Aspartame - is it a possible cause of cancer?
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Medical and scientific reporter
Reports suggest that the artificial sweetener aspartame, commonly present in numerous food items and carbonated beverages, is on the verge of receiving an official classification as "potentially cancer-causing" for humans.
The term often leads to misunderstanding as it does not provide any indication of whether the possible danger is significant or tiny.
Other substances that are deemed to have the potential to cause cancer include aloe vera, diesel fuel, and preserved Asian vegetables.
The blog post states that the BBC is aware that the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) will be making a declaration on July 14th.
What Contains Aspartame?
Aspartame is significantly more potent in sweetness than sugar, providing a delightful flavor while avoiding unnecessary calorie consumption.
You can spot it on the list of components in various low-calorie or sugar-free products like fizzy drinks, chewing gums, and select yogurts. Well-known beverages that contain aspartame are Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Pepsi Max, and 7 Up Free. However, this artificial sweetener is present in approximately 6,000 food items.
The sugar substitute has been utilized for many years and given the green light by food regulatory agencies, but there has been a lot of debate surrounding the component.
The World Health Organization's cancer research division, known as IARC, has been assessing approximately 1,300 research papers regarding aspartame and its potential link to cancer.
The famous Reuters news agency reports that it has communicated with individuals who have inside knowledge, and according to their sources, aspartame will be categorized as "potentially cancer-causing." However, it is crucial to understand the true implications of this classification.
According to the BBC, it has come to their attention that the IARC, as well as another independent committee specializing in food additives, will soon release official statements. These announcements will be accompanied by the publication of a research paper in the prestigious medical journal, Lancet Oncology, on the 14th of July.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) employs four potential categorizations:
Nevertheless, this is the point at which things can become perplexing.
According to Kevin McConway, a statistics professor at the Open University, the classification given by IARC does not provide any information about the real extent of danger associated with aspartame. This is because IARC categorizations do not represent the actual level of risk.
IARC informs us about the level of evidence, rather than indicating the potential health risks associated with a substance.
The "potentially" group is employed when there is "restricted" proof in individuals or information from animal trials. It encompasses diesel fuel, powdered talc on the genital area, nickel, aloe vera, fermented Asian veggies, and a wide range of chemical elements.
Prof McConway stated that he wants to emphasize that the proof indicating the potential cancer-causing effects of these matters is not particularly robust; otherwise, they would have been classified under group 1 or 2A.
In previous times, the IARC designations have generated perplexity and faced disapproval for causing unwarranted distress. When processed red meat was labeled as carcinogenic, it resulted in various accounts that likened its dangers to those of smoking.
However, if we were to offer an additional 1.7oz (50g) of bacon to a group of 100 individuals every day for the remainder of their lives, there would be a possibility of one instance of colorectal cancer.
We lack the comparable data for aspartame, but the Expert Committee on Food Additives of the Joint World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization is expected to release their findings in July.
Since 1981, it has maintained the position that consuming 40 milligrams per kilogram of your body weight daily is considered safe. This equates to consuming approximately 12 to 36 cans of diet beverages per day, depending on the specific ingredients, for an adult weighing 60 kg (approximately nine-and-a-half stones).
The executive director of the International Council of Beverages Associations, Kate Loatman, expressed her strong concern regarding the "unauthorized disclosure" from health authorities, and she additionally cautioned that it may potentially misguide consumers into consuming higher amounts of sugar instead of opting for safe alternatives with little or no sugar content.
Rick Mumford, the deputy chief scientific advisor to the UK's Food Standards Agency, expressed his intention to thoroughly examine the reports. However, he emphasized that the organization believes the safety of this sweetener has already been assessed by different scientific committees. As a result, it is deemed safe when used in accordance with current permissible levels.
In the early 2000s, research associated it with cancer in tests conducted on mice and rats, yet these findings faced backlash and subsequent studies on other animals did not discover any risks of cancer.
In the previous year, a research conducted on a group of 105,000 individuals aimed to compare those who did not consume any sweeteners to those who consumed considerable amounts. The study found a correlation between elevated levels of sweeteners, such as aspartame, and an increased likelihood of developing cancer. However, it is important to note that there were numerous variations in terms of health and lifestyles within these two groups.
According to Frances Hunt-Wood, representing the International Sweeteners Association, aspartame has undergone extensive research and is deemed safe by more than 90 food safety agencies worldwide.
There are individuals with a hereditary condition known as phenylketonuria or PKU, who are unable to consume aspartame without any potential harm to their health.
Individuals with PKU cannot break down a particular element found in aspartame.
