Artificial Sweetners And Thyroiditis

If your thyroid is not working well or if you develop Hashimoto’s Thyroiditits you will likely gain weight and feel tired or sluggish and frequently cold.
Bottom Line: Avoid Aspartame (Equal, Nutrasweet) and sucralose (Splenda) for a healthy thyroid.

NASHVILLE, TENN.– You might want to discourage your patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis from using artificial sweeteners, according to investigators from Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.

They found that of 100 patients with antibody-confirmed Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT), 53 reported using the equivalent of 3.5 packets of artificial sweetener per day – mostly aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet) or sucralose (Splenda) – as estimated from a questionnaire about their daily intake of sugar-free foods. The investigators also found a weak but significant correlation between daily consumption of sugar substitutes and elevated levels of TSH (r = 0.23, P = 0.05).

They checked those results against 125 controls who were referred for Hashimoto’s work up but turned out to be antibody negative; 15 (12%) regularly used artificial sweeteners, 110 (88%) did not.

Perhaps artificial sweeteners, which are widely used in diet soda, yogurt, gum, ice cream, and other products, somehow amp up the immune system to attack the thyroid in some people. “I think there is something to this,” said lead investigator Dr. Issac Sachmechi, an associate professor of medicine, endocrinology, diabetes, and bone disease at Mount Sinai.