When the researchers conducted spatial learning and memory tests using the Barnes maze, the aspartame mice at four months consistently moved more slowly and covered less distance during training than animals in the control group. They also took nearly twice as long on average to locate the target escape hole, showing impaired memory recall (however, this was inconsistent and not seen as statistically meaningful). By eight months, performance gaps widened even further, with two out of six aspartame-treated mice failing to complete the task at all.
It makes you dumb, unfit and fat (around the organs).
Were they getting enough glucose in addition to the aspartame? The article didn’t make it clear whether we’re seeing the effects of aspartame or just hypoglycemia.
The liver will happily make enough glucose for the human brain from fat and protein, let alone the mouse brain (gluconeogenesis). It’s not true that the human brain requires glucose, just a couple of cell lines (obligate glucovores), like red blood cells and some parts of the eye. The rest of the body, including the brain, can use ketones derived from fat, muscles can use triglycerides directly, in fact as we age the brain preferentially uses ketones. Here mouse models fail because they’re evolved as primarily carbovores (grains etc, although they do eat (low fat) insects for extra protein) and really, really hard to get into ketosis, while humans drop into it with 12 hours fasting. Which makes this study an interesting datum, but inconclusive (and likely false in detail) in humans. That said, seems like a no brainer to drop artificial sweeteners and limit sugar to me, evolutionarily we got a big burst at the end of summer (fruit) which we used to fatten up for winter and little the rest of the year.
TLDR: “Mice lie and monkeys exaggerate.”
Fruit is bad, apple is like sand with splenda, you need to buy the expensive kind of grapes and oranges, or else tastes like so fckn acid. Bananas are ok as long as you eat with bread and are on point, the same as watermelon, but a lot of em needs more sugar.
Mouse metabolism is nothing like human metabolism. Over reliance on mouse models has wasted billions and decades in science, and generated bullshit artifacts.
Still think rabbit studies win the bullshit artifact prize since they are the basis of the diet heart hypothesis.
Throughout the experiment, the mice were fed standard chow (SAFE® A03 rodent chow from SAFE), and the control group was provided with normal, unadulterated drinking water, while the aspartame treated group received 0.4 % (w/v) aspartame (Tokyo Chemical Industry, CAS 22839–47–0, purity ≥) three days every two weeks, which equated to an average daily human equivalent dose of approximately 7 mg/kg/day [20]
That’s quite a bit. A can of Coke Zero has 85mg of aspartame. So for someone who weighs 68kg, they would need to drink a six pack a day to get to this dose.
Diet Dr Pepper has 180mg per can, so that’s a bit more alarming.
Yeah, I have only known a few people who drink that much soda, it is a lot. But AceK is in tons of foods now, like kirkland whey protein and low carb stuff.