Artificial Sweeteners: The Sweetness That Erodes Memory
At first they seemed the perfect solution. No calories. No sugar. A sachet, a can, and the conscience was clear. But artificial sweeteners return to the center of debate with a new shadow: they may compromise the mind.
A study published in Neurology in September 2025 makes it clear. Twelve thousand adults tracked for eight years. Those who consumed sweeteners daily showed cognitive decline equivalent to an additional 1.6 years of aging compared to non-consumers. The effect is sharper under sixty, when no one expects slowdowns.
The news unsettles because it touches a widespread certainty: that sweeteners are harmless, a small trick to stay light without sacrifice. The industry insists: these are only correlations, not definitive proof. But the fact remains: a constant signal, on a large scale, linking “light” products to decline.
This is not about obesity, nor diabetes. This is about the mind. Memory, focus, sharpness. The most fragile and irreplaceable good. We do not notice losing it day by day—until it is too late. Here lies the knot: the brain does not recognize sweeteners as sugar. Metabolic pathways remain active, the body is confused. Some studies link these substances to micro-inflammations and changes in the gut microbiota. And the gut-brain axis is no detail: it is a highway.
This is not about demonizing. It is about choosing. A balanced diet with fruit, fiber, good fats. Sweetening in moderation: honey, dates, natural syrups. Or rediscovering authentic taste, less dependent on sweetness. Because often it is not the coffee that demands sugar. It is the mind asking for an anesthetic.
The issue goes beyond chemistry. It concerns our relationship with pleasure. Society wants sweetness without consequences. Gratification without cost. But life does not work that way. Every true pleasure carries a price: time, care, responsibility. Sweeteners create the illusion that the price does not exist. And so they take away something invisible: the ability to fully inhabit taste. Perhaps, in the long run, also the ability to fully inhabit thought.
The true sweetener of the mind is not in a sachet. It is in the empty space between one thought and the next. There the conscience regenerates, without sugars and without substitutes. Discovering this void is the rarest pleasure. And the only one that never leaves waste behind.
A study published in Neurology in September 2025 makes it clear. Twelve thousand adults tracked for eight years. Those who consumed sweeteners daily showed cognitive decline equivalent to an additional 1.6 years of aging compared to non-consumers. The effect is sharper under sixty, when no one expects slowdowns.
The news unsettles because it touches a widespread certainty: that sweeteners are harmless, a small trick to stay light without sacrifice. The industry insists: these are only correlations, not definitive proof. But the fact remains: a constant signal, on a large scale, linking “light” products to decline.
This is not about obesity, nor diabetes. This is about the mind. Memory, focus, sharpness. The most fragile and irreplaceable good. We do not notice losing it day by day—until it is too late. Here lies the knot: the brain does not recognize sweeteners as sugar. Metabolic pathways remain active, the body is confused. Some studies link these substances to micro-inflammations and changes in the gut microbiota. And the gut-brain axis is no detail: it is a highway.
This is not about demonizing. It is about choosing. A balanced diet with fruit, fiber, good fats. Sweetening in moderation: honey, dates, natural syrups. Or rediscovering authentic taste, less dependent on sweetness. Because often it is not the coffee that demands sugar. It is the mind asking for an anesthetic.
The issue goes beyond chemistry. It concerns our relationship with pleasure. Society wants sweetness without consequences. Gratification without cost. But life does not work that way. Every true pleasure carries a price: time, care, responsibility. Sweeteners create the illusion that the price does not exist. And so they take away something invisible: the ability to fully inhabit taste. Perhaps, in the long run, also the ability to fully inhabit thought.
The true sweetener of the mind is not in a sachet. It is in the empty space between one thought and the next. There the conscience regenerates, without sugars and without substitutes. Discovering this void is the rarest pleasure. And the only one that never leaves waste behind.