Warnings on Sweetener Consumption and Unnecessary Antibiotic Use

A study published in the journal Neurology involving data from approximately 13,000 adults showed that high consumption of low- and zero-calorie sweeteners may be associated with a decline in memory and thinking skills. On the other hand, at the 7th Functional Medicine Congress, it was emphasized that unnecessary antibiotic use in upper respiratory tract infections can increase the development of resistance in bacteria.

In the study conducted in Brazil, 12,772 adults with an average age of 52 were followed for about eight years. It was calculated that cognitive performance declined 62 percent faster in individuals consuming the highest amounts of seven different sweeteners, such as aspartame, saccharin, acesulfame-K, erythritol, xylitol, and sorbitol, which corresponds to an additional 1.6 years of cognitive aging over eight years. It was reported that this result is observational and cannot establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship, and that the relationship was more pronounced in individuals with diabetes and adults under 60 years of age.

At the 7th Functional Medicine Congress, Ear, Nose, and Throat Specialist Dr. Esin Özlem Atmış stated that a significant portion of upper respiratory tract infections are of viral origin and that antibiotics are not necessary for every infection. It was stated that unnecessary use can lead to the development of resistance and that alternative treatments aimed at alleviating symptoms in appropriate patients can be evaluated in acute rhinosinusitis cases.