Artificial Sweeteners and Depression

If you’ve ever had a bad day and reached for sweets, you’re not alone.  Many of us might want something sweet but also don’t want to ingest all the carbs or calories, so we reach for something artificially sweetened.  Well, bad news: one study has found that artificial sweeteners may make your bad day worse.  High use of artificial sweetener has been shown to increase your risk of depression.  Let’s discuss the details.

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Artificial Sweeteners and Depression

Dr. Michael Ruscio: Diet Drinks and Depression: Is There a Connection?

Hi, this is Dr. Ruscio. And there was recently a study I got this link from the video, but it doesn’t seem to be correct – Krystal) published that showed a connection between diet drinks and depression. Those who drank four or more diet drinks per day had a 31% increased risk of depression.

So how do we account for this? Well, if you viewed my video on depression, you would see I present a five-point causal model of depression. One of the points is neurotoxins, or things that can cause brain damage.

And while controversial, it has been suggested that artificial sweeteners may cause damage to the brain. Specifically, this is called excitotoxicity. And this is something that has been pioneered by a Harvard-trained neurosurgeon named Russell Blaylock.

Now in this report, it should be noted that we cannot make any definite conclusions. This is a preliminary study. And we cannot say for certain that this association is valid. But it certainly draws some light to the subject.

Now, to quote Dr. Chen, an investigator for the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, he says, “The research is preliminary. And more investigation into the topic is needed.” But he continues that “these findings are intriguing and are consistent with a small but growing number of studies linking artificial sweetened drinks to poor health.”

And it’s because of this that I want to share this information with you because in my personal experience I have seen some people notice fairly marked improvements in neurological or psychiatric complaints when going off artificial sweeteners.

Now, again, we don’t know that this association has certainly been proven just yet. But it certainly puts another piece of evidence into the pile supporting avoidance of artificial sweeteners.

You can find the link to this study in the show notes section. And if you have any questions, feel free to contact our office.

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What do you think? I would like to hear your thoughts or experience with this.

Dr. Ruscio is your leading functional and integrative doctor specializing in gut related disorders such as SIBO, leaky gut, Celiac, IBS and in thyroid disorders such as hypothyroid and hyperthyroid. For more information on how to become a patient, please contact our office. Serving the San Francisco bay area and distance patients via phone and Skype.