Are you thinking of losing weight or are you reducing your sugar intake due to diabetes? Artificial sweeteners are often overlooked. Because it is widely promoted as an ingredient that can be used in beverages and foods without worrying about the negative effects of sugar on your health. But a new study reveals there’s nothing sweet or good about it. Aspartame, an artificial sweetener found in nearly 5,000 beverages and foods, has been linked to anxiety-like behavior in mice by researchers. Before You Stop Using Artificial Sweeteners altogether Let’s take a closer look at what else this research has found.
A lot of people have a sweet tooth. And if their health does not allow sugar. They would then go for artificial sweeteners. It is seen as an alternative to sugar. They’re used in beverages, foods, and more. Now, researchers at Florida State University College of Medicine have found a link between artificial sweeteners and anxiety-like behavior in mice.
Anxiety is not limited to rats fed artificial sweeteners.
The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that anxiety-like behavior was not exclusive to rats fed aspartame. But the effect was also seen in two generations from men exposed to artificial sweeteners.
Co-authors Pradeep Bhide, Jim and Betty Ann Rodgers Eminent Scholar Chair of Developmental Neuroscience in the Department of Biomedical Sciences say the new study shows they need to look back at neuroscience. “environmental factors”. These factors are important because what “We see today, not just what happened today. it is something that happened two generations ago and probably longer.”
New study on artificial sweeteners to rats Partly based on previous research, it came from Bhide Lab on the effects of nicotine cross-generation in rats. It shows transient or epigenetic changes in mouse sperm cells. and unlike genetic changes (Mutations) Epigenetic changes are reversible. They didn’t change the DNA sequence. But it can change the way the body reads DNA sequences.
Bhide said the research team is working on similar effects of nicotine, for example if a father smokes. “What happened to the child?”
Aspartame has been praised by the FDA.
In 1981, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave a green signal to aspartame aspartame, and today nearly 5,000 metric tons of artificial sweeteners are produced each year. Aspartame transforms into aspartic acid, methanol and phenylalanine when ingested. All three of these can have a profound effect on the central nervous system.
The study, led by PhD candidate Sara Jones, involved giving rats a drink of water containing the sweetener about 15 percent of the FDA-approved daily human intake. That’s equivalent to 6-8 8-ounce cans of diet soda per day for humans. Doses were continued for 12 weeks in studies lasting four years.
Passed multiple maze tests over several generations from males exposed to aspartame. Prominent anxiety-like behavior was found in rats.
It’s a very anxiety-like trait, says Jones. which she did not think any researcher “Expecting we’ll see,” she said, was unexpected. because normally “You see a slight change.”
Diazepam, a drug used to treat anxiety disorders in humans has been given to all generations of mice Then they stopped showing anxious behavior.
Possible Links Between Artificial Sweeteners and Other Diseases
Artificial sweeteners are found in thousands of food and beverage brands worldwide. But these sweeteners are still a controversial topic. According to a BMJ study published in September, suggests a potential direct link between higher consumption of artificial sweeteners especially aspartame, sucralose and acesulfame potassium. and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Previously, a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that people who regularly consume artificial sweeteners have a higher risk of health problems such as obesity and weight gain So they might not be your friend when it comes to weight loss.
