Hi,

Thanks for your question.

I'm sorry to hear of your recent health troubles, I hope you're on the road to recovery now. As you say, following a healthy diet and losing any excess weight will really help with your overall health and in reducing the chance of another health scare further down the line.

Regarding low calorie sweeteners, there has been a lot of debate over the years over the safety of consuming these. However a review by the EFSA (European Safety Authority), who are the body responsible for food safety in Europe, last year concluded that artificial sweeteners pose no risk to our health. They have therefore been deemed safe for human consumption.

Some of the most common sweeteners used in food and as table top sweeteners are Acesulfame K, Aspartame, Sucralose, Sacharin, Xylitol and Stevia. All of these have been reviewed by the EFSA and have been approved for use. Many of these sweeteners aren't actually absorbed by our bodies, or if they are they are very quickly excreted - so there is no risk of a potential harmful accumulation of them in your body.

Swapping from sugar to a low calorie sweetener is a great way to save calories and reduce the chance of consuming excess calories that can lead to weight gain. So I would recommend switching to sweetener in your hot drinks or on your cereal for example, if you are used to using sugar. Any of the most common brands are completely safe so Canderel, Splenda, Sweetex and Truvia are all good choices. Truvia uses Stevia, a new natural sweetener which is extracted from the Stevia plant, so this may be a good one to try if you want something a bit more natural.

I hope this helps and please do not hesitate to get in touch if you need anything further.

Best wishes

Emma