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FDA says aspartame is safe, disagreeing with WHO finding

cnbc.com

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Re: FDA says aspartame is safe, disagreeing with WHO finding

#31

Post by s1artibartfast »

pc86 wrote: post #20
chomp wrote: post #4

> An adult who weighs 70 kilograms, or 154 pounds, would have to drink more than nine to 14 cans of aspartame-containing soda daily to exceed the limit and potentially face health risks. Okay, but if I consume 9 to 14 cans of sugar-based soda, I don't wind up with the same cancer risk? It's a ludicrous amount of aspartame/soda to be sure, but there -is- something potentially an issue with aspartame somewhere in there…

I wonder what the time-frame for this is. If I drink 14 cans of diet soda once, have I permanently increased my odds of cancer? That seems likely. If I drink 14 cans of anything other than water or maybe coffee every day for 30 years I would expect negative health effects. It would be great if they had some sort of time-frame.

I think hot water is also on the carcinogen list.

Re: FDA says aspartame is safe, disagreeing with WHO finding

#32

Post by Semaphor »

BrianHenryIE wrote: post #15

It is "normal" that the US allows food (additives, at least) that is banned in Europe https://archive.is/N6JI1

Tonka beans are legal over here, though.

And while this lists a bunch of things we have issues with, there are also a few others that might eventually get allowed, but take a long time. Like monk fruit and alluose.

Re: FDA says aspartame is safe, disagreeing with WHO finding

#33

Post by chomp »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #7
chomp wrote: post #4

> An adult who weighs 70 kilograms, or 154 pounds, would have to drink more than nine to 14 cans of aspartame-containing soda daily to exceed the limit and potentially face health risks. Okay, but if I consume 9 to 14 cans of sugar-based soda, I don't wind up with the same cancer risk? It's a ludicrous amount of aspartame/soda to be sure, but there -is- something potentially an issue with aspartame somewhere in there…

> Okay, but if I consume 9 to 14 cans of sugar-based soda, I don't wind up with the same cancer risk? No, you will end up with type 2 diabetes. > Something's there, even if it's negligible. Then what is the point of wasting everyone’s time with publicizing it? Just last weekend, I was with a parent who would not let her kids have sugar free popsicles, but was okay with them regularly eating sugary popsicles. For some…

> No, you will end up with type 2 diabetes. I don't think anyone is talking about diabetes.

> For some reason, she thinks that a tiny bit of aspartame has a higher probability of causing her kids greater harm than a ton of refined sugar.

Agree that sugar is absolutely terrible for you, and aspartame is much less bad. What the WHO's talking about is strictly "possible" cancer risk. Based on my understanding, it's highly likely it's more worth it to face possible cancer risk thank the 100% definitive high risk of disease from sugar in the diet. The main thrust of my point is that there's no reason it shouldn't be on group 2B, and the FDA claiming otherwise is silly.

Re: FDA says aspartame is safe, disagreeing with WHO finding

#34

Post by wredue »

legitster wrote: post #14

> Schubauer-Berigan acknowledged during a press conference with journalists Wednesday that the studies could contain flaws that skewed the results. She said the classification should be viewed as a call to conduct more research into whether aspartame can cause cancer in humans. > “Aspartame is one of the most studied food additives in the human food supply. FDA scientists do not have safety concerns when aspartame is…

The WHO does have a tendency to lean overly cautious.

But you have to remember that the FDA is not working for YOUR best interest either. When the FDA says that something is “safe”, what it actually means is “the economic impacts of this are probably negligible in a lifetime”. So if aspartame causes cancer after your career is over, then it’s safe according to the FDA.

The WHO isn’t under the same lobbying or economic pressures, and approach their statements from entirely different perspectives than the FDA.

Re: FDA says aspartame is safe, disagreeing with WHO finding

#35

Post by Alex3917 »

legitster wrote: post #14

> Schubauer-Berigan acknowledged during a press conference with journalists Wednesday that the studies could contain flaws that skewed the results. She said the classification should be viewed as a call to conduct more research into whether aspartame can cause cancer in humans. > “Aspartame is one of the most studied food additives in the human food supply. FDA scientists do not have safety concerns when aspartame is…

> Aspartame could possibly hold the title as the most scrutinized chemical in history

You could almost say that it's the Lance Armstrong of food additives.

Re: FDA says aspartame is safe, disagreeing with WHO finding

#36

Post by oxfordmale »

legitster wrote: post #14

> Schubauer-Berigan acknowledged during a press conference with journalists Wednesday that the studies could contain flaws that skewed the results. She said the classification should be viewed as a call to conduct more research into whether aspartame can cause cancer in humans. > “Aspartame is one of the most studied food additives in the human food supply. FDA scientists do not have safety concerns when aspartame is…

A lot of your criticism seems to be playing the man rather than the ball.

The WHO said a person weighing 70kg would need to consume more than between nine and 14 cans of diet soft drink per day to exceed the daily guideline. So basically the FDA and WHO are in agreement, but the WHO uses more cautious language.

Re: FDA says aspartame is safe, disagreeing with WHO finding

#37

Post by karmaMeansCool »

I stopped drinking alcohol due to the possible cancer link seeming much greater than aspartame's link to cancer. It seems strange that the studies are much more conclusive on alcohol's role with cancer than aspartame, but the concerns are much higher for aspartame than alcohol. Part of me wonders why this is. One possible reason I see is that people's trust in the studies about aspartame are much lower than their trust in the studies about alcohol.

Re: FDA says aspartame is safe, disagreeing with WHO finding

#39

Post by 2OEH8eoCRo0 »

wredue wrote: post #34
legitster wrote: post #14

> Schubauer-Berigan acknowledged during a press conference with journalists Wednesday that the studies could contain flaws that skewed the results. She said the classification should be viewed as a call to conduct more research into whether aspartame can cause cancer in humans. > “Aspartame is one of the most studied food additives in the human food supply. FDA scientists do not have safety concerns when aspartame is…

The WHO does have a tendency to lean overly cautious. But you have to remember that the FDA is not working for YOUR best interest either. When the FDA says that something is “safe”, what it actually means is “the economic impacts of this are probably negligible in a lifetime”. So if aspartame causes cancer after your career is over, then it’s safe according to the FDA. The WHO isn’t under the same lobbying or economi…

Even if true, isn't economic impact just a proxy for human harm since the more working and healthy humans the better?

Re: FDA says aspartame is safe, disagreeing with WHO finding

#40

Post by mrleinad »

legitster wrote: post #14

> Schubauer-Berigan acknowledged during a press conference with journalists Wednesday that the studies could contain flaws that skewed the results. She said the classification should be viewed as a call to conduct more research into whether aspartame can cause cancer in humans. > “Aspartame is one of the most studied food additives in the human food supply. FDA scientists do not have safety concerns when aspartame is…

> And given the alternative is sugar

No, the alternative is to learn to enjoy bitter beverages. We don't need sweeteners.

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