Stevia, sucralose and cane sugar effects in overweight people drinking juice
What it found
In 138 overweight people, a stevia-sweetened juice raised an anti-inflammatory marker while sucralose and cane sugar raised homocysteine.
Sucralose also raised good cholesterol and cane sugar raised total cholesterol.
What they found
Studies in people
Homocysteine levels rose
Homocysteine went up by 27% in the sucralose group and by 40% in the cane sugar group. This was measured in overweight people over 60 days.
Anti-inflammatory response from stevia
The stevia-sweetened juice raised levels of IL-10, which is linked to reducing inflammation. This happened in the people who drank it daily for 60 days.
Antioxidant capacity improved slightly
ORAC values rose by 21%, but only in people who started with lower antioxidant levels. The authors suggest the fruit drink may only help those with poorer starting status.
Cholesterol changes
Good cholesterol (HDL) rose in the sucralose group. Total cholesterol rose in the cane sugar group. Triglycerides and bad cholesterol did not change in any group.
What the authors conclude
- They found signs of oxidative stress and inflammation after people drank the sucralose and cane sugar juices, but not the stevia juice.
- They note that the antioxidant benefits of the fruit drink might only help people who start with lower antioxidant levels.
- They call for more randomised trials using normal amounts of common sweeteners to better understand their roles in health.
How it was done
People are increasingly swapping added sugars in juices for other sweeteners to make drinks healthier. The authors wanted to check the long-term effects of these swaps on inflammation and antioxidant levels.
They ran a trial with 138 overweight people split into three groups. Each group drank 330 mL of a citrus-maqui juice every day for 60 days. The juices were sweetened with either stevia, sucralose or cane sugar as a comparison.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This trial lasted 60 days, so it cannot show what happens when people drink these sweeteners for years.
- It only looked at overweight adults, so the results might differ for people of other weights.
- Because everyone drank a fruit juice base, scientists do not yet know if the sweeteners alone would cause the same changes.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Catholic University of San Antonio (UCAM), Spain; Campus Universitario de Espinardo 25, Spain
The paper
- Title
- Biological effects of stevia, sucralose and sucrose in citrus-maqui juices on overweight subjects
- Type
- Randomised controlled trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Zafrilla P, Masoodi H, Cerdá B, García-Viguera C, Villaño D (2021). Biological effects of stevia, sucralose and sucrose in citrus-maqui juices on overweight subjects. Food & function. doi:10.1039/d1fo01160jPubMed 34323244DOI
Summary written 1 Oct 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error