Association of sucralose consumption with insulin response and sensitivity

Use of non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS) is widespread in foods and beverages and are believed to have little to no impact on glucose metabolism. Nonetheless, recent studies have shown sucralose may not be as innocuous as previously thought. This review was conducted to summarize the evidence available on the impact of sucralose on insulin response and sensitivity.

Evidence on sucralose was searched in MEDLINE and Google scholar databases using search strings that incorporated synonyms of sucralose, insulin, response and sensitivity.

Of the 16 studies that reported impact of sucralose on insulin response, 8 found an increased insulin response following ingestion of sucralose, 7 did not find any impact and 1 found a favorable impact. Of the 8 studies describing the effect of sucralose on insulin sensitivity, 6 reported a decrease, 1 found an increase and the remaining one found no change.

Intervention studies report inconsistent effects of sucralose, with approximately half suggesting adverse impacts on insulin response and sensitivity. A meta-analysis is warranted to quantitatively synthesize the effects of sucralose exposure on insulin metabolism.