aspartame

Recently, aspartame has garnered much debate. Used in thousands of diet sodas and sugar-free gum products and low-calorie desserts, its safety has been verified by both the Food and Drug Administration and European Food Safety Agency; yet a report by World Health Organization (WHO) called for further study because ersatz sugar may potentially cause cancer.

Researchers conducted experiments on mice to discover that high-dose aspartame intake caused significant learning and memory deficits, not only with new learning but also remembering familiar mazes or recalling what they had already learned – passing this onto their offspring through epigenetic inheritance.

Results indicate that aspartame can influence brain chemistry in various ways, including altering monoamine neurotransmitter synthesis. Phenylalanine may play an indirect role, competing for binding at large neutral amino acid transporter and inhibiting serotonin and catecholamine production – leading to decreased levels of these chemicals which in turn leads to neurological symptoms like seizures.

Though the results were troubling, the committee that performed the review of aspartame did not find enough evidence to alter its guidelines for human consumption. Indeed, for decades the World Health Organization’s panel of experts have studied aspartame and currently recommend no more than 40 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day; for someone weighing an average American of 184 pounds this would mean they could consume 33 cans of diet soda without exceeding their daily allowance.

Aspartame (NutraSweet or Equal), found in many products like diet soda, has been shown to raise insulin levels, leading to depression, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease and diabetes. Furthermore, aspartame is considered neurotoxic and raises cognitive problems like learning issues, headaches migraines seizures irritable moods as well as neurotoxic breakdown products like phenylalanine and aspartic acid which interfere with neurotransmitters that regulate moods and behaviors.

Despite these concerns, regulatory agencies such as FDA and EFSA have declared aspartame safe for human consumption. Both agencies use weighted evidence assessment, which evaluates all available studies by weighting each one and taking into account its strengths and weaknesses – this process is identical to what International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) employs when evaluating drugs or medical procedures.

Roshon and Hagen conducted a double-blind, repeated measures within-subjects experiment comparing effects of large doses of aspartame versus sucrose on behavioral, cognitive and monoamine metabolism in 12 preschool children (5 boys and 6 girls aged 5-13). Higher intakes of aspartame did not have an effect on locomotion, task orientation or learning performance; plasma phenylalanine levels or urinary excretion rates of monoamines did not differ between groups; however higher intakes led to greater degradation of methanol to formaldehyde, which in turn increased degradation rates by formaldehyde degradation processes which in turn caused neurological issues like headaches.

Shaywitz and colleagues conducted another randomized crossover design study on aspartame’s effect on spatial working memory, mood and irritability of 18 adults who served as their own controls. High aspartame consumption resulted in significantly weaker spatial orientation as well as increases in irritability, depression and headaches; heritable cognitive deficits associated with diet aspartame transmitted to male and female descendants through F1 generation; this phenomenon hadn’t previously been considered when discussing risk factors associated with pregnancy and nursing mothers such as environmental exposures being risk factors for offspring health – heritable cognitive deficits associated with diet aspartame had never before been taken into account as potential risk factors for their offspring’s future health; nor have heritable cognitive deficits associated with diet aspartame been considered when discussing risk factors associated with exposures during gestation or nursing mothers being exposed during gestation or nursing mothers being exposed during gestation or nursing could pose risk factors; nor have heritable cognitive deficits associated with diet being considered risk factors in this context.

Artificial sweetener can be added to a morning cup of coffee as an artificial sweetener, but you might be shocked to learn it can harm your eyes. Research shows aspartame can lead to photophobia which results from inefficient processing of light by the eye causing headaches and irritation from prolonged exposure to bright lighting sources.

Aspartame is a sweetener found in many low-calorie foods such as fizzy diet drinks, cereals and low-sugar yogurts. When digested by our bodies it releases free-form methanol which may damage retinal cells leading to vision problems and blindness – although fruit and vegetables contain aspartame bound to ethanol as a natural antidote against this risk.

The US Food and Drug Administration has long maintained that aspartame is safe if consumed within certain guidelines. A separate committee that conducts risk assessments, known as the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JEFCA), also reviewed recent evidence and confirmed their current acceptable daily intake levels for aspartame.

While it may be alarming that aspartame has been classified as a possible carcinogen, experts agree that more research needs to be conducted into exactly why and how aspartame causes cancer. Dr Misagh Karimi of City of Hope Orange County Lennar Foundation Cancer Center in California stated to Medical News Today that while aspartame’s classification does pose some risks, humans can use aspartame as part of a healthy diet without fear.

Aspartame is a common sweetener found in diet beverages and low-calorie desserts, yet has recently been classified by the World Health Organization as possibly carcinogenic to humans – joining other potentially carcinogenic substances like aloe vera extract, some varieties of pickled vegetables and tobacco smoke in that category.

But including aspartame in this group does not indicate consumers need to stop using this sugar substitute. IARC made their determination based on limited evidence linking aspartame to liver cancer in some studies involving rats and mice; however, these data are insufficient to indicate other forms of cancers.

An observational study of 100,000 adults in France published last year concluded that those consuming larger amounts of artificial sweeteners like aspartame had an increased risk of cancer. This followup research from Italy’s Ramazzini Institute back in early 2000s had linked cancers in mice and rats to aspartame use.

Experts note that IARC’s classification of aspartame will likely prompt more research. Yet it could create fear around no- and low-calorie sweeteners among the over 540 million people worldwide living with diabetes or managing their weight.

At IARC’s decision is based on limited evidence available publicly for review, not all of which is reviewed publicly by others such as FDA or EFSA. They both discredited its findings due to significant methodological problems found in some of its studies cited by them.

The FDA remains confident that sugar substitutes, including aspartame, are safe when consumed responsibly by consumers in moderation – this includes limiting how often sweetened beverages are consumed. Aspartame has been extensively studied over time and approved for use by multiple international health authorities such as FDA and Europe’s EFSA.

Aspartame is a low-calorie sweetener that is 200 times sweeter than sugar and requires much smaller doses to produce the same sweetness. Aspartame can be found in products like Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi Zero as well as no-sugar salad dressing, no-calorie ice cream and sugar-free Jell-O Instant Pudding pudding; and can even be found in sugar-free chewing gum such as Extra.

Aspartame may contain less calories than sugar, yet has been linked with numerous health concerns. Studies have indicated that those consuming large quantities may increase their risk of diabetes and high blood pressure. Furthermore, concerns have been expressed over its potential to trigger allergic reactions such as itchy skin from contact dermatitis.

IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) of the WHO classified aspartame as a Group 2B carcinogen, or potentially cancerous to humans. Their reasoning for this classification included limited evidence suggesting it causes liver cancer in some individuals and limited evidence demonstrating other possible ways that cancer might form elsewhere. But its classification shouldn’t mean you should give up drinking diet soda or non-caloric beverages altogether!

Aspartame has been the subject of intense investigation. After numerous regulatory bodies including the Food and Drug Administration and an expert committee reviewed it, multiple regulatory agencies including FDA concluded it’s safe for consumption provided you follow certain guidelines.

But this week, a review released by the World Health Organization’s cancer agency identified aspartame as potentially carcinogenic. While the International Agency for Research on Cancer report may be considered definitive, an analysis conducted by a Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives will be made public later in July.

Both reports will evaluate existing evidence to make decisions on whether aspartame is hazardous and what its safe limits might be. According to WHO spokesperson for NBC HEALTH, they did not see any human data that warranted changing their current guidelines on aspartame intake, and will wait for results of JECFA evaluation in July before making their final recommendations.

The JECFA report is expected to reaffirm their acceptable daily intake recommendation of zero to 40 milligrams per kilogram of body weight, meaning someone weighing an average American (184 pounds) could consume 33 cans of diet soda each day without exceeding those limits.

But if you’re concerned about what might happen if you consume more aspartame, remember that one of the best ways to lower your risk of cancer is eating a diet rich in vegetables, fiber and whole grains and lacking processed or red meat, sugar or fat (although you could reduce your chances of brain tumor by not smoking).

Aspartame, commonly sold under its trade names NutraSweet, Equal and Sugar Twin, has long been used in diet foods and drinks as an artificial sweetener. Years of peer-reviewed studies have linked aspartame consumption with weight gain, increased appetite, diabetes, metabolic derangement and obesity-related diseases – one such study even suggested people consuming an abundance of aspartame have an increased risk of cancer.

The new WHO assessment relies on laboratory data, animal studies and human studies that include two large observational studies. One such observational study, an international French survey with 100,000 people participated, suggested aspartame consumption is associated with slightly increased cancer risks – however since this was an observational survey and relied upon participants recalling what they ate or drank, no definitive link could be drawn between aspartame consumption and increased cancer risks and its consumption being the cause.

Another observational study, conducted over 18,000 Swedish participants in 2022, discovered that aspartame consumption is linked with greater amounts of visceral and subcutaneous fat accumulation in the abdomen as well as larger waist sizes. Furthermore, aspartame was associated with an increased risk for health conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes/seizures/shortened pregnancies/headaches.

In May 2023, the World Health Organization advised people to limit their consumption of non-sugar sweeteners, including aspartame, to help control weight. But they didn’t suggest taking products with aspartame off shelves completely and Francesco Branca of W.H.O review stated that aspartame can be consumed safely in moderation by everyone; one estimate states a 150-pound individual would need to drink over 40 cans of diet soda each day in order to reach this threshold.

WHO Aspartame and Gut Health

Non-nutritive sweeteners have become widely popular due to their low calorie content, yet recent evidence shows their use may lead to health problems such as cardiovascular diseases, glucose intolerance and obesity – with gut microbiomes acting as possible mediators in such instances.

Although many studies show that non-nutritive sweeteners do not alter human glucose metabolism, it remains unknown whether they have an impact on gut microbiome composition. Scientists from the Weizmann Institute of Science addressed this question through a randomized clinical trial in which participants were exposed to saccharin, sucralose and stevia as common non-nutritive sweeteners to see their effect on both human glucose metabolism and gut microbiome composition.

In this study, 17 healthy participants with normal BMI participated in two 14-day treatment periods separated by a four-week washout period, during which they consumed beverages sweetened with either aspartame or sucralose for seven days each time – during each of which their faecal microbiota were analysed by comparing its relative abundance before and after each treatment as well as measuring SCFA concentrations to assess how it affected microbiome’s metabolic capacity.

The results of the study demonstrated that repeated daily consumption of aspartame or sucralose did not alter bacterial communities in participants’ gut, nor did SCFA levels differ between aspartame-treated groups and control groups. On the contrary, regular sucralose consumption significantly reduced phyla counts while having no impact on overall gut bacterial communities or community structures compared with either aspartame or sucrose consumption.

Researchers recently reported that those consuming high amounts of artificial sweeteners like aspartame, saccharin, sucralose and acesulfame potassium — commonly used in diet soda, yogurt, cereal, canned fruit and candy — had higher blood sugar levels compared with those who did not. This can put them at greater risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease or stroke.

As a result of these new data, WHO issued a guideline warning people against the use of non-sugar sweeteners (NSS) to either control weight or lower risk for noncommunicable diseases. Furthermore, long-term consumption may have other undesirable side effects.

World Health Organization researchers have raised alarm over aspartame, saying there is little evidence it causes liver cancer in humans. IARC classifies substances based on their potential harm to people; full evaluation of aspartame should take place within six months.

IARC’s report cited studies which reported an increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma among regular diet soda drinkers, though chance, bias or confounding by other dietary factors cannot be completely excluded from these studies, according to their expert panel review of existing studies. These reports were issued this week as a result of these reviews and expert opinions.

Francesco Branca, who led IARC’s aspartame assessment, stated that current evidence did not warrant a reevaluation of aspartame’s safety at its current accepted daily intake level of 40 milligrams per kilogram. Both FDA, Canada and European regulators had already assessed aspartame safety at its present permitted levels and have confirmed its safety at that level of consumption.

Some critics, such as an executive from Calorie Control Council, criticized IARC’s decision as misleading, inaccurate and fearmongering; however, this does not represent health guidance; rather IARC merely assesses whether something has the potential to cause cancer in humans. A separate WHO committee known as Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) reviews food safety issues such as aspartame consumption with an acceptable daily intake (ADI), which recently reconfirmed that aspartame is safe at its currently allowed levels.