Artificial sweeteners are a large and varied category. It’s difficult to conduct long term research on any one product, and it is unfair to assign the results of any one sweetener to the category as a whole. The long term effects of artificial sweeteners are still unknown in humans. The fears people do have come from studies on rats that don’t align with human behavior and also don’t include all of the different versions of sweetener. Artificial sweeteners can be useful for strict calorie management, but as with all things, should be used intentionally and in moderation.