The popular sugar substitute sucralose—used by nearly 40 percent of Americans seeking to cut calories—may alter brain activity in ways that boost appetite, with particularly pronounced effects in people living with obesity, according to a new research.
Sucralose Could Trigger Hunger Signals in Brain
The study, conducted by the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California and recently published in Nature Metabolism, indicates that consuming sucralose, a key ingredient in the popular sugar substitute Splenda, increases activity in the hypothalamus—a part of the brain that regulates appetite and body weight.The researchers found that drinking sucralose increased feelings of hunger and brain activity in the hypothalamus, especially among those with obesity. Unlike sugar, sucralose did not increase hormones that triggered a sense of fullness.
