Artificial sweeteners simply love chilling in your gut. " [The 2014 Nature study] showed that regular use of artificial sweeteners like saccharin, sucralose and aspartame, led to an abnormal mix of bacteria in the gut that increased risk of insulin insensitivity (the precursor of diabetes) and weight gain," explains Ogunyemi. "One way this may. Anecdotal evidence is compelling but not meaningful. If it was found that aspartame causes cancer in 98% of the people who drink it, but not you, I'm sure you'd still agree it should be taken off the market. It is sad that you can't have sugar, but that fact doesn't mitigate any potential problems caused by additives. 7.