Ah, the dream of aspartame. Imagine an artificial sweetener, one of the most widely used in the world, that can turn your bitter coffee into a decadent dessert. And without any negative impact on your health. Well, that was the idea. But since it gained popularity in the mid-1980s, researchers have questioned its health benefits.
A recent year-long animal study is raising new questions about the long-term safety of aspartame, even at doses far below what regulators currently consider safe.
Publishing their findings in Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy, researchers from Spain’s CIC biomaGUNE and Biogipuzkoa Health Research Institute designed the study to address two big gaps in aspartame research: short study durations and unrealistically high doses.
Instead, they gave mice a low, intermittent dose equivalent to about one-sixth of the Acceptable Daily Intake for humans and tracked the effects for a full year. The result was a slow-moving set of changes that didn’t look like much at first but became more apparent over time.
Study Finds Aspartame Might Be Bad for Your Brain and Heart
Imaging revealed that early exposure to aspartame caused a spike in glucose use, as if the brain were revving its engine. By six months, that pattern flipped. By ten months, the brains of aspartame-exposed mice were using about 50 percent less glucose than those of control mice. Since the brain relies almost entirely on glucose to function, this drop suggests metabolic strain rather than adaptation.
Early increases in markers tied to healthy neuron activity gave way to rising lactate levels later on, a sign that the brain’s energy management system was struggling. In practical terms, this kind of imbalance can make neural circuits less efficient, potentially affecting learning, focus, and mental stamina.
Mice given aspartame were slower and less effective at solving spatial memory tasks, and by eight months, some couldn’t complete them at all. Cardiac imaging showed reduced pumping efficiency and mild enlargement of the heart muscle, meaning less blood and oxygen reached the body with each beat. Small changes matter a lot, as chronic drops in circulation can compound stress on organs, including the brain.
On the upside, though, aspartame-fed mice did have about 20 percent less body fat, so it will help you stave off the pounds. But the “benefit” came with a small catch: there was more visceral fat around organs and reduced lean mass, the exact pattern associated with having terrible metabolic health.
Obviously, this is a study involving mice, the favorite research subject of the scientific community. All the requisite limitations apply. But it does suggest that long-term, low-dose exposure to aspartame does its job of keeping the numerical pounds off, but the long-term trade-offs of that short-term gain may not be worth it.
Duration of exposure, not just dosage, might be the bigger problem here, and current guidelines may not be painting a complete picture.
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