeteners, both can create problems with the gut, either by blocking proteins that help you maintain a healthy weight or changing the composition of your gut bacteria for the worse.

With the reputation of real sugar and artificial sweeteners on the wane, a lot of you may have considered stevia, a sweetener derived from the leaves of the Stevia rebaudiana plant that contains nearly no calories.

Like many food products, stevia is marketed by manufacturers as a natural one, even though it’s actually processed or combined with other ingredients to create a sweetener.

But is stevia really good for your gut?

An unbalanced answer

Considering its emerging popularity, scientists at Ben Gurion University in Israel studied the effect of stevia extracts (steviol, Reb A and stevioside) in the lab on a strain derived from the harmful E. coli bacteria with an emphasis on digesting food.

Like other sweeteners, however, stevia created problems, but not by tipping the balance of good versus bad bacteria in the gut as one might assume.

Instead, stevia had the effect of disrupting the communication between bacteria in the gut, which could explain why some people experience constipation, gas or stomach pain after using it in their coffee or in making foods.

This study serves as an initial analysis that shows more work needs to be done “before the food industry replaces sugar and artificial sweeteners with stevia,” says lead researcher Dr. Karina Golberg.

The take-home message

Don’t be too concerned that there’s no “safe” sweetener you can use that will help you in your quest to protect your gut health and keep the pounds off. Here are simple steps you can take that can make a difference today.

Stay hydrated with clean fresh water. (A healthy tip: Add lemon slices along with a dash of cinnamon or turmeric to your water for extra flavor.)
Moderation, moderation and moderation. Pay attention to what you’re eating or drinking and how your body feels afterward (even if tastes great).
Read the Nutrition Facts displayed on the labels of any processed foods you eat for signs of added sugars.
Protect the bacteria in your gut so they keep working as they should behind the scenes by taking a probiotic formulated with multiple strains of beneficial bacteria.

EndoMune Advanced Probiotic is formulated with a proprietary blend of 10 bacterial strains plus a proven prebiotic (FOS) that can keep the microbiome communicating even in the presence of a “natural” sweetener like stevia.

References

Is Stevia Really a “Gut-Safe” Sugar? Read More »