Sugar is often among the first things people ditch in the New Year, and the most common replacement? Artificial sweeteners. But what if replacing sugar with its calorie-free counterpart is actually doing more harm than good? For this episode, we speak to Dr. Jotham Suez, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Johns Hopkins University, all about artificial sweeteners. How do they work? What are the metabolic effects of artificial sweeteners vs. sugar on our bodies? How do these sugar alternatives potentially negatively affect our microbiome, blood sugar control, and even cause weight gain? Turns out artificial sweeteners might not be so sweet after all. To kickstart your exercise habit and get daily episodes all of January, come join the Foodie Fam! https://www.patreon.com/FWNTT Check out last year’s episode on sugar! Check out our book: https://read.macmillan.com/lp/food-we-need-to-talk/ Chat with us on IG! https://www.instagram.com/foodweneedtotalk/?hl=en Be friends with Juna on IG and Tiktok! https://www.instagram.com/theofficialjuna/ https://www.tiktok.com/@junagjata