This Sweetener Could Have a Major Impact on Humans

Aspartame was shown to increase anxiety in mice. What about humans? Veuer’s Elizabeth Keatinge has more.

Transcript

00:00This sweetener could be making us feel a little more anxious. Aspartame has been

00:05shown to have effects on mice. That's according to research published in the

00:09Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Aspartame was approved by the

00:14US Food and Drug Administration in 1981. It is used in 5,000 different products

00:20including low-calorie foods and drinks. As Science Alert explains, researchers

00:25used a variety of maze tests on several generations of mice and found

00:29significant changes in the amygdala, the part of the brain associated with the

00:34regulation of anxiety.

00:55According to humans, the results using mice is sound reason to investigate further.