00:00Millions of Americans reach for zero-sugar drinks and sweeteners every day,
00:04thinking they pass through the body without a trace.
00:06A new study from the University of Cambridge challenges that idea.
00:11Researchers grew 25 species of gut bacteria in the lab
00:14and tested 39 commercially available sweeteners, both artificial and natural.
00:20About three-quarters of the sweeteners changed the growth of at least one species of bacteria.
00:25Some slowed it down, and some stopped it completely.
00:28Then they added caffeine, vanillin, and eight common drugs
00:32and found more than 100 cases where the effect changed.
00:35One example, a stevia-related sweetener called a sostaviole paired with the antidepressant duloxetine,
00:42which had over 4 million U.S. prescriptions in 2023,
00:46strongly inhibited two gut bacteria and reduced diversity in a simplified gut model.
00:51Now the honest limits.
00:52This was done in a lab with simplified bacteria, not in people.
00:56It does not prove sweeteners are harmful.
00:59But the lead author says they are not metabolically neutral.
01:02Would you switch?
01:03Disclosure.
01:04This video contains stock footage and content created or enhanced using AI-assisted tools.
