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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

#321

Post by jorvi »

rnk wrote: post #312
uejfiweun wrote: post #305

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, I'd also say that as society continues to get more complex we're exposed to more and more previously-unknown substances, chemicals, and compounds. Kids used to play in the DDT mist sprayed by trucks. How many DDTs are there right now that we don't know about? I'd guess a whole lot.

Ultra and highly processed foods are terrible for us. Consuming so much more sugar than in nature seems to be bad for glucose intolerance. I love bacon but I try to resist ever having any. Don't buy meats with nitrates. We do have way more cancers, a big reason we know about is our food choices. We don't even know the impact of hard things to measure yet, like the impact of all these things on our gut biology. It's n…

> I love bacon but I try to resist ever having any. Don't buy meats with nitrates.

That is no way to live.

In general, you should think about risk management, not exclusion. Have your bacon as a bi-monthly treat, and splurge for some high quality bacon at the butcher.

I remember seeing a video of a talk where the host asked who was managing their health by going partially or fully vegetarian. Lots of raised hands. Then he asked who was sitting or standing still for extended amounts of time. Even more raised hands, including almost all of the previous group. And that’s a higher cancer risk than meat eating :)

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

#322

Post by wahnfrieden »

j45 wrote: post #227
penneallagricia wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about the mass of people who in order to drink liters of soda every day ingest large amounts of aspartame? Is it about "circumstances" or concentration?

Is litres of soda the bar for Aspartame to be bad for someone? What about a few cans a week?

theyre just saying the stakes are high because there is both broad and regularly high consumption

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

#324

Post by cheekibreeki2 »

hedora wrote: post #317

I wish they’d just force all products with a non nutritional sweetener to have a big cigarette-style warning label on the front of the packaging. I still haven’t gotten over the rise of “organic” artificial sweeteners. That must have involved some N-th level regulatory capture with the product labeling regulators.

The eu slaps these sweeteners in drinks not marked as artificially sweetened, it's maddening.

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

#325

Post by cheekibreeki2 »

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.

Or soldiers stationed anywhere hot.

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

#326

Post by cheekibreeki2 »

Aachen wrote: post #260
penneallagricia wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With bacon you know what you get, so you can dose it and take your risks. Aspartame has been sold to us as the healthy alternative to sugar. People literally use aspartame as an excuse to chug liters of soda every day.

Isn't it a healthy alternative to sugar? If you have a one in five chance to live ten years longer because you don't develop cardiovascular issues from obesity, but one in a million develops cancer, I mean... It's going to depend on how this turns out exactly.

Nothing is safer than sugar if you're just talking about a few grams for your coffee.

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

#327

Post by girishso »

tptacek wrote: post #233

The challenge you have here is that aspartame isn't just one of most widely studied substances in the food chain, but that it's also one of the most widely and vigorously consumed. People drink a lot of diet soda; a lot of people drink it to the exclusion of all other liquids. So it's going to be tricky to get the epidemiology to match up with the claim here: if aspartame is meaningfully carcinogenic (meaning: more t…

Makes me wonder if some new (sweetener) molecule is around the corner?

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

#328

Post by copperx »

tptacek wrote: post #233

The challenge you have here is that aspartame isn't just one of most widely studied substances in the food chain, but that it's also one of the most widely and vigorously consumed. People drink a lot of diet soda; a lot of people drink it to the exclusion of all other liquids. So it's going to be tricky to get the epidemiology to match up with the claim here: if aspartame is meaningfully carcinogenic (meaning: more t…

Yes, but hasn't there been also a big increase in certain cancers such as colorectal in young people, and researchers don't have good guesses at what could be causing them? The studies that I read ruled out screenings because it is happening in people decades younger than the first screening recommendations.

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

#329

Post by copperx »

nostrademons wrote: post #319
tptacek wrote: post #233

The challenge you have here is that aspartame isn't just one of most widely studied substances in the food chain, but that it's also one of the most widely and vigorously consumed. People drink a lot of diet soda; a lot of people drink it to the exclusion of all other liquids. So it's going to be tricky to get the epidemiology to match up with the claim here: if aspartame is meaningfully carcinogenic (meaning: more t…

I remember reading back in the early 90s a number of studies that showed elevated risks of certain brain cancers from aspartame. The evidence was pretty strong - it wasn't conclusive (hence the "possibly" qualifier in this label), but it was enough that I was personally convinced. The link between aspartame and cancer is much stronger than the one between cyclamate (banned in 1970 but legal in the EU) and cancer. My…

Sucralose (Splenda) has been linked to cancer quite convincingly last week. It's the only artificial sweetener that I used, and now there are no options except sugar alcohols. Monk Fruit has also been linked to cancer.

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

#330

Post by copperx »

grecy wrote: post #291
wkat4242 wrote: post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I drink a lot of Pepsi Max. I just love it especially in summer. I've drank it for decades. Would this make me worry a lot? Not really. I have worse health risks like being overweight, pfas etc. The "if it was that dangerous we'd see the effect" is a pretty decent argument IMO considering it's been heavily used for almost 40 years.

Cancer rates are rising rapidly. Soon 50% of people will have cancer. I’d say something is going on

The latest figures point to 1/3 of people in the world will die due to cancer, and the statistics always have been close to that. Where are you getting the 50% figure from?
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