Skip the Sweet N Low! Do Artificial Sweeteners Make Crohn’s Disease Worse?

Myeloperoxidase is an enzyme secreted by the white blood cells and it is effective in warding off various microorganisms. “This suggests that other dietary habits or additives may lead to similar microbiota alterations. For instance, diet emulsifiers used as food additives have also been shown recently to alter the gut microbiota and promote colitis in mice. Other scenarios could put Crohn’s disease patients at risk of having exaggerated inflammation as well. This could include unexpected foodborne bacterial infections which would further recruit myeloperoxidase-containing leukocytes to the intestinal tract and the resultant inflammation” said Fabio Cominelli, senior author of the study, Professor of Medicine at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, and Chief of Gastroenterology at UH Cleveland Medical Center.