Maple Syrup on Gut Microbiota and Metabolic Syndrome

It has been suggested that the actual obesity epidemy is related to chronic overconsumption of added or free sugars. The increasing popularity of artificial sweeteners attest the population willingness to reduce added sugars intake and to use alternatives to alleviate health impact of free sugar overconsumption. However, recent findings suggest that artificial sweeteners may rather contribute to obesity epidemy and its associated adverse health effects, potentially via a negative impact on gut microbiota. It has been shown in various studies that, for the same amount of sucrose, unrefined sugars (such as maple syrup) are associated with favorable metabolic effects. The polyphenols contained in maple syrup, especially lignans, could contribute to these positive effects. Indeed, the strong impact of those biomolecules on the modulation of gut microbiota and on gastro-intestinal and metabolic health has been demonstrated in several studies. It is therefore highly relevant to test the hypothesis that the substitution of refined sugar by an equivalent amount of maple syrup (5% of daily energy intake) result in a lesser metabolic deterioration, by the modulation of maple syrup on gut microbiota, than the one observed with refined sugar.