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Aspartame sweetener to be declared possible cancer risk by WHO, say reports

theguardian.com

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Re: Aspartame sweetener to be declared possible cancer risk by WHO, say reports

#61

Post by brewdad »

SoftTalker wrote: post #20
femboy wrote: post #15

I wish there was a switch in the mass production of products to contain neither sugar or sweeteners. But it feels like that is never going to happen.

You can do it yourself. I used to drink a lot of sweetened soda. I switched to diet, then stopped. Regular sugar-sweetened drinks taste sickeningly sweet to me now, and diet drinks taste like chemicals. Once you break the habit, your sense of taste recovers and you realize how nasty these drinks are. Most people get started on them as kids when you don't have a nuanced sense of taste and really crave sweet stuff.

Same. I used to drink multiple Cokes a day. I switched to Diet Coke sometime in my late 20s. In my 30s I cut back to one Diet Coke a day and about 4 years ago in my mid 40s I switched over to carbonated water when I crave something fizzy but still limit myself to one a day most days. Coffee and plain water have replaced the soda I used to drink.

This was all done over time as I realized I needed to change my diet to keep weight off and I wasn't really enjoying my daily soda(s) anyway. With an actual intent, one could drop soda within a few months easily and never miss it.

Re: Aspartame sweetener to be declared possible cancer risk by WHO, say reports

#62

Post by malnourish »

toolz wrote: post #55
raspyberr wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the UK, we have nitrate-free bacon available that is actually nitra(i)te free: https://www.betternaked.com/products/better-naked-unsmoked-b...

I don't see anything on that site that says anything other than nitrates weren't added. Where are you seeing that it's actually nitrate free?

Under "Dietary information" at the bottom of the page, it says "Nitrite-free, Gluten-free, Dairy-free,[sic]"

Re: Aspartame sweetener to be declared possible cancer risk by WHO, say reports

#63

Post by throwaway1777 »

kagakuninja wrote: post #58
throwaway1777 wrote: post #6

Ok I’ll be that guy. The study says there’s no risk unless you drink equivalent of 70 cokes per day. So I think I’m ok. Barely.

I've been hearing that type of argument since the 70s, after they banned saccharine. Let's suppose a chemical causes slow damage to the body, maybe greatly increasing your risk of cancer or alzheimers if you drink a can of diet soda per day. How could we possibly know if it is safe? We often test chemicals on rats, but the problem is that they only live a few years. No one wants to wait 20+ years to see the results o…

I would simply suggest we stop making any strong claims until we do know.

Re: Aspartame sweetener to be declared possible cancer risk by WHO, say reports

#64

Post by jjoonathan »

chimeracoder wrote: post #12
rcme wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree with the GP that staying informed about nutrition can be done with books. There is very little generally accepted science when it comes to nutrition. I try to use the "test of time" approach. If we haven't figured out that something was bad after at least 500 years, then it probably isn't that bad. If we've been eating a food for less than 500 years, then it should be considered suspect.

> If we haven't figured out that something was bad after at least 500 years, then it probably isn't that bad. If we've been eating a food for less than 500 years, then it should be considered suspect. While I agree with the spirit of this, I'll point out that tobacco was brought to Europe over 500 years ago, and only recently discovered to be one of the most unhealthy products available. Not to mention that it was wi…

Tobacco is an all-natural plant product backed by longstanding tradition! How could it possibly be bad for your health?

Ugh, if we hadn't banned them from advertising they would absolutely be using this angle and it would absolutely be working.

Re: Aspartame sweetener to be declared possible cancer risk by WHO, say reports

#65

Post by lotsofpulp »

kagakuninja wrote: post #43
ranger_danger wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where's the proof that drinking Diet Coke causes literally any health issue that is a direct relation to the aspartame itself specifically? Because I don't think that has ever existed because it's not actually harmful in this way... meanwhile your post reads like FUD.

You can start here: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-h... Diet sodas with aspartame contain a warning for this reason. Now of course, most of us do not have this condition. But how do we know if it is safe? I decided 20+ years ago that artificial sweeteners were a crutch with no nutritional value and unknown risks, so I stopped consuming them.

Considering that sugar and excess consumption of carbohydrates is the number 1 health problem around the world, is it possible that the risks of low calorie sweeteners are not sufficient to outweigh the benefits of low calorie sweeteners?

Re: Aspartame sweetener to be declared possible cancer risk by WHO, say reports

#66

Post by cameldrv »

shrubble wrote: post #54

Donald Rumsfeld was famously influential in getting aspartame's approval ; however more of the story behind this can be found here: https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/8846759/Nill,_As... In 1984 the year after aspartame's approval for soft drinks, the company that held the exclusive patent on it, sold $600 million worth (1984 dollars) of it. Myself the truly distasteful part is the use of neotame (a follow-o…

> Myself the truly distasteful part is the use of neotame (a follow-on to aspartame) on animal feed, to get animals to eat feed that they normally would not; for instance, if the feed is rancid or otherwise in a condition/taste that normal animal instincts, would have the animal reject the food...

True for human food as well. Maybe it’s not rancid, but food science can make terrible ingredients taste great. Take Doritos. It’s just cornmeal (animal feed) plus a ton of artificial flavoring that is incredibly well dialed in to make them delicious and even addictive.

Re: Aspartame sweetener to be declared possible cancer risk by WHO, say reports

#67

Post by HelixEndeavor »

arbitrage wrote: post #11
LarsAlereon wrote: post #8

To clarify, this doesn't mean aspartame in food is harmful, it means that in certain circumstances it's possible for the chemical to cause cancer. For example, workers exposed to extremely high levels during manufacturing, or breakdown products formed during improper storage.

[flagged]

Water isn't dangerous but if you were dropped into the middle of the ocean you would probably drown. Does that mean you must swear off water because it's proven to be dangerous since people drown in it?

Re: Aspartame sweetener to be declared possible cancer risk by WHO, say reports

#68

Post by toolz »

malnourish wrote: post #62
toolz wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see anything on that site that says anything other than nitrates weren't added. Where are you seeing that it's actually nitrate free?

Under "Dietary information" at the bottom of the page, it says "Nitrite-free, Gluten-free, Dairy-free,[sic]"

I wouldn't be surprised if that's misleading considering the other article was suggesting nitrite precursors are usually what's in the food later to be turned into nitrite, but I'd love to be wrong.

You could simply measure the levels of nitrite before any exists and the end product might still have just as much.

Re: Aspartame sweetener to be declared possible cancer risk by WHO, say reports

#70

Post by fluidcruft »

kergonath wrote: post #22
arbitrage wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Silica can cause cancer, in the form of asbestos fibres or silica dust. Yet, it’s safe to drink from a glass, have windows at home, and walk on sand. A lot of factors matter besides chemical composition.

Are you suggesting that aspartame in food has a different physical form that prevents it from entering the body?
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