Research
Hormonal
Low-dose aspartame consumption increases serum propionate levels, which may drive hepatic gluconeogenesis and impair insulin tolerance.
Aspartame may increase propionate, a gut-derived metabolite that can raise blood sugar. This suggests that avoiding aspartame might help manage blood sugar levels, especially if you have insulin resistance.
ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
APM resulted in elevated circulating propionate levels by ,2.5 fold in both CHA and HFA compared to CHW and HFW respectively (p,0.05)... potentially explaining its negative affects on insulin tolerance.
Why this rating
Animal model, mechanistic hypothesis not fully proven in humans.
Source
Low-Dose Aspartame Consumption Differentially Affects Gut Microbiota-Host Metabolic Interactions in the Diet-Induced Obese Rat
Marie Palmnäs et al. · PLoS ONE · 2014
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0109841
mechanism_only · n=44Cited 322×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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