In healthy subjects , appetite and short term food intake , risk of cancer , risk of diabetes , risk of dental caries , weight gain and risk of obesity are the most investigated health outcomes .
Overall there is no conclusive evidence for beneficial and harmful effects on those outcomes .
In subjects with diabetes and hypertension , the evidence regarding health outcomes of NNS use is also inconsistent .
Background Food products containing non-nutritive sweeteners ( NNSs ) instead of sugar have become increasingly popular in the last decades .
Their appeal is obviously related to their calorie-free sweet taste .
However , with the dramatic increase in their consumption , it is reasonable and timely to evaluate their potential health benefits and , more importantly , potential adverse effects .
The main aim of this scoping review was to map the evidence about health outcomes possibly associated with regular NNS consumption by examining the extent , range , and nature of research activity in this area .
Aspartame ingestion and headaches
To examine whether ingestion of aspartame is associated with headaches , we conducted a double-blind crossover study using volunteers with self-identified headaches after using aspartame .  Of the 32 subjects r and omized to receive aspartame ( approximately 30 mg/kg/d ) and placebo in a two-treatment , four-period crossover design , 18 completed the full protocol , seven completed part of the protocol before withdrawing due to adverse effects , three withdrew for other reasons , two were lost to follow-up , one was withdrawn due to noncompliance , and one withdrew and gave no reason . Each experimental period was 7 days long . Subjects reported headaches on 33 % of the days during aspartame treatment , compared with 24 % on placebo treatment ( p = 0.04 ) . Subjects who were “ very sure ” prior to the study that aspartame triggered some of their headaches reported larger treatment differences  ( aspartame = 0.37 headache-days , placebo = 0.18 headache-days ; p < 0.001 ) than subjects who were “ somewhat sure ” ( aspartame = 0.29 headache-days , placebo = 0.22 headache-days ; p = 0.51 ) or " not sure " ( aspartame = 0.33 headache-days , placebo = 0.39 headache-days ; p = 0.51 ) . There was no significant treatment difference in the length or intensity of headaches or in the occurrence of side effects associated with the headaches . This experiment provides evidence that , among individuals with self-reported headaches after ingestion of aspartame , a subset of this group report more headaches when tested under controlled conditions . It appears that some people are particularly susceptible to headaches caused by aspartame and may want to limit their consumption
In healthy subjects , appetite and short term food intake , risk of cancer , risk of diabetes , risk of dental caries , weight gain and risk of obesity are the most investigated health outcomes .
Overall there is no conclusive evidence for beneficial and harmful effects on those outcomes .
In subjects with diabetes and hypertension , the evidence regarding health outcomes of NNS use is also inconsistent .
Background Food products containing non-nutritive sweeteners ( NNSs ) instead of sugar have become increasingly popular in the last decades .
Their appeal is obviously related to their calorie-free sweet taste .
However , with the dramatic increase in their consumption , it is reasonable and timely to evaluate their potential health benefits and , more importantly , potential adverse effects .
The main aim of this scoping review was to map the evidence about health outcomes possibly associated with regular NNS consumption by examining the extent , range , and nature of research activity in this area .