Expert gives major warning over sugar-free drinks as they're not as healthy as you think

A nutritionist has warned about the downsides to sweeteners.

We've long been told that having too much sugar is bad for us, so many sometimes turn to sweeteners as a supposedly healthier alternative.

However, while sweeteners have much less calories in them, it doesn't necessarily make them all that great for you.

From puddings and diet sodas, to dairy products and jellies, there are so many food and drink items that have sweeteners in.

Discussing how many sodas has a 'crazy' amount of sugars in, Spanish nutritionist Sandra Moñino said on her Con Jengibre y Limón podcast, as per Mirror Online: "A carbonated drink can contain up to 40 grams of sugar. It's crazy."

The World Health Organization (WHO) advise that 'the amount of free sugars we consume to less than 10 percent of total energy intake' in a bid to reduce your chances of becoming overweight.

Sandra went on to note that it's not uncommon for children to have a carbonated drink when dining at a restaurant, and expressed her fears that young people aren't deterred from having such drinks and it could leave them at risk of excessive sugar consumption.

She says that 'zero' alternatives are also a risk.

Sugar free drinks could still pose health risks (Getty Stock)

"Zero drinks contain excessive amounts of sweeteners," Sandra explained, as per The Mirror. "They include sweeteners that are even banned in other countries, such as acesulfame-K, aspartame, and cyclamate, which are artificial sweeteners that sweeten up to 400 or 600 times more than sugar."

According to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), the sweetener Advantame is a staggering 20,000 times sweeter than sugar.

Meanwhile, Neotame can be anywhere between 7,000 to to 13,000 times sweeter, the FDA adds. Despite this, both these sugar alternatives remain legal in the States.

Only cyclamates and their salts are banned. Examples of these things include calcium cyclamate, sodium cyclamate, magnesium cyclamate, and potassium cyclamate.

Some products are thousands of times sweeter than normal sugar (Getty Stock)

Despite some sweeteners being much, much sweeter than its table sugar counterpart, the FDA states you need a lot of them to reach the acceptable daily intake.

While Advantame is 20,000 times sweeter than sugar, you'd need to have 4,920 packets of it in a day to reach your daily limit, says the federal agency.

The FDA doesn't seem too concerned about sweetener intake, but there are some side effects you should be wary of.

Some research has suggested that artificial sweeteners may cause increased consumption of high-calorie foods, leading to weight gain.

Another study found that it could increase a person's chances of developing Type 2 Diabetes.