Aspartame and artery plaque buildup in mice
What it found
Aspartame sped up the buildup of fatty deposits in arteries in mice bred to have high blood fat.
The effect worked through a nerve signal that involved insulin.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Artery plaque in mice
In mice with high blood fat, aspartame made fatty deposits build up faster in the arteries.
How it worked
The effect relied on a specific nerve called the vagus nerve and depended on insulin to happen.
What the authors conclude
- They report that aspartame speeds up artery plaque buildup in mice with high blood fat.
- Their findings point to a nerve and insulin pathway behind this effect.
How it was done
Population studies have linked aspartame and other low-calorie sweeteners to a higher risk of heart and blood vessel problems. The authors wanted to explore how this might happen.
Researchers studied mice bred to have high levels of fat in their blood. They gave the animals aspartame and tracked how it affected the buildup of fatty deposits in their arteries.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- These results come from mice bred to have high blood fat. They cannot show what happens in people eating normal diets.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- Declaration of interests All authors declare no conflicts of interest.
- Authors work at
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA; University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, USA
The paper
- Title
- Does sweet turn sour? How aspartame aggravates atherosclerosis in a preclinical model
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Pepino MY, Amengual J (2025). Does sweet turn sour? How aspartame aggravates atherosclerosis in a preclinical model. Cell metabolism. doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2025.04.003PubMed 40334641DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error