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Early-life low-calorie sweetener consumption disrupts memory function in rats

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Re: Early-life low-calorie sweetener consumption disrupts memory function in rats

#3
> In humans, a history of habitual LCS consumption based on food-frequency questionnaires is associated with increased prospective risk for all-cause dementia.

Here's a response that might make you feel better after reading that: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/strokeaha.117.0...

Re: Early-life low-calorie sweetener consumption disrupts memory function in rats

#5

> In humans, a history of habitual LCS consumption based on food-frequency questionnaires is associated with increased prospective risk for all-cause dementia. Here's a response that might make you feel better after reading that: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/strokeaha.117.0...

That's pretty slipshod then. The study could pretty much amount to saying that people who prefer artificially sweetened soda are the ones who already developed diabetes.

Re: Early-life low-calorie sweetener consumption disrupts memory function in rats

#6
When I was in undergrad, a Cog Psych professor told me a story about an undergrad who made a poster for a regional research conference of no real consequence about the correlation between diet soda drinking and some recall task. The study and the conference were more about teaching students about research more than actually finding anything. When he and his student showed up to the conference, a representative from a low-cal sweetener producer was there, and proceeded to spend the entire conference standing next to the poster refuting the obviously amateurish research. He said for years afterwards, he'd still get mail and faxes about new research that disproved any link between fake sugar and memory problems.

All of that being said, I don't know if there is a substance that we consume that has had more research done on it than artificial sweeteners. For every study like this, there are other studies disproving them, etc. If there is an effect, the effect size is small, and I'm not convinced there is anything there. Also, I'm drinking a Diet Coke right now and in another life I was an Alz researcher so maybe I really want it to not be there.

Re: Early-life low-calorie sweetener consumption disrupts memory function in rats

#7
post #4

Obligatory anecdata: https://twitter.com/id_aa_carmack/status/909055567209082880?...

So that means that John Carmack couldn't continue working at id because of the soda and pizza?! What does that leave for the rest of us!

Re: Early-life low-calorie sweetener consumption disrupts memory function in rats

#8

> In humans, a history of habitual LCS consumption based on food-frequency questionnaires is associated with increased prospective risk for all-cause dementia. Here's a response that might make you feel better after reading that: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/strokeaha.117.0...

Not really in light of multiple other new studies indicating that they wreck insulin regulation and your microbiome. I consume them but have come to the conclusion that they are probably pretty bad in light of this new science.

Re: Early-life low-calorie sweetener consumption disrupts memory function in rats

#9
Aspartame and probably all the other artificial sweeteners are small molecules. All small molecules have the potential for drug-like interactions with biological processes. I would expect that in most cases at small doses the body can maintain homeostasis, but caution is still warranted.

More generally, It’s a reasonable heuristic to avoid foods that can’t be prepared without industrial chemistry. For example, I can’t prove that oils chemically derived from seeds are unhealthy, but I think the burden of proof lies more in showing that they are and that has not been done.

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