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New study highlights the adverse impact of sweeteners on healthYou might already know that fake sweeteners—like aspartame and saccharin—are lurking in diet sodas, sugar-free yogurts, and energy drinks. A fresh study published in Neurology just dropped some news: folks who load up on these sugar substitutes experience cognitive decline that’s 62% faster than those who don’t—a brain-aging boost equivalent to about 1.6 extra years over eight years. That’s no small potatoes. And yeah, your brain literally ages faster. Who was in the study, and what did it reveal?Researchers tracked 12,772 Brazilian adults (average age: 52) over eight years, asking about their diet and testing memory, verbal fluency, and overall cognitive ability along the way. They grouped people by how much sweetener they consumed:Lowest group: About 20 mg per dayHighest group: Around 191 mg per day, think one can of diet soda’s worth of aspartameThe high-consumption group’s brain functions declined 62% faster, equivalent to 1.6 years of added aging. Even those in the middle group clocked in at 35% faster decline, or around 1.3 extra years of aging. Interestingly, this effect was way stronger for people under 60, especially those with diabetes. No significant cognitive damage was seen in the older crowd.