Artificial Sweeteners Linked to Liver Damage

Artificial sweeteners — specifically acesulfame potassium and sucralose — may interfere with your liver’s delicate detoxification process.
Acesulfame potassium and sucralose — brand name Splenda — inhibited the activity of P-glycoprotein (PGP), a “defense protein” that’s important for protecting organisms against environmental toxins.
The artificial sweeteners may bind to PGP, thereby inhibiting the transport of compounds like xenobiotics, drugs and their metabolites, short-chain lipids and bile acids.
The findings could therefore have significant implications for people who take antidepressants, antibiotics and blood pressure drugs, which use PGP as a primary detoxification transporter.
PGP also plays a role in other body functions, including maintaining the blood-brain barrier, so the researchers stressed the need for further research to determine how artificial sweeteners may be affecting other organs beyond the liver.
A separate study found that people who consumed higher levels of the artificial sweetener aspartame had an increased risk of cancer.