A new study published in American Academy of Neurology found that aspartame, saccharin, and other artificial sweeteners may pose negative health outcomes for the human brain.

A new observational study has found that individuals consuming high levels of artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and saccharin may experience a significantly faster decline in memory and word recall abilities. The study, conducted in Brazil with a diverse population, reported that those consuming the equivalent of one diet soda per day showed cognitive decline equivalent to over a year and a half of brain aging compared to those with lower intake.

Medical experts caution that the study does not establish causation and further research is required to determine whether artificial sweeteners directly cause these effects. The strongest associations were observed in people under 60, suggesting midlife dietary choices could impact later cognitive health. Experts recommend moderation and prioritizing natural, unprocessed foods while more evidence is gathered.

Artificial sweeteners could age human brains faster: Study

A new study has found that aspartame, saccharin, and other artificial sweeteners may pose negative health outcomes for the human brain. It found that people who consumed the highest levels of certain artificial sweeteners, equivalent to just one diet soda per day, saw a significant decline in their ability to remember and recall words compared to those who consumed the lowest levels. A 62% faster cognitive decline, in fact, the equivalent of more than a year and a half of brain aging. For more on this, let's bring in our Dr. Melissa Lim, medical columnist and family physician. Thanks for coming in. We should note this was an observational study, we understand, so we need more research. But anything stick out to you based on what they did find? I would say, Dan, before people start dumping out all their diet pot down the sink, that we remember, like you said, this is an observational study. It doesn't imply causation. We need to actually feed people artificial sweeteners and follow them over time before we can say that artificial sweeteners cause that kind of problem. Something that did stand out, actually, was how diverse the study population was. It was about 50-50 men and women, and also over 40% mixed race or black, which is a good representative population of Brazil, which is where the study was done. And I also liked the fact that the study also, well, something that was interesting to me was how it didn't necessarily stack up to what we expect, in fact. Often we see with different studies that people who are at the highest risk of disease actually are most harmed by what they're being exposed to, but in this case, it wasn't necessarily happening. Interesting. So it was a relatively diverse study, as you said. It also found, though, the strongest effect in people under 60. Why do you think that might be? Well, the study authors explained that this could indicate that the choices that we make in midlife have repercussions later in life, and this makes a lot of sense in terms of preventive health care. When you get sunburns as a kid, this can increase your risk of skin cancer as an adult. Okay. What sort of conversations, if you have any, with patients, your patients, around artificial sweeteners and benefits and drawbacks? You know what's funny is my patient population specifically is actually quite health conscious, so we don't often have these conversations, but I do have these conversations with my own child because he's aware that pop contains a lot of sugar. If we go to the movies and he wants a pop as a treat, he'll say, oh, should I maybe have the non-sweetened option because it's better for my teeth? But actually, it's not recommended that kids consume artificial sweeteners, so I do let them have the odd sugary pop every now and then. Now, when it comes to that, we've heard arguments for and against, oh, is it better to have a sugary pop rather than an artificially sweetened beverage? Is there any finding? What are your thoughts on that? It depends on who you are and what health conditions you have. If you are a young adult who's lean and active, I would actually recommend that you consume regular sugar and non-artificial sweeteners. But if, say, you have a health condition like diabetes or you're trying to lose weight in the short term, you may want to go with an artificial sweetener because it doesn't spike your blood sugar and also it doesn't contain calories. When it comes to the long-term effects of both sugar as well as these low-fat or low-sugar sweeteners, how much more research do you think we need to better understand their impact? I think we do need some more research. There have been some early studies showing that there may be an increased risk of metabolic syndrome, of diabetes or of weight issues if you consume a lot of artificial sweeteners. The thinking is that they prime your brain into wanting more, so you end up consuming more sugar and calories outside of those artificial sweeteners. In the end, really, it's best for us to consume natural, whole foods that aren't highly processed, that don't have added sugar. We know these are best for our health. Keep the sweets to a minimum if we can. Dr. Melissa Lam, we appreciate your time. Thanks, Jan.

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