Health Minister Exposes the 'Magic' of Zero Sugar Drinks, Which Can Actually Deceive the Body

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Drinks labelled as zero sugar are often considered healthier. However, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has cautioned that the sweet taste in these beverages may come from artificial sweeteners that instead trigger hunger and an excessive desire for sugar consumption.

The Health Minister explained that the sweetness in low-sugar or zero sugar drinks typically derives from artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, sucralose, and saccharin. Although used in very small amounts, these ingredients can produce sweetness hundreds of times greater than regular sugar.

Health Minister Budi stated that this situation can deceive the body. When the tongue detects sweetness, the brain prepares to receive sugar intake. But since the sugar does not actually enter the body, the resulting response is repeated hunger.

“The tongue feels sweet, the brain prepares to receive sugar. But the sugar doesn’t enter, so craving or the desire to eat sugar continuously emerges,” said Health Minister Budi, quoted from a reel on his official Instagram account @bgsadikin in the Budi Gemar Sharing (#BGS) programme, on Monday (27/4/2026).

He also highlighted the importance of understanding drink contents, rather than fixating solely on the zero sugar label. Under the nutritional labelling scheme like Nutri-Level, drinks using artificial sweeteners can still be classified as less healthy.

“If the drink is low in sugar but uses artificial sweeteners, in my opinion, it can still fall into Nutri-Level C or D,” he asserted.

This statement serves as a reminder that not all products labelled as low sugar are automatically healthier. Consumers are urged to be more careful in reading contents and understanding their long-term effects on the body.

“So, do you still want to be fooled by those artificial sweeteners? I certainly don’t,” said the Health Minister.