Aspartame, a popular sweetener, raises concerns: Potential impact on memory revealed

Could aspartame, a sweetener widely used in many foods and drinks, affect our memory? Researchers at Florida State University have conducted a study revealing a link between aspartame consumption and memory and learning problems, based on tests carried out on mice.

For their experiments, the rodents were divided into three groups. The first was given water, the second had access to water containing a quantity of aspartame equivalent to two light soft drinks per day for a human, while the third group consumed a slightly higher quantity of aspartame. The results showed that the mice that had not consumed aspartame performed better in memory and learning tests.

Animals that had ingested aspartame passed the tests, but with a different strategy and a longer duration, sometimes requiring assistance. Intriguingly, this effect was also observed in the offspring of the mice.

Although these results are not directly applicable to humans, they do raise concerns about the use of aspartame, which has already been associated with anxiety in mice. These findings fuel the debate on artificial sweeteners and call for further research to better understand their impact on human health.