Artificial sweeteners aren’t metabolically free despite zero calories. They maintain your taste for intense sweetness, may trigger insulin responses to the taste of sweet, and research by Suez and colleagues shows they can alter gut bacteria in ways that impair glucose tolerance. The habit of reaching for sweet drinks persists.
This companion explores the sweetness problem, the insulin question, gut microbiome effects, why the habit architecture remains intact, and practical options for transitioning away. (4 min read)