If you are younger than 60, you probably aren't thinking much about the risk of developing cognition problems or dementia (although you should).

But every time you sip flavored water, soda, or energy drinks, or eat yogurt or a low-calorie dessert sweetened with aspartame, saccharin, acesulfame-k, erythritol, sorbitol, or xylitol, you may be contributing to a decline in your overall thinking, verbal fluency, and memory skills.

And if you have diabetes, the risk to your brain power posed by those artificial sweeteners can be even greater.

A study published in the journal Neurology followed almost 13,000 people and found that those under age 60 who loaded up on those artificial sweeteners were likely to experience a decline in brain power that was 62% faster than those who avoided fake sugars.

The sweet news is that they found no association between the artificial sweetener tagatose and declining cognition.

Tagatose is formed when milk is heated, and has minimal impact on blood sugar levels. It’s recognized by the Food and Drug Administration as generally safe.

But your best bet for indulging your sweet tooth is to embrace the flavor (and nutritional power) of berries, and citrus and stone fruits (if you can eat them). Add them to salads, soups, sauteed fish and chicken dishes, and blender drinks.

Check out the Vanilla Shake and Vitality Smoothie recipes in my "What to Eat When Cookbook."