Sweeteners can affect cognitive health, equivalent to 1.6 years of aging, discovers the study | Food
The sweeteners found in yogurts and soft drinks can damage people’s ability to think and remember, and seem to cause “long -term damage” to health, revealed that research has revealed.
People who have consumed the greatest quantity of sweeteners such as aspartame and saccharin have seen a faster drop in their cognitive powers – the equivalent to have aged 1.6 years, according to researchers.
They concluded: “Our results suggest the possibility of long -term prejudice to the consumption of sweeteners with low and calories (LNC), in particular artificial LNCs and sugar alcohols, on cognitive function.”
The results are the last to warn of the dangers posed by sweeteners. Previous studies have suggested that they could increase the risk of a range of diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cancer, heart problems, depression and dementia and damage the intestinal wall.
The association of sweeteners with cognitive decline is such a concern that consumers should rather use tagatosis, natural sweetening or alternatives such as honey or maple syrup, the researchers said.
They examined the impact of seven sweeteners on the health of the study participants – 12,772 civil servants in Brazil, with an average age of 52 years – which were followed for eight years on average. Participants fulfilled questionnaires detailing their consumption of food and drink in the previous year, then suffered tests from their cognitive skills such as verbal control and words recall.
People who have consumed the most sweeteners have experienced reductions in their skills of reflection and memory 62% faster than those who have the lowest contribution, revealed the researchers. It was “the equivalent of around 1.6 years of aging,” said the researchers.
The consumption of combined and individual LNCs, in particular aspartame, saccharin, aceulfame K, erythritol, sorbitol and xylitol, was associated with cognitive loss.
“The daily consumption of LNC has been associated with an accelerated decline in memory, verbal control and global cognition,” say the authors in their article, published in the American Medical Journal Neurology.
However, the trend was only observed among participants under the age of 60. This shows that adults of average age should be encouraged to use fewer sweeteners, they added.
The sweeteners studied are also found in flavored water, low -calorie desserts and energy drinks.
“Low and calorie sweeteners are often considered a healthy alternative to sugar. However, our results suggest that some sweeteners can have negative brain health effects over time, “said Claudia Kimie Suemoto, the University of São Paulo in Brazil, the main study of the study.
Organizations in the food and drinks industry are cast a doubt about the results. “Increasingly the admission of the authors, this study cannot prove the cause,” said Gavin Partington, Managing Director of the British Soft Drinks Association.
“Sugar sweeteners are safe, according to all the main health authorities in the world, and that is why they have been used in a wide range of food, medicine, dental and drinks products for many decades.
“Their use in carbonated drinks has helped British manufacturers eliminate a little less than three -quarters of a billion kilograms of sugar since 2015.”
The International Sweeners Association (ISA) said that there was an “established scientific consensus” that sweeteners are safe.
“This research is an observation study, which can only show a statistical association, and not a direct cause and effect relationship,” ISA said in a press release. “The link reported between the consumption of sweeteners and the cognitive decline does not prove that one causes the other.”
