The WHO is about to declare aspartame can cause cancer
Get ready for an earful about the health risks of Diet Coke, Trident gum, Equal, and other sugar-free items.
There is a lot of public misunderstanding of the rodent studies that linked aspartame to cancer, which are very flawed and essentially come from a single Italian research group.
There is still no definitive link to cancer risk in humans so I would continue to be skeptical. The maximum recommended safe exposure for aspartame is the equivalent of 12 cans of coke, and the strong effects from the rodent study were using exposure amounts equivalent to 5 times that amount, or 60 cans daily, every day of their life after day 12 of fetal life (i.e. before birth).
Almost anything can cause long-term health risks and toxicity at such massive exposure levels.
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/chemicals/aspartame.html
Link to the free Pubmed link to one of the original source studies from 2008 so you can see their methodology and the absurdly massive exposure amounts needed to ovserve these effects:
I disagree with the 'massive' exposure 'needed' to observe these effects exaggeration. First, the point of the study was to show it can be carcinogenic, not to parse at exactly what level in humans. Second, effects are seen at the 400ppm level which equates to 20mg/kg. This is 1600mg/day or 8 cans of Diet Coke (@200mg/can) for an 80kg male. That is NOT an impossible level of daily consumption for many.
I suspect further research was done to confirm your linked studies and refine exactly at what minimum levels of daily consumption elicit carcinogenic effects. That will likely be in the full report once released. Until then, you sound like you don't want it to be true, rather than an impartial evaluator of the research.
the point of the study was to show it can be carcinogenic
Almost anything can be carcinogenic with a high enough exposure. You can pump a rat full of water until it dies and declare that water kills people. But, that doesn't prove anything or serve a point.
Second, effects are seen at the 400ppm level which equates to 20mg/kg. This is 1600mg/day or 8 cans of Diet Coke (@200mg/can) for an 80kg male. That is NOT an impossible level of daily consumption for many.
In rats! You can't just multiple a rat study by body weight and expect it to always correlate. That's why studies are done in larger animals, and sometimes the concept just dies there.
A single study is a statistic. Until they duplicate the results multiple times, and upgrade to monkeys, pigs, or (in a safe way) humans, this is all just noise.
the strong effects from the rodent study were using exposure amounts equivalent to 5 times that amount, or 60 cans daily, every day of their life after day 12 of fetal life (i.e. before birth).
This is why I hate rodent studies. They always up the exposure to whatever they are testing to hyper-extreme limits. Then point their flawed results to the world and declare "See! X causes Y!"
There are even similar rat studies for marijuana that try to link it to cancer as well, despite the fact that zero people have actually died from weed. It's all overblown bullshit.
Dude have you seen how many diet Cokes people drink? Liters and liters daily. Not excessive at all honestly considering LifeTime total exposure
Im a chemist by trade. This is actually chemically very simple. I only looked deeply into Sucralose Splenda. So I'll discuss that
These have Chlorine molecules. A very electrophilic element even in a chemical bond. Meaning it can cause reactions in other molecules very easily. Sucralose has Three Chlorines. If it touches DNA it's bad business man.
I love diet Coke btw lol I could drink 5 gallons right now idk I smoke cigs. But don't sugar coat it
Also note most people are choosing between sugar and aspartame or another sweetener, and sugar is pretty much categorically a health risk for humans.
Nail on the head. Aspartame is still better for you than super processed foods loaded with sugar. This reminds me of the big smear campaign against fat that the sugar industry engineered to take the heat off of themselves way back when
Is that a measurement relative to mass/size? Because if not, you'd need to consume a shitload of it to really do anything.
There's a ton of studies with these problems. Researchers simply engrossing the test subject in the material until something bad happens. Unless you're researching on a test group of humans, then suddenly all the levels are actually less than typical.
It all depends if you're looking to prove that it's harmful or not. Want to find it's harmful? Get a bunch of mice and expose them to as much of whatever substance you need to in order to find a problem.... Want to prove something is safe, set up a "double blind" study of the effects on humans, and give half of them regulated and limited doses of it for weeks or months until you can convince everyone that "nothing bad happened".
I have a problem with research done in either way. Researchers should be neutral, and just test and let the data speak for itself. (With limited interpretation for the people who read it)
Instead, almost all research is funded by someone with an agenda who is trying to find out if x is good/bad, and prove or disprove a specific stance. Argh
Still proves it may cause cancer, the only thing seriously in question is the dose. Seemingly nobody knows what a safe upper bound is for any population.
At some point you gotta stop believing some theories and listen to the science.
Hello Cocacola CEO
Misleading title. They're about to declare it as possibly cancerous. Not fully cancerous. And if anything this is just to get even more research into it.
Aspartame is in a lot of things, mainly sodas and gum, but you'd have to consume a lot of the stuff beyond a human limit really.
I do think this may put a dent in sugar free products assuming it gets declared as such.
Probably just enough for California to give it that label, and that's about it.
I hate the chemical aftertaste of artificial sweeteners anyway.
There's still other zero calorie sweeteners though. Sucralose, stevia, saccharine, Monk fruit extract, etc.
Every paragraph of that article got less and less certain about the results. Someday I'd love to be able to trust the headline.
They’re about to declare it as possibly cancerous. Not fully cancerous.
What do you mean by this? Everything that can cause cancer is declared "possibly cancerous"; it depends on dose and exposure. Nothing is "fully cancerous" for whatever that might even mean. You can be exposed to radiation and either get cancer or not; it depends on the dose. Would you call radiation "possibly cancerous", or "fully cancerous"?
Analagously, most bacteria can cause infections but they don't always in everyone. So to label a bacteria as purely benign or purely dangerous is just as silly as trying to make a distinction between "possibly cancerous" and "fully cancerous".
Aspartame is in a lot of things, mainly sodas and gum, but you’d have to consume a lot of the stuff beyond a human limit really.
And if someone wants to minimize their risk of cancer, they should be able to make informed decisions. Knowing that at particular food-additive has higher-than-baseline chances of causing cancer allows someone with a different risk-aversion profile to make decisions wisely. If you don't mind the incidence rate at the dose you consume it at, that's fine as well. But it is useful to have it be public knowledge if something is potentially cancer-causing.
It means that Aspartame is going to be added to the “Group 2B” classification list. It’s worth noting that “Red Meat” and “Alcohol” are in the much more severe “Group 1” list, so you should probably give up steak and beer before you ditch your favorite diet soda.
The difference between "possibly cancerous" and "fully cancerous" is that the former is not confirmed to have the property of causing cancer.
Radiation on the other hand is known to be carcinogenic.
To use your analogy, we know that there are bacteria that cause infections and bacteria that are harmless to humans. Let's say we have bacteria A that is known to cause infection but not always in everyone. Then we have a bacteria B, which is potentially able to cause infection. We don't know for certain that it can, but we also don't know that it can't.
And yes, it's a pretty fucking useless designation, and WHO is wasting everyone's time and causing undue panic. Let's not forget how they completely fucked the world with their atrocious handing of Covid in the early stages of the outbreak.
There's different classes of cancer-causing compounds. Alcohol, for example, has the highest classification, meaning there is indisputable evidence exposure increases the risk of certain cancers. Then you have decreasing strength of evidence from there.
There's a scale. I wouldn't put aspartame on the same level as smoking for it's chances of causing cancer. That's what i mean. I guess "fully Cancerous" isnt really a good way of putting it into words.
It doesn't outright cause cancer like the title implies. By saying it causes cancer in the title is misleading. There's very little evidence that supports that, and I see them only doing this considering the concerns around it and more research.
I'm absolutely for people knowing this information and making informed decisions if they want to stay away from it or keep using it. That's all on them.
Should've titled it something more like "WHO is about to rule aspartame as 'possibly cancerous.' Here's what that tells you"
I don't think you can put "the" before WHO unless Roger Daltrey approves it.
I worry about a lot of the additives used today. Some products will say "no sugar added" but will include some artificial sweetener that you only see in the fine print.
I worry about the "natural" sugar alternatives. We all know that aspartame is safe, it's been researched about as extensively as it can be. It only starts to be a concern when you're drinking 2 dozen diets sodas daily.
But people give "natural" a pass for some reason.
Natural is always good, my cereal has natural uranium for a spicy natural alternative to sugar. It's totally safe.
(For legal purposes, this comment is a joke)
As a Type II diabetic:
fuck
As a punk:
All I wanted was a Pepsi
Just one Pepsi
*Diet Pepsi contains sucralose, not aspertame, so I guess I'm good (for now)
Newspaper recently said sucralose cause DNA damage.
In my area they phased aspartame back into Diet Pepsi, which pleases me. I unabashedly love aspartame sweetener.
Like how cancerous is it? Considering the amount of diet pop my family consumes…I’m kinda worried
I’m pretty sure the last I read about this it was an absurd concentration that showed to potentially cause cancer. Nothing a human could drink in such concentrations.
That being said maybe that’s changed very very recently, I’ll be interested to see what their actual findings are.
A lot of things potentially cause cancer in huge concentrations.
Edit - From what I’ve read aspartame would be considered a possible carcinogen in the same class of Coffee. That doesn’t make quite the same headline though hah!
It doesn't take much for the WHO to classify something as a possible carcinogen.
Aspartame is now in the same risk category as cell phones, kimchee, and carpentry. And still considered less carcinogenic than meat, fried foods, hot beverages, and working a night shift.
Not gonna preach or anything but that stuff is trash. You guys should quit honestly. I “reset” my tastes to less sweet stuff over time and it’s incredible how different things taste after you lose the expectations they should be sweet to be delicious.
That will be the most important factor: the quantity needed to be harmful.
If it's the equivalent of 30 cans of diet cola a day, this is a non-issue. They will give those details when they release the report.
Aspartame has been in common usage as a sugar alternative for literally decades.
If it was harmful or potent enough to be dangerous on a public or individual health risk then we would have certainly known about it by now. At this stage, even WHO, are saying it's needed in HUGE concentrations.
Diet sodas aren't the only things that we consume that contains aspartame. And aspartame isn't the only thing we're exposed to that has been linked to cancer and other deseases.
Just get on with life, enjoy what you enjoy in moderation. Don't put too much thought into it otherwise you'll just end up living in fear and avoiding everything.
Not cancerous whatsoever. It's approved for use worldwide and it's one of the most studied additives on the planet.
It has been massively consumed worldwide for many decades, without causing any statistically noticeable increase in cancer rates.
Considering the incredibly negative health impact of sugary drinks, artificial sweeteners probably prevented millions of deaths over the decades they have been used.
Like the other "scary" "it causes cancer" studies, they probably stuffed a rat with its body weight of aspartame and when it developed cancer they figured it's carcinogenic.
Completely disregarding that a can of artificially sweetened coke will have less than 1g of aspartame, which is 0.0002% of average human's bodyweight.
Faaar less than red meat, alcohol and spending time in the Sun.
Me too. I drink a lot of it daily.
Don't panic until the report officially locked out. We are very certain that smoking and pork cause cancer, but smoking has a huge possibility of lung cancer while pork only increases your chances of cancer by something like 20%. This could be one of those "We are 99.999% certain that it increases your risk by 10%" sort of things.
Same here. My wife and I only really drink water but her stepdad got bladder cancer after decades of drinking nothing but Budweiser and diet dew. He's cancer free now but lost his bladder and prostate.
At most 1.15 x risk. Bigger effects are on risk for diabetes, heart disease and metabolic syndrome. By itself aspartame doesn’t appear to be too bad. But it causes sugar craving which can lead to excessive and poor eating habits.
I could be wrong, and I’m too lazy to Google at the moment, but I swore this was made public information long ago. When I was young, aspartame was being phased out in favor of sucralose. I recall hearing stories about aspartame being banned in other countries as a child.
Hopefully there's more research done. It doesn't sound like it's "absolutely carcinogenic".
The "radiofrequency electromagnetic fields" associated with using mobile phones are "possibly cancer-causing". Like aspartame, this means there is either limited evidence they can cause cancer in humans, sufficient evidence in animals, or strong evidence about the characteristics.
Yeah, they came out and branded it as a "possible cause for cancer". They've been studying aspartame for decades now and most they could label it with was a mere "possible". I'm not saying it's great to drink it when surely nowadays you can find alternative sodas sweetened with stevia or other "natural" sweeteners but I wouldn't worry too much about this news.
Is there a reason the natural sweeteners should be trusted over aspartame? From what I've read, you would need to drink a case of diet soda every day before it maybe even starts to be cancerous.
What makes you think that stevia or "natural" sweeteners are better?
At the very least, they have to go thought an industrial process of extraction that can leave unwanted chemical agents in the final product. And anything naturally grown is a subject to be contaminated with pesticides and other unwanted substances.
Am glad they publish this, though. "Possible" still tells me to be careful.
If I consider "possible" as no harm until it's 100% proven, I might cause serious harm to myself in the process when and if it's 100% clear.
Better on the side of caution, IMO.
Do you drink hot coffee or tea or soup? Cause hot beverages are considered more likely to cause cancer than this designation for aspartame.
Do you eat meat? Cause that's two levels higher than this designation for aspartame.
Also the studies this ruling is based on indicates you would have to drink ~30 aspartame sweetened sodas a day to be at any risk.
Red meat and alcohol have much higher links to cancer than aspertame. Hope you're a vegetarian teetotaler.
Stuff that has been sweetened by it kind of taste like there is something wrong. Yet still it tastes decent enough and much better than stevia. I would rather have option to drink stuff that just outright hasnt been sweetened at all.
Didn't they suggest that aspartame could cause cancer way back in the late 80s or early 90s?
I remember growing up hearing about something like that when sweet and low was the go to sugar.
It seemed to kind of just fall of the face of the earth and is resurfacing now?
Saccharine (Sweet 'n Low) was the big scare back then.
It turned out it did cause cancer... in rats... if you force fed them some crazy amount like 400x normal.
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet/artificial-sweeteners-fact-sheet
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3185898/
"humans would need to drink the equivalent of 800 twelve-ounce diet sodas with saccharin daily to reach the carcinogenic doses that induced rat bladder cancer."
So... The typical American amount.
According to the article, yes, comprehensive studies showed it was strongly correlated to brain tumors back in the 90s. However big companies lobbied and did their own "research" to bury the studies that quite conclusively showed aspartame caused cancer.
I seem to remember reading a cancer warning on diet soda cans in the late 80's. Thought it was in reference to aspartame.
Now do caffeine !
Dammit… I’ve been drinking that shit every day for years. I actually crave the flavor of it.
I’ve read some of the studies and talked about them with some nurses who’ve done the same. The harm is due to the quantity you consume. The study’s found it cancerous after giving it to mice in high doses, like dozens of 2 liters of diet soda each day. Most people who drink a few cans are going to be fine.
We’ll have to see what the new report says and some people might have to adjust the amount they drink it but I doubt it will say any amount is cancerous.
If they conclude that even a small amount is harmful, inagine the backlash all the soda/food insutry giants will create The food industry is a fearful monster that cares more about profit than health. Now think about that.
For anyone who likes diet soda, check out Zevia. It's sweetened with Stevia instead of aspartame. Doesn't taste too bad either. Makes a great vodka mixer since it's 0 calories.
Unfortunately I've never tasted anything with Stevia that I like. Weird, weird aftertaste.
Aspartame has an aftertaste but I got used to it after maybe three tries. I've never gotten used to Stevia.
Too bad, because in other ways Stevia is superior.
I like fizzy drinks, so lately I've been mostly drinking unsweetened, like La Croix or Spindrift.
To be clear, saying this can cause cancer is similar to saying that water will be classified as toxic.
Cancer is a genetic/cellular lottery we play every day. Consuming certain substances can change those odds. We’re talking 1 in a Trillion (a number I pulled out of my ass, to be clear), and perhaps consuming aspartame changes that to 100 in a Trillion. 100x more likely to get cancer? Not really.
Just like how water is classified as toxic if you drink too much (cellular over-hydration) consuming too much aspartame can cause cancer.
Though I suppose it remains to be seen. I’m making broad assumptions and I’ll wait for the professionals and studies and scientific journals to tell me what’s what.
this guy always gives some good context for this kind of sensational diet/health claim: https://proxitok.pussthecat.org/@roblapham/video/7252049382957255942
Great video, thanks for sharing.
THAT’s why Diet Coke was on sale again.
No they aren't. There's no substantial proof for it, and the body of people who are behind this label (IARC) aren't even a food safety body. They once tried to say eating red meat is "possibly" cancer-causing as well.
They once tried to say eating red meat is “possibly” cancer-causing as well.
Because it is. Whether the effect size is significant to you or not is one thing, but there is good evidence that it has a nonzero effect. Which is similarly the case here: there is evidence of effect of aspartame, but whether the effect size is significant is up to you to decide (or legislators).
Fat people in shambles
I knew it was dodgy, aspartame always gives me a headache
It sure tastes like cancer so I’m not surprised by this move.
oh that's why some soda drinks give me headache 😐 i just realised all the ones that used to make my head hurt, were all zero/diet versions. i switched back to full sugar ones a while back, now i see why i did.
i guess it's a choice between teeth rot or cancer. i'll take the teeth rot lol
Also causes memory lose.
For those that downvote because you didn't want to do so basic research. Here https://www.amenclinics.com/blog/can-diet-soda-increase-the-chances-of-dementia/#:~:text=Aspartame%20overstimulates%20neurotransmitters.,as%20learning%20and%20pain%20perception.
But again this is one source. There are others first heard about it from Reddit. But I also have first hand knowledge of the effects because my brother and father were heavy drinkers of the stuff and definitely effected their memories.
What does
I forgor 💀
Can Diet Soda Increase the Chances of Dementia? June 12, 2019
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Can Diet Soda Increase the Chances of Dementia The artificial sweeteners used in diet sodas—and thousands of other processed foods—are anything but sweet. In fact, they can be toxic to the brain. Consuming these sugar substitutes on a regular basis is not a recipe for a healthy memory.
Sherry, who weighed over 200 pounds on her 5’5” frame, guzzled diet soda thinking it would help her lose weight. It didn’t. Even worse, she started experiencing a host of symptoms—digestive issues, arthritis, forgetfulness, and confusion. In fact, Sherry’s diet soda habit was hurting her brain and putting her memory at risk.
That’s what a growing body of evidence shows. For example, a study in the journal Stroke found that drinking diet soda was linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.
4 Ways Artificial Sweeteners Steal Your Mind
Also my brother and dad were heavy drinkers of diet Coke I saw first hand experience of ut affecting their memory. With my dad we literally thought he had dementia. Then we cut it off and over time he got better.
Ah yes the noted scientific journal amenclinics.com/blog
Unassailable source there, bud.
But he knows 2 people who drank some diet soda and later had memory issues! You can't dispute those numbers!
