6 popular sugar substitutes linked to faster brain aging: study - New York Post

What the report says

The New York Post reported on a University of São Paulo study suggesting that higher consumption of several low- and no-calorie sweeteners was associated with faster cognitive decline over time. The research followed nearly 13,000 adults in Brazil, with an average age of 52, for eight years and examined seven sweeteners often used in diet drinks, sugar-free foods and low-calorie products: aspartame, saccharin, acesulfame K, erythritol, xylitol, sorbitol and tagatose.

According to the Post’s account, six of the seven sweeteners were linked with steeper declines in overall mental performance, especially measures tied to memory; tagatose was the exception. Participants were grouped by reported intake, with the lowest group averaging about 20 milligrams a day and the highest about 191 milligrams. Those in the highest-intake group showed a 62% faster decline than the lowest-intake group, while the middle group showed a 35% faster decline. Researchers estimated those gaps as roughly 1.6 and 1.3 additional years of brain aging, respectively.

The reported association appeared more pronounced in adults under 60 and among people with diabetes, a group that may be more likely to use sugar substitutes to manage sugar intake. The Post noted that diabetes affects about 40.1 million Americans, making the finding relevant to a large population.

The study does not prove that sweeteners caused cognitive decline. The Post reported several limitations, including reliance on self-reported diet information, the observational design and the fact that not all sugar substitutes were studied. The findings add to ongoing questions about the long-term health effects of widely used sugar alternatives.