Artificial Sweeteners...good or cancer-causing agents?
An article was recently put on another forum about a study recently done in Italy about the dangers of artificial sweeteners and the lack of concern the FDA is showing to their findings. There hasn't been a definitive study done on humans that shows Artificial Sweeteners (AI) to cause cancer. Here is the report on the study recently done: Long link to Yahoo news Here are some summaries of reports with info stating the safety of AIs: From a study on msnbc.com, reporting on a large study that came out last year by the National Cancer Institute following over 340,000 men and 226,000 women over a ten-year period, it showed that there was not an increase in cancer incident. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12155793/ Medscape.com reports on the study called Artificial sweeteners and cancer risk in a network of case-control studies. From the Annals of Oncology 2007—and the conclusion is “CONCLUSION: The present work indicates a lack of association between saccharin, aspartame and other sweeteners and the risk of several common neoplasms.” And…also from the Annals of Oncology 2004: Artificial sweeteners--do they bear a carcinogenic risk?“…Since their introduction, the mass media have reported about potential cancer risks, which has contributed to undermine the public's sense of security….Epidemiological studies in humans did not find the bladder cancer-inducing effects of saccharin and cyclamate that had been reported from animal studies in rats. Despite some rather unscientific assumptions, there is no evidence that aspartame is carcinogenic….However, according to the current literature, the possible risk of artificial sweeteners to induce cancer seems to be negligible. According to the journal Nature Clinical Practice Urology from 2006: Mechanisms of disease: The epidemiology of bladder cancer. “…Other widely investigated lifestyle habits are probably not associated with risk of developing bladder cancer (e.g. coffee consumption, artificial sweetener use, hair dyes) or are difficult to assess (e.g. fluid intake).” According to the World Journal of Urology 2004: Lifestyle issues and genitourinary tumours. “…Since the introduction of artificial sweeteners, reports of potential cancer risks have circulated periodically through the mass media. The wide distribution of these agents and the fact that mostly combinations of the different compounds are added to a broad variety of food, drinks, drugs, and hygiene products complicates a systematic analysis of their potential impact on the development of urological malignancies. Nevertheless, so far not a single study has convincingly demonstrated a statistically significant risk of bladder cancer due to the consumption of artificial sweeteners.” According to Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention 2006: Consumption of aspartame-containing beverages and incidence of hematopoietic and brain malignancies. “…In a few animal experiments, aspartame has been linked to hematopoietic and brain cancers. Most animal studies have found no increase in the risk of these or other cancers. Data on humans are sparse for either cancer. Concern lingers regarding this widely used artificial sweetener. OBJECTIVE: We investigated prospectively whether aspartame consumption is associated with the risk of hematopoietic cancers or gliomas (malignant brain cancer). METHODS: We examined 285,079 men and 188,905 women…CONCLUSIONS: Our findings do not support the hypothesis that aspartame increases hematopoietic or brain cancer risk. From Webmd.com: Aspartame-Cancer Link Refuted Findings May Help to Alleviate Concerns Raised by Rat Study Last Year April 4, 2006 (Washington) -- Diet soda lovers may be able to sip a little easier, thanks to a new study that shows that the artificial sweetener aspartame does not raise the risk of cancer. Last year, an Italian study of rats linked low doses of aspartameaspartame -- the sweetener in NutraSweet, Equal, and thousands of consumer products -- to leukemia and lymphoma. But the new study -- conducted in people, not rats -- found no such link. Nor did the popular sugar substitute raise the risk of brain cancer, says researcher Unhee Lim, PhD, of the National Cancer Institute. The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research here. |
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| What can I say? I drink diet coke and put sweet n low in my coffee.....
I also drink a lot of water and try to eat healthy...I agree Steph...moderation is key for everything... |
| You just reminded me of something from many many years ago.
After the banning of Cyclamates I think in 1969 or 1970, my uncle was visiting from DC (he eventually moved to Alabama). He was a medical doctor, having been to both Harvard Medical and graduated from Duke medical (it's a long story). He was offered some coffee by my mother. At the time, my mother's preferred method of sweetening her coffee was with these little tiny tablets of saccharine that were kept in a small enamelled lidded container that held a tiny tiny pair of tongs to pick up a single "lump" of the saccharin pill. When asked what kind of sweetener he wanted, sugar or saccharin, he replied "I'll just take some cyclamates please". Everyone thought that was a real hoot. He didn't see the need for the FDA to have banned them. I remember that day pretty clearly considering I was probably 9 or 10 and it was nearly 40 years ago... |
| My husband is very conscious about it and tries to avoid them. I on the other hand don't care as much. I've always heard on the news that it takes large amounts, amounts a normal person would never consume, to hurt them.
While pregnant, Mr. J is always over my shoulder, and it drives me bonkers. You should have been here when he tried to take away my gum for the crappy ones w/flavor that lasts a few seconds. I won that fight b/c I basically kept lying about the type I was chewing (and he knew), so he gave in... but I do keep my eye out now while pg, so I don't eat nothing but foods w/artificial sweeteners. |
| I think just about anything can "cause cancer". Cancer is genetic, so if you are genetically pre disposed then carcinogens can trigger/speed up/worsen the outcome, or sometimes make no difference at all.
If you are not genetically pre disposed I don't think carcinogens matter much either. Just my personal opinion. http://www.nci.nih.gov/cancertopics/und ... cvariation |
I don't drink much soda or tea and I very rarely have coffee (usually the foo foo stuff a couple times a year) so I'm not overly worried about it, however I do use "aspartame" to my advantage. 
My 2 year old is not allowed to have soda or tea, etc. but she recognizes that sometimes my husband and I have a drink that is different than hers and always asks for a drink. One day I had one of those Diet Green Tea drinks and when she asked for a drink I told her No-- it had aspartame in it and aspartame was bad for her. Every since that day when I tell her she can't have something she'll say "Does it have aspartame in it?". It's really pretty cute....especially hearing a two year old say "aspartame".  |
| I consume an unreal amount of Equal. It goes in everything for me. The normal ratio for my use versus a normal person is about 4 to 1. Some people claim it can cause or worsen migraines but I get headaches whether I fuel them with aspartame or not. |
| I've gone back to more natural stuff, SUGAR, read that on the artificial sweetners years ago. Being a chemical sweetner, natural is really better for you.
Same debate going on between real butter and margarine. I am now back to a butter convert, stuff the cholestorol  Natural is always better then something artificially produced.  |
| I'm with Lisa....
here we use REAL sugar and REAL butter..... but not for health reasons at all....mainly for taste preference..... I don't like the after taste of any of the artificial sweeteners, and I don't like the taste of margarine either. Actually....we don't use a lot of processed foods either.....I don't like the taste of those either. oh and my cholesterol is just fine |
Us too - real sugar and real butter. 
No cholesterol problems either - in fact super low! I don't trust those chemicals, the natural stuff is better, and definitely tastes a LOT better. |
| My name is Laurie, and I am a DIET COKE ADDICT. I swear they put something in there that you cannot go without........
Other than DC though, I don't ingest anything else with artificial sweeteners. I just don't like the taste in anything else. I'm with Willowsprite on the cancer thing, and think that there's a genetic component, as well as environmental triggers. I have four uncles (out of 11 kids), all smokers, who died of lung and/or stomach cancer, and my 40 year old sister had breast cancer last year. It's in my genes, so I have to be on top of my health, as much as possible without making myself nuts.  |
MissingMurphy wrote: My 2 year old is not allowed to have soda or tea, etc. but she recognizes that sometimes my husband and I have a drink that is different than hers and always asks for a drink. One day I had one of those Diet Green Tea drinks and when she asked for a drink I told her No-- it had aspartame in it and aspartame was bad for her. Every since that day when I tell her she can't have something she'll say "Does it have aspartame in it?". It's really pretty cute....especially hearing a two year old say "aspartame".
Too cute  |
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