Artificial Sugar Side Effects: A study claims that long-term use of artificial sweeteners or low- or no-calorie sweeteners, mainly used by diabetics, may cause cognitive decline.
Artificial Sugar Side Effects: A study has claimed that long-term use of artificial sweeteners or low or no-calorie sweeteners, which are mainly used by diabetics, can cause cognitive decline. Researchers at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil analyzed 12,000 patients who used common artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, saccharin, xylitol, erythritol, sorbitol, tagatose and acesulfame. The results published in the journal Neurology found that those who consumed high amounts of sugar had a decline in thinking and memory by about 62 percent, while this was not seen in those who consumed less sugar.
Dr Manjari Tripathi, head of the neurology department at AIIMS, told IANS, "We know that sugar and sugar substitutes increase the risk of diabetes and fatal diseases. They are also associated with dysfunction of vascular cells in the brain." She advised limiting its use. Studies have shown that people who consumed normal amounts of artificial sweeteners had a 35 per cent faster decline in memory and thinking ability, and a 110 per cent faster decline in verbal fluency.
In the high-consumption group, memory and thinking ability declined 62 per cent faster, and verbal fluency declined 173 per cent faster. Dr Anshu Rohatgi, vice-chairman of the neurology department at a hospital, said this effect, most commonly seen in diabetics, is a matter of concern. Rohatgi said that constant exposure to these alternatives can make the brain more sensitive. "These artificial sweeteners can cause neuroinflammation, and this can be one reason for cognitive decline. Another reason could be that it is changing the gut microbiome," Rohatgi said.
A study conducted by the Chennai-based Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF) in 2024 showed that replacing table sugar (sucrose) with small amounts of natural and artificial non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS) such as sucralose in daily beverages such as coffee and tea may not have any adverse effect on glycemic markers such as glucose or HbA1c levels. The study, published in the journal Diabetes Therapy, also showed that people who used sucralose in pellet, liquid or powder form also had small improvements in body weight (BW), waist circumference (WC) and body mass index (BMI). In 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised concerns about the use of NNS among healthcare stakeholders and the general public.
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