Sugar vs Sweeteners: Best & Worst Options for Longevity (Science You Need to Know)

Is your “zero sugar” soda actually helping your health—or setting you up for hidden risks?

Every minute, the world consumes 80 million teaspoons of sugar—fueling obesity, fatty liver, diabetes, and even cancer. No wonder shelves are full of “sugar-free” alternatives. But are artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose any safer? What about sugar alcohols, rare sugars like allulose, or natural extracts like stevia and monk fruit?