Can daily use of artificial sweeteners increase your risk of heart disease?

What's actually in it

Artificial sweeteners are in diet sodas, sugar-free yogurt, protein bars, flavored water, chewing gum, and hundreds of other "zero sugar" products. The most common ones are aspartame, sucralose, acesulfame-K, and saccharin. They make food taste sweet without the calories of sugar, which is why they're popular with people watching their weight or managing blood sugar.

For decades, the main safety debates centered on cancer risk. But a newer wave of research is looking at something different: what these chemicals do to your heart and blood vessels over time.

What the research says

A 2026 study in Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol found that long-term exposure to artificial sweeteners increased the risk of atherosclerosis, the condition where fatty plaques build up inside your arteries. Atherosclerosis is the main driver of heart attacks and strokes.

The study showed that sweetener exposure promoted inflammation in blood vessel walls and disrupted normal lipid metabolism. These are the same processes that lead to plaque buildup in people with heart disease. The effects got worse with longer exposure, suggesting the damage accumulates over time.

This adds to a growing body of evidence. Large human studies, including a French cohort of over 100,000 people, have previously found that higher intake of artificial sweeteners was associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk. The 2026 study helps explain why: it's not just a statistical pattern. There's a biological mechanism behind it.

None of this means one diet soda will give you a heart attack. The concern is about daily, long-term consumption over years. If you drink multiple diet beverages a day or rely heavily on sugar-free products, the cumulative exposure adds up.

Plain water, sparkling water with a squeeze of lemon, or unsweetened tea are the simplest swaps. If you need something sweet, small amounts of real sugar may actually be less risky than daily artificial sweetener use.