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FDA says aspartame is safe, disagreeing with WHO finding

cnbc.com

71–80 of 156 posts

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

#72

We have an obesity epidemic, not a diet-coke-cancer epidemic in this country. I'd say the occasional can of diet soda is a good tradeoff.

Sorry, but have you heard about the drastic increase in the rate of young people getting colon cancer?

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

#73

We have an obesity epidemic, not a diet-coke-cancer epidemic in this country. I'd say the occasional can of diet soda is a good tradeoff.

"occasional can of diet soda" is a minimizing strawman.

I recently had a friend quit diet pepsi - he used to drink as many as 18 cans per day. I'm not sure its responsible for federal regulators to call that behavior 'safe', and am glad he's kicked the habit.

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

#74
post #71

I would love to see a log of the communications between coca cola execs and the FDA leading up to this announcement. Even if aspartame is perfectly safe, feels like there is a strong subtext of corporate protectionism to this statement.

Only if you show me the log of wire transfers to WHO execs from the CCP lol

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

#75
post #53

Diet soda and sweeteners behind them are still a scam even if they don’t “cause cancer.” They’re a scam because they still cause insulin response. Pancreas cranks out insulin after tasting the soda, and there no blood sugar to react with. My uncle drank tons of Diet Coke and got pancreatic cancer. Doesn’t mean diet soda caused his pancreatic cancer, but he definitely didn’t loose weight by drinking the stuff.

Why is everyone spelling lose wrong?

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

#76

> 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.

Like alcohol?

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

#77
post #34

> 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…

I mostly agree. Both agencies have their flaws (what doesn't?) but on the whole, I trust WHO more than the FDA.

Which isn't to say I'll always side with WHO over FDA when they disagree, of course.

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

#78
post #53

Diet soda and sweeteners behind them are still a scam even if they don’t “cause cancer.” They’re a scam because they still cause insulin response. Pancreas cranks out insulin after tasting the soda, and there no blood sugar to react with. My uncle drank tons of Diet Coke and got pancreatic cancer. Doesn’t mean diet soda caused his pancreatic cancer, but he definitely didn’t loose weight by drinking the stuff.

Is there any evidence for this. I see it constantly in internet arguments but never anywhere else.

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

#79
post #34

> 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…

> “the economic impacts of this are probably negligible in a lifetime”

I mean, how else would you define "safe"? I have trouble imagining something both unsafe and has no ecconomic impact.

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

#80
post #9

My understanding is that the WHO has maintained its recommended max. daily intake, which is the equivalent of about 10 cans of soft drinks a day... make of that what you will.

Ask someone who has worked in a restaurant about the habits of diet coke drinkers. They always require 10x or more refills than water or soda.

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