WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Neurology, found that people who consumed the most low- and no-calorie sweeteners experienced faster declines in memory and thinking skills than those who consumed the least.
Previous studies have linked artificial sweeteners to health problems, including a higher risk of type 2 diabetes and heart-related events. The new findings suggested they may also be linked to faster cognitive decline.
During the study, researchers followed nearly 13,000 adults in Brazil for about eight years to study their sweetener intake and changes in brain health. Participants consumed an average of about 92 milligrams of artificial sweeteners each day, although some consumed nearly twice as much. For comparison, a 12-ounce can of some popular diet sodas can contain up to 200 milligrams of sweeteners such as aspartame.
After considering factors such as age, blood pressure and heart disease, researchers found that the group consuming the most sweeteners had a 62% faster decline in thinking and memory than the group consuming the least. The middle group had a 35% faster decline.
'Consumption of aspartame, saccharin, acesulfame k, erythritol, sorbitol, and xylitol was associated with a faster decline in global cognition, particularly in memory and verbal fluency domains,' the study authors wrote.
Also, the researchers noted that six of the seven sweeteners studied were linked to faster cognitive decline, with memory showing the strongest effect. Tagatose was the only sweetener that was not linked to faster decline. The link was seen mainly in people under 60, suggesting that sweetener consumption during middle age may be important. The association was also stronger among people with diabetes.
However, the researchers stressed that the study only found an association and cannot prove that artificial sweeteners caused cognitive decline. The findings also do not mean that having an occasional diet soda is necessarily harmful.
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