Several studies published recently have found that artificial sweeteners impact brain health.
This research has echoes of a study from March 2023 that found erythritol was linked to heart attacks and strokes. New research from the Univ. of Colorado Boulder made erythritol look even worse. The study suggests that erythritol can impact the blood-brain barrier. The blood-brain barrier should be a wall stopping unwanted substances from reaching the brain. But exposure to erythritol harmed blood vessel function in the barrier, weakening the defense. The blood vessels were constricted, limiting the oxygen and nutrients that could reach the brain.
Researchers exposed the blood-brain barrier cells in the study to the same amount of erythritol that they would be exposed to when drinking a diet soft drink. The sweetener caused oxidative stress and lowered the body’s antioxidant defenses. This study saw that the erythritol appeared to block the mechanism that breaks down blood clots. That may explain the earlier study that linked erythritol to strokes.
Erythritol is popular in manufacturing because it behaves a lot like sugar. It is almost the same level of sweetness as sugar, so it’s easier to swap for sugar than many sweeteners that are much sweeter. And it is a sugar alcohol that is naturally occurring, allowing it to be classified separately from artificial sweeteners. While the World Health Organization guidelines recommend against artificial sweeteners for weight control, sugar alcohols aren’t mentioned.
Another recent study on sweeteners from Brazil found that people who ate the most no- and low-calorie sweeteners had faster memory declines over a period of eight years, especially if they were under 60 and had blood sugar concerns. The research followed 12,772 adults with an average age of 52 and used diet questionnaires and cognitive tests. After adjusting for factors like age, sex and heart health, the study found people who consumed the most artificial sweeteners had a 62 percent faster decline in cognition and memory than people who consumed the least. The difference was equal to about 1.6 years of aging.
Researchers in that study examined many sweeteners, including erythritol. Tagatose was the only one they researched that wasn’t linked to cognitive decline.
Blood sugar health can be a precarious balance. None of this research means you should start eating more sugar in place of artificial sweeteners or sugar alcohols. It just means that you should read labels more closely and consider what you are choosing. The studies also don’t prove that erythritol and other sweeteners are causing cognitive problems, just that a link was seen. Limiting your consumption of them may be best, but replacing them with sugar is not a solution.
