Sweeteners ‘can turn healthy gut bacteria into harmful microbes’

(Anthony Devlin/PA)

Artificial sweeteners have the ability to turn healthy gut bacteria into harmful microbes and potentially cause serious health issues such as blood poisoning, scientists have said.

UK researchers have found that sugar substitutes such as saccharin, sucralose, and aspartame – found in soft drinks and processed foods – can cause beneficial bacteria in the intestines such as E. coli (Escherichia coli) and E. faecalis (Enterococcus faecalis) to become pathogenic, or disease causing.