The reason artificially sweetened beverages have been associated with depression may be because of psychological disturbances recently tied to aspartame (“Equal” or “NutraSweet”).

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I’ve previously touched on artificial sweeteners before:
• Unsweetening the Diet (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/unsweetening-the-diet/)
• Neurobiology of Artificial Sweeteners (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/neurobiology-of-artificial-sweeteners/)
• How Diet Soda Can Make Us Gain Weight (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-diet-soda-could-make-us-gain-weight/)
• Diet Soda and Preterm Birth (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/diet-soda-and-preterm-birth/)
• Aspartame Induced Fibromyalgia (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/aspartame-induced-fibromyalgia/)

The healthiest caloric sweeteners are black strap molasses and date sugar (whole dried powdered dates).

Coffee may decrease suicide and cancer risk (Preventing Liver Cancer with Coffee? http://nutritionfacts.org/video/preventing-liver-cancer-with-coffee/ and Coffee and Cancer http://nutritionfacts.org/video/coffee-and-cancer/) but may impair blood flow to the heart (Coffee and Artery Function http://nutritionfacts.org/video/coffee-and-artery-function).

Other ways to improve mood include:
• Improving Mood Through Diet (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/improving-mood-through-diet/)
• Fighting the Blues with Greens? (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/fighting-the-blues-with-greens-mao-inhibitors-in-plants/)
• Gut Feelings: Probiotics and Mental Health (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/gut-feelings-probiotics-and-mental-health/)
• Saffron vs. Prozac (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/saffron-vs-prozac/)
• A Better Way to Boost Serotonin (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/a-better-way-to-boost-serotonin/)

Have a question for Dr. Greger about this video? Leave it in the comment section at http://nutritionfacts.org/video/aspartame-and-the-brain/ and he'll try to answer it!

Image Credit: Bukowsky18 via Flickr and Evan-Amos via Wikimedia.

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