健怡可樂或將破壞人體腸道菌群

來自專欄夏面雙語新聞

Artificial sweeteners found in Diet Coke and other soft drinks could damage your gut bacteria, research suggests.

研究指出，包括健怡可樂在內的軟飲料中的人工甜味劑可能會破壞腸道菌群。

Scientists found six sweeteners - all approved for use in foods and drinks in the US and EU - were toxic to gut microbes.

科學家發現，有六種獲准在美國和歐盟食物和飲料增甜劑對腸道菌群是有害的。

They included the controversial aspartame, which has been at the centre of critical reports dating back decades. It is used in Diet Coke.

這六種甜味劑包括阿斯巴甜，它是幾十年前一系列富有爭議的報告中的主角。健怡可樂中就使用了這種增甜劑。

Researchers from Israel and Singapore warned the findings offer further evidence that artificial sweeteners can damage health.

以色列和新加坡的研究人員警告稱，這些調查結果給了我們更多相關的證據。

A healthy gut microbiome has been associated with everything from improved hormone regulation, nutrient absorption, digestion and immune system function.

健康的腸道菌群和激素調節、營養吸收、消化和免疫系統功能有關。

As well as aspartame, the scientists also assessed sucralose, saccharine, neotame, advantame and acesulfame potassium-k.

除了阿斯巴甜，科學家還評估了三氯蔗糖、糖精、紐甜、愛德萬甜和乙醯磺胺酸鉀。

Ten sports supplements that contain these sweeteners were also analysed for the study, published in the journal Molecules.

分子學期刊的研究中還分析了十種含有人工甜味劑的運動補充劑。

The study was led by a team at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

這個研究團隊來自內蓋夫本·古里安大學和新加坡南洋理工大學。

In their laboratory trial, all six of the sweeteners were exposed to bacteria that are commonly found in the human gut.

在實驗室實驗中，所有6種增甜劑都出現在了常見的腸道菌群中。

These bacteria were genetically modified to contain fluorescent compounds that glow when they detect toxins.

這些細菌都是含有熒光物質的改良細菌，當他們發現毒素時，它們就會發光。

The researchers discovered toxins are released when gut bacteria are exposed to artificial sweeteners in the lab.

研究人員發現，實驗室中的人工甜味劑和腸道菌群接觸後會釋放毒素。

It only took one mg/ml of the artificial sweeteners to turn the bacteria toxic.

1毫克人工甜味劑就可能讓這些細菌變成有毒細菌。

And the higher the amount of artificial sweetener, the more toxins that are released, according to the team led by Professor Ariel Kushmaro.

阿里爾.庫什馬羅教授的團隊稱，人工甜味劑的含量越高，釋放的毒素就越多。

He said: This is further evidence consumption of artificial sweeteners adversely affects gut microbial activity which can cause a wide range of health issues.

他說：「這就是攝入人工增甜劑會對腸道細菌活動產生不利影響，從而帶來許多健康問題的證據。」

The results of this study might help in understanding the relative toxicity of artificial sweeteners and the potential of negative effects on the gut microbial community.

「這項研究的結果可以有利於增進人們對人工增甜劑相對毒性，以及其對腸道菌群的不利影響的了解。」

Diet drinks account for a quarter of the sweetened beverages market but there is growing evidence they are not as healthy as previously thought.

低糖飲料佔了含糖飲料四分之一的市場，但是越來越多的證據證明，它們並不像以前認為的那麼健康。

Although marketed as a diet-friendly alternative to sugary drinks, scientists say they should no longer be regarded as the healthier alternative.

雖然無糖飲料是含糖飲料的一種替代品，但科學家表示，人們應該不再將它當成一種更加健康的替代品。

Artificial sweeteners have repeatedly been linked to obesity, cancer, type 2 diabetes, migraines and even liver toxicity.

人工甜味劑曾多次和肥胖、癌症、二型糖尿病、偏頭痛甚至是肝毒性扯上了關係。

The sweeteners are also emerging as environmental pollutants due to them being resistant to wastewater treatment processes.

由於人工甜味劑對廢水處理過程的抵抗力強，它也漸漸成為了一種新型的環境污染物。

Professor Kushmaro added the findings could also help to detect the damage that artificial sweeteners have on the environment.

庫什馬羅教授還說，這些結果可能還將有助於檢測出人工甜味劑對環境的不利影響。

Aspartame has established itself as an important component in many low-calorie, sugar-free foods and beverages.

人們阿斯巴甜已被人們視為低卡路里、無糖食物和飲料中的重要成分。

It is consumed by more than 200 million people around the world and is found in more than 6,000 products, it was reported in 2015.

據報道，2015，全球有共6000多種產品中添加了阿斯巴甜，它的消費人群共有2億人。

These include carbonated soft drinks, powdered soft drinks, chewing gum, dessert mixes, puddings and fillings and some vitamins and sugar-free cough drops.

這些產品包括碳酸飲料、沖泡軟飲、口香糖、混合式甜品、布丁和餡料及一些維生素和無糖止咳糖。

Aspartame is a nutritive sweetener made by joining two amino acids L-phenylalanine and L-aspartic acid, with a third component called a methyl ester group.

阿斯巴甜是一種混合了L-苯丙氨酸和天冬氨酸兩種氨基酸，和被成為甲酯組合的第三種成分的營養性甜味劑。

Very little is needed for a sweet taste, making aspartame virtually non-caloric. It is thought to be up to 200 times sweeter than sucrose.

因為不需要加入含糖的物質，所以阿斯巴甜從實質上來說是無熱量的。據稱它比蔗糖要甜200倍。

More people may be opting for artificially-sweetened drinks after a sugar tax on soft drinks was introduced in the UK on April 6.

在英國4月6日對軟飲料徵收糖稅後，很多人可能會選擇添加了人工甜味劑的飲料。

Many drink manufacturers have slashed the amount of sugar in their drinks in order to escape the tax.

為了規避糖稅，很多的飲料製造商都減少了飲料中糖的含量。

source：Ditch the diet Coke? Sweeteners are toxic to the gut

擴展閱讀：

WHAT ARE THE FEARS OVER SWEETENERS? AND WHAT DOES THE SCIENCE SHOW?

增甜劑會引發人們哪方面的憂慮？科學界有什麼提示？

In an era of obesity and diabetes, there is more focus on sweeteners and sugar alternatives than ever before. But some in the scientific community say the jury is still out on the effects of sweeteners and more research is needed.

在一個肥胖和糖尿病泛濫的時代，人們對甜味劑和糖的替代品的關注比以往都要多。不過，科學界內的一些人士表示，甜味劑是否對人類有任何影響還不得而知， 他們還需要做更多的研究。

OBESITY AND DIABETES

肥胖和糖尿病

A study published in April this year from the Medical College of Wisconsin and Marquette University linked artificial sweeteners to obesity and diabetes, claiming sweeteners change how the body processes fat and uses energy.

威斯康星醫學院和馬凱特大學今年4月的研究將人工甜味劑和肥胖及糖尿病聯繫在了一起，他們稱甜味劑將改變人體脂肪和能量的消耗方式。

Researchers fed groups of rats diets high in sugar or artificial sweeteners including aspartame and acesulfame potassium. After three weeks, blood samples showed significant differences in concentrations of biochemicals, fats and amino acids.

研究人員給一組老鼠餵食了高糖或甜味劑的食物，其中包括阿斯巴甜和乙醯氨基磺酸鉀。三個星期後，老鼠的血液樣本中的生化藥劑濃度、脂肪和氨基酸的發生了很大的變化。

GUT BACTERIA

腸道菌群

Leading gut microbiome expert Professor Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at Kings College, has warned that if you give animals lots of sweeteners, you get a reduction in diversity of the microbes and they produce abnormal chemicals – different metabolic signals which have been shown to be more likely to give you diabetes and make you put on weight.

領先的腸道菌群專家、劍橋大學國王大學遺傳流行病教授蒂姆.史派克已警告稱，如果你給動物們食用大量的甜味劑，菌群的多樣性將會減少，它們的體內將產生不正常的化學物質--經證明，不同的新陳代謝信號將更容易導致糖尿病和肥胖。

He adds that while there』s no hard evidence yet in humans, he has seen enough to make him wary of regularly eating these additives.

他還說，雖然現在人類身上尚未發現具體的證據，但他已看到了足以讓他提防這些添加劑的證據。

STROKE AND DEMENTIA

中風和痴呆

Consuming a can a day of low-or no-sugar soft drink is associated with a much higher risk of having a stroke or developing dementia, researchers claimed last year.

去年，研究人員稱，每天吃低糖或無糖軟飲料的人有很高的中風及痴呆風險。

A Boston University study found that people who glugged diet drinks daily were almost three times as likely to develop stroke and dementia when compared to those who did not.

波士頓大學的一項研究發現，大量攝入無糖飲料的人中風和痴呆的幾率比常人高約3倍。

However, the researchers were quick to point out that these findings, which appear separately in the journals Alzheimers & Dementia and Stroke, demonstrated correlation but not cause-and-effect.

然而，相關研究人員馬上指出，其分別發表在《阿茲海默症和痴呆》和《中風》期刊的結果顯示出了相互聯繫，但不是因果聯繫。

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