Why sugar-free foods may shrink your brain

Artificial Sweetener Alters Your Brain Structure 🧠

It’s crazy how easily we are fooled. We fall for the pretty packaging, calorie-free, sugar-free and all the other buzzwords that make us believe we’re taking control of our health.

But in reality, we’re simply shrinking our brains and heading down a path towards dementia.

What they don’t tell us is that these sugar-free drinks and foods containing artificial sweeteners, which we are encouraged to consume, can actually change our brain structure and affect our cognitive function, memory and learning ability

So let’s dive into this and what it means for our long-term brain health (last week, I explored how sugar-free foods & drinks alter our brain chemistry; if you’re not caught up, you can check it out here.)

How Artificial Sweeteners Change Brain Structure

Our brain consists of four lobes: frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital. Within the temporal lobe, there is a specific region called the hippocampus, which plays a vital role in memory formation.

Changes in this region of the brain can impair cognitive function, making it harder for you to retain and recall information.

Artificial sweeteners cause changes in the hippocampus by decreasing its volume.

But how does it decrease the volume?

Sweeteners Cause Brain Cell Death

Studies have shown that artificial sweeteners can trigger a process called oxidative stress. This occurs when harmful molecules, known as free radicals, outnumber the body’s defenses (antioxidants), leading to damage and death of brain cells.

The buildup of free radicals also harms essential cellular components, including genes and the cell's ability to repair them, ultimately resulting in programmed cell death.

Much of this cellular damage and death occurs in the hippocampus, a region of the brain critical for memory and learning, and is thought to contribute to cognitive deficits.

Among three popular sweeteners—Aspartame, Stevia, and Sucralose—Stevia has been shown to cause the most damage in the hippocampus, followed by Aspartame and Sucralose.

What Does This Mean for Our Long-Term Brain Health?

Regular consumption of sugar substitutes like aspartame has been associated with long-term consequences on brain health, including an increased risk of memory deficits and even cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s, which is a form of Dementia.

But the impact doesn’t stop there! Artificial sweeteners also change how your body absorbs vital nutrients for healthy gut and brain function.

I’ll share more about this in the upcoming newsletter this Thursday, so stay tuned for my email. 

In the meantime, you can sign up for Haema to track your meal and see how it impacts your blood sugar. Haema automatically syncs with your CGM and exercise data so you have all your health data in one place to get a holistic view.

See you on Thursday!

Jish 💜

Type 1 Diabetic & Co-Founder @ Haema

P.S. Please share this newsletter (link below) or post it on your social media and tag @haema.co or @diabetic.jish—it would really help me! 😊😊