Aspartame (artifical sweetener in drinks) causes cancer...

[Basil Fawlty]

http://www.nature.com/news/2005/051114/full/051114-15.html

I just noticed this on Nature Online. Has anyone seen this before or have more recent studies disproved the findings here?

I guess so because as of this morning Diet and Zero drinks were still on sale at m'local supermarket :o

If anyone knows more about this, please let me know, cheers

BF

[Ted_Hutchinson]

The link you've provided goes to a subscription service, but I would presume this to be discussing the Italian research in which some rats given large amounts of aspartame were found to be more prone to cancer.

The mechanism by which this occurs may be found here (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=16937917&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum) but if you multiply the "chronic aspartame (ASP) consumption" of 75 mg/kg by the weight of a child or adult you will find it is an impossibly high amount in relation to the quantities most people are exposed to.

In practice most studies end like this one
Our findings do not support the hypothesis that aspartame increases hematopoietic or brain cancer risk. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=search&DB=pubmed) however in this study the method they use to count the amount of aspartame people consume is notoriously imprecise so it cannot be relied upon. Similarly small increases in cancer rates are extremely hard to detect. This study also only used people 50 to 69 years old, the rats studies took them to the end of their lives. Given the longer life span it may be that similar effects would be more easily detected.

You may be interested in Sweet Nothings (http://www.cspinet.org/nah/05_04/sweet_nothings.pdf)

In the same way that responsible companies like Bird's Eye have been weaning us of salt by consistently reducing the salt content of their foods responsible food companies should be reducing the sweetness of foods, particularly baby foods, so we lose our sweet tooth. For some years now I've not added sugar to cooked fruit and now when I do accidently get some sweetend fruit, it tastes really unpleasently sweet.

[Toothsmith]

To put this in context as well.

Sugar, in the actual doses that are found in our food WILL cause tooth decay, obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

So, artificial sweeteners may or may not be safe.

Natural sweeteners are definitely UNSAFE.

[tiff]

So what do we use?

[Ellie2758]

Aspartame tastes FOUL - why would anybody want to eat/drink any product containing it. As for sugar itself - everything in moderation is surely a good motto.
(she said, ladling two teaspoons of sugar into her tea)

[tomstickland]

Most foodstuffs containing artificial sweeteners are not necessary. Fizzy drinks etc. I think it tastes foul.

In fact, we don't really need natural sugar in our diets either. The correct answer is to eat fruit and not add sugar to things that don't need it (most things really).

[Toothsmith]

So what do we use?

Ellie is right. - Everything in moderation.

Anything can harm you if taken to excess. Aspartame is no better/worse than sugar.

[CCStar]

I don't like the taste much either

[sheeny]

If you Google for 'aspartame' you will find plenty of information about the health effects.
Then search using the words 'aspartame' and 'addiction' and read on. It might put you off the stuff for good. :eek:

[Toothsmith]

If you Google for 'aspartame' you will find plenty of information about the health effects.
Then search using the words 'aspartame' and 'addiction' and read on. It might put you off the stuff for good. :eek:

You can find an awful lot of rubbish about an awful lot of things by typing it into Google.

The trick is to sift out the 'conspiracy theorist' stuff and get at the facts.

Ted seems particularly good at this, and I would commend the links in his post above.

[Scarlett1]

I dont let DD have anything with aspartame in it (which I know of), fruit shoots, flavoured water, diet drink and even (some) kids vitamins are ruled out :mad:

[Toothsmith]

Hope the same applies to sugar! ;)

[tamste]

Much prefer natural sugars...the ones that the body is designed to deal with.

It is personal beleif that the rise in type II diabetes is partly linked to artificial sugars in that they confuse the bodies regulatory mechanism, thus it eventually loses track of how to respond to sugars.

[tomstickland]

Type 2 can be linked to excessive consumption of sugar.
Once you cut back on sugar then you realise that it's actually not a nice taste and certainly not necessary in the levels that it's used in most foods.

[Toothsmith]

Much prefer natural sugars...the ones that the body is designed to deal with.

It is personal beleif that the rise in type II diabetes is partly linked to artificial sugars in that they confuse the bodies regulatory mechanism, thus it eventually loses track of how to respond to sugars.


Probably more to do with the amount of natural sugar stuffed into practically everything.

I'm no champion of artificial sweeteners. I dislike them, and I'm sure they send my kids screwy!

BUT - you are more likely to be harmed by the 'natural' sugars that are crammed into just about everything these days.

[Scarlett1]

Hope the same applies to sugar! ;)
sugar is limited and she cleans her teeth twice a day, I closely inspect them :D

[CrazyChemist]

Toothsmith, does aspartame cause tooth decay, out of interest? It isn't something I've thought about before. :o

I've heard various things about aspartame (sorry I can't see the OP's article either) but I suppose in moderation it can't be bad. Having said that, sugar is something our ancestors have coped and dealt with so why we should suddenly develop a phobia of sugar and opt for these compounds instead is a mystery :confused: considering some of those same worriers will then stop by the fish and chippy on the way home :rotfl:

[tomstickland]

I think artificial sweeteners were seen as a panacea for a population that craved sweet things and wanted an easy life that didn't involve exercise. They're probably also a lot cheaper than real sugar, so manufacturers loved it.

[Toothsmith]

Toothsmith, does aspartame cause tooth decay, out of interest? It isn't something I've thought about before. :o

I've heard various things about aspartame (sorry I can't see the OP's article either) but I suppose in moderation it can't be bad. Having said that, sugar is something our ancestors have coped and dealt with

No - Aspartame doesn't cause tooth decay. The bugs in the mouth cannot metabolise it. The same with any artificial sweetener.

Also - our ancestors didn't cope with sugar. It is a relatively recent addition to the human diet. The fault of one of the Tudor sailors I think.

Stone age man had no tooth decay at all.

[CrazyChemist]

No - Aspartame doesn't cause tooth decay. The bugs in the mouth cannot metabolise it. The same with any artificial sweetener.

Also - our ancestors didn't cope with sugar. It is a relatively recent addition to the human diet. The fault of one of the Tudor sailors I think.

Stone age man had no tooth decay at all.
Our ancestors did cope with sugar, in its natural form. ;)

[Ted_Hutchinson]

Our ancestors did cope with sugar, in its natural form. ;)Yes but they didn't have it available in cubes, in packets or concentrated. FSIS 57/04 Table 2: Nutrient content of individual products (http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/spreadsheets/fsis5704t2.xls)
shows you how much sugar Baked Beans have added to them.
Morrison's you will see have 8g per 100g That's almost 2 teaspoons of granulated sugar.

I don't think most parents would imagine putting a couple of spoonsfuls of sugar on a portion of baked beans but because it's already in the tin they're probably unaware of the amount.

[CrazyChemist]

Yes but they didn't have it available in cubes, in packets or concentrated. FSIS 57/04 Table 2: Nutrient content of individual products (http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/spreadsheets/fsis5704t2.xls)
shows you how much sugar Baked Beans have added to them.
Morrison's you will see have 8g per 100g That's almost 2 teaspoons of granulated sugar.

I don't think most parents would imagine putting a couple of spoonsfuls of sugar on a portion of baked beans but because it's already in the tin they're probably unaware of the amount.
That's why I said "natural form" ;)

Interesting information there - cheers :beer:

[Toothsmith]

In it's natural form it is bound up within the cell structure of a plant, and in nowhere near the levels that it's in modern food.

Even our fruit has been selectively bred to be sweeter than what the ancients had.

The 'sugar' they coped with is a world away from what you or I have to put up with.

[Girl least likely to]

Ususally anything with aspartame in it gives me a headache. Anyone else?

[sheeny]

I don't actually get a headache, I get what I'd describe as 'fuzzy headed' when I consume aspartame.
This, plus a suspicion that my ex had an aspartame addiction, is what led me to search on Google.

[Basil Fawlty]

Ususally anything with aspartame in it gives me a headache. Anyone else?
I've heard this a few times before, waiting for someone on here to mention it. :beer: One chap we know used to get headaches so I said how about leaving off the sweeteners and the headaches stopped. I know, this could be a placebo effect/psychological but as far as I'm concerned he no longer suffers headaches which is a good thing :)

Wonder why nobody reports these sytpoms to their GP re: headaches? :think: Would they care :think: or is it normal for people to have reactions to these, in the same ways some are allergic to nuts, etc. :think: :confused:

[Girl least likely to]

or is it normal for people to have reactions to these, in the same ways some are allergic to nuts, etc. :think: :confused:

Yeah, think you have a very valid point. I use to suffer from IBS and found that certain foods triggered it, in the same way if I find I've had aspartame I will usually get a headache. I think if you're sensitive to something it'll show some way or the other. I choose to omit artificial sweetners but they have a sneaky way of worming their way into things when you least expect it :mad:.