A new study suggests the artificial sweeteners popularly used to replace sugar might have the same health risks as the latter.

These artificial sweeteners such as saccharin, sucralose and aspartame interfere with the way our bodies metabolize or burn sugar, said a new study by the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. The study was published in the journal, Nature.

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The problem is that artificial sweeteners aren't digested by the human body. That's why their manufacturers say they have no calories.

Unfortunately, these artificial sweeteners must pass through our gastrointestinal tract. Here, they encounter a huge ecosystem of bacteria.

These bacteria play an important role in our physiology, including how we process glucose and other sugars.

The study reveals high doses of artificial sweeteners can change the population of healthy gut bacteria. Those changes can affect how well our bodies metabolize sugar.

"We are by no means prepared to make recommendations about the use and dose of sweeteners, but these results should prompt additional study and debate on the massive use of artificial sweeteners," said Eran Segal a senior author of the study.

Artificial sweeteners might lead to type 2 diabetes for some people as directly as eating sugar does, according to the research.

The new research duiscovered that differences in gut microbes might explain why some people can handle artificial sweeteners while others develop diabetes from using the sweeteners.

In a series of experiments involving mice and people, researchers examined the interaction between gut microbes and consumption of aspartame, sucralose and saccharine.

Depending on the types of microbes in their intestines, some people and mice saw a two- to fourfold increase in blood sugars after consuming the artificial sweeteners for a short time. Over time, high blood sugar levels can lead to diabetes.

The study involved several parts. One of these, a diet study involving 400 people, found those who consumed the most artificial sweeteners were more likely to have problems controlling blood sugar. Also, mice fed saccharine saw dramatic increases in their blood sugar levels.

Researchers, however, said their work needs to be repeated before it's clear whether artificial sweeteners can truly trigger diabetes.