Posted on 09/21/2025 7:47:26 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
Some sugar substitutes may come with unexpected consequences for long-term brain health, according to a study. The study examined seven low- and no-calorie sweeteners and found that people who consumed the highest amounts experienced faster declines in thinking and memory skills compared to those who consumed the lowest amounts.
The link was even stronger in people with diabetes.
The artificial sweeteners examined in the study were aspartame, saccharin, acesulfame-K, erythritol, xylitol, sorbitol and tagatose.
The study included 12,772 adults from across Brazil. The average age was 52, and participants were followed for an average of eight years.
Researchers divided them into three groups based on the total amount of artificial sweeteners they consumed.
The lowest group consumed an average of 20 milligrams per day (mg/day) and the highest group consumed an average of 191 mg/day. For aspartame, this amount is equivalent to one can of diet soda. Sorbitol had the highest consumption, with an average of 64 mg/day.
After adjusting for factors, researchers found people who consumed the highest amount of sweeteners showed faster declines in overall thinking and memory skills than those who consumed the lowest amount, with a decline that was 62% faster. This is the equivalent of about 1.6 years of aging. Those in the middle group had a decline that was 35% faster than the lowest group, equivalent to about 1.3 years of aging.
When researchers broke the results down by age, they found that people under the age of 60 who consumed the highest amounts of sweeteners showed faster declines in verbal fluency and overall cognition when compared to those who consumed the lowest amounts. They did not find links in people over 60.
They found no link between the consumption of tagatose and cognitive decline.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
The artificial sweeteners examined in the study were aspartame, saccharin, acesulfame-K, erythritol, xylitol, sorbitol and tagatose.
Tagatose was the only one that had no problems, but that is a hard sweetener to find right now.
Use honey or the real cane stuff…
IN MODERATION.
What was this about again?
I’m using either liquid stevia or allulose.
Allulose is an interesting one, so-called “rare sugar”. Not being a concentrate, it is substituted 1:1 for powdered sugar.
People will do anything to protect these substances.
People will do anything to protect these substances.
People will do anything to protect these substances.
I’ve never found a sugar substitute that didn’t leave an awful aftertaste.
Monk Fruit Sweeter works good
Monk Fruit and Stevia are not artificial. I am surprised that Sucralose was not included in the study.
I make a distinction between liquid and powdered stevia - the latter typically with erythritol, to determine the degree of being natural or artificial sweeteners.
I was going to say something funny about short-term memory loss, but I forgot what it was. :-[
Or plain sugar for that matter, the sugar daddy of death.
Was the study paid for by the manufacturer of tagatose?
Table salt is Na-Cl, and Sucralose is C12-H19-Cl3-O8. No big deal.
It’s all bad. I have a real sweet tooth and after reading our new Surgeon General Dr. Casey Means book (if the damn Senate would please confirm her!), I’ve given up nearly all of it. It takes a willingness to try new things and adapt but was much easier than I expected. Losing 20 pounds and bringing cholesterol numbers below normal is the payoff.
Read “Good Energy” and you’ll know what MAHA is based on.
Who am I?
The cane stuff is no healthier.
Poison in moderation is still poison. In this case, the damage is cumulative over time.
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