The Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF), a non-profit organization and a premier medical research institute for diabetes and its complications, recently published India’s first study on the effect of sucralose on cardio metabolic risk factors among adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Intending to explore the effect of replacing table sugar (Sucrose) with artificial sweetener Sucralose in coffee/tea in Asian Indians, the randomized controlled trial (RCT) examined 179 Indians with T2D for 12 weeks. The findings reveal that small quantities of Sucralose in daily beverages like coffee and tea have no adverse effect on glycemic markers like glucose or HbA1c levels.
On the other hand, the study shows a slight improvement in body weight (BW), waist circumference (WC), and body mass index (BMI). While several studies have investigated the impact of NNSs in different contexts, there is very little data on the effects of NNS consumed in daily beverages like tea or coffee. This study becomes crucial as many people with diabetes in India continue to use added sugar in their coffee and tea, making the beverages a potential daily source of sugar intake.
Further, India’s overall carbohydrate consumption, particularly white rice or refined wheat, is very high. This adds to the risks of T2D. The study comes at a time when the WHO cautioned against using NNS to control body weight, but clearly stated that the guidelines were mainly meant for people without diabetes.
However, the WHO .