Sugar substitutes are often marketed as a better choice than foods loaded with refined sugar (glucose). Common examples include aspartame, the sweetener used in Equal packets, sucralose (Splenda), and sugar alcohols such as sorbitol.
But growing research is complicating the idea that these alternatives are automatically healthier. A new study suggests that sorbitol, in particular, may have metabolic effects that make it less harmless than many people assume.
Sorbitol May Be One Step Away From Fructose
The research, published recently in Science Signaling, builds on a line of research from Gary Patti's laboratory at Washington University in St. Louis examining how fructose affects the liver and other parts of the body.
Patti, the Michael and Tana Powell Professor of Chemistry, in Art & Sciences, and of genetics and medicine, at WashU Medicine, has previously investigated what happens when fructose is processed by the liver. His earlier work showed that the products of fructose metabolism can be exploited by cancer cells to promote their growth. Other research has identified fructose as an important contributor to steatotic liver disease, a condition involving excess fat accumulation in the liver that affects about 30% of adults worldwide.
