Sweeteners damage cognitive health and can cause long-term harm, study suggests

Sweeteners in yoghurts and fizzy drinks can damage people's ability to think and remember and appear to cause "long-term harm" to health, a study has found.

- Denis Campbell

Consuming too many sweeteners such as aspartame and saccharin can bring about such a big fall in mental functioning that it equates to 1.6 years of ageing, researchers say.

The authors of the study, published in the American medical journal Neurology, concluded: "Our findings suggest the possibility of long-term harm from low- and no-calorie sweeteners (LNCs) consumption, particularly artificial LNCs and sugar alcohols, on cognitive function."

Previous studies have suggested sweeteners may increase the risk of diseases including type 2 diabetes, cancer, heart problems, depression and dementia, and damage the gut wall. Consumers should instead use either tagatose, a natural sweetener, or alternatives such as honey or maple syrup, the researchers said.