Did WH admit that the sweetener of aspartam causes cancer?

In July 2023, the news dispersed that WHO recognized the popular sweetener of aspartam with a carcinogen. We decided to figure out what was actually said in their publication.

The news that WHO recognized Aspartam with a carcinogen published many Russian -speaking media: TV channel "Star"(" WHO recognized the sweetener with aspartam with a carcinogen that causes cancer "),"Evening Moscow"(" WHO recognized the substitute for sugar aspartam causing cancer by carcinogens "), Lenta.ru ("Popular sugar substitute causes cancer"), TV channel "Tsargrad"(" WHO: The sweetener of Aspartem may be one of the causes of cancer ") and others. Some media in the headlines called the Chancinogenic not the sweetener, but at once all the sweet soda:" "" "RBC-OKRAїon"(" Popular drink (Coca-Cola without sugar.-Approx. Ed.), Which many people love can cause cancer: a new study "),"Arguments and facts in Belarus"(" Sweet taste of grief. Sugar soda risk risk of liver cancer by 85%").

Aspartam is artificial sweetenerthat has been actively used in the food industry since the 1980s. It can be found, for example, as part of dietary drinks, chewing gum, ice cream, yogurts, ready -made dry breakfasts (on the packaging the additive is marked like E951), as well as toothpasts, coughing and chewing vitamins. Aspartam equal The calorie content of sugar and at the same time is 200 times sweeter. Thus, it requires much less to achieve the same taste.

The possible carcinogenicity of various nutritional additives, including sweeteners, has long been interested in specialists. One of the first studies on aspartam in 2005 Spent Italian scientists who fed products with the sweetener of rats. The dosages were designed so that they proportionally corresponded to the human consumption of 5000, 2500, 500, 100, 20, 4 and 0 mg of aspartam per kilogram of body weight. Scientists came to the conclusion that the dosage of aspartam, similar to 4 mg/kg for humans and above, leads to an increase in the risk of lymphoma and leukemia by 69%. 

However, this study had serious shortcomings. First, scientists have chosen rats Lines Spregation - Dawli, who are prone to the development of cancer pathologies. In particular, using the same animals, the French researcher Zhil-Eric Seralini I tried Demonstrate carcinogenicity of GMOs. Moreover, in 81% of rats of this line until the age of two years Appear A variety of malignant tumors, even if they do not participate in any experiment. When the scientific community noticed an incorrect selection of a line of experimental animals, Seralini's article was withdrawn. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Italian scientists also demonstrated the development of leukemia and lymphoma. Secondly, the results of animal experiments are not always correctly transferred to people, since different substances affect different types of organisms differently. For example, talidomide, a sedative popular in the 1960s, which was written out, including pregnant women, led to birth at least 10,000 children with heavy innate pathologies, while during animal tests it I did not show. This acts in the opposite direction: Aspirin High toxic for cats, and streptomycin, the second antibiotic invented after penicillin, Killing guinea pigs. 

Today in Pubmed, the largest scientific database on medicine and biology, there are more than 3,000 works devoted to the study of aspartam. He was checked for various laboratory animals, and cohort studies were conducted in public (that is, some people regularly consumed foods with the sweetener for a long time, while others refrained from it). To comply with the principle of ethics, cohort studies are usually retrospective - scientists do not force people to constantly adhere to a particular diet, but gain groups of people with a particular characteristic (for example, using at least two cans of sweet soda per day), and then simply monitor their health. In particular, in 2016, European scientists from different countries Bone The results of the 11-year observation of almost 500,000 volunteers. It turned out that those who consumed more than six standard (0.33 l) cans of sweetened drinks are more prone to the development of hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common malignant liver tumor. American scientists watching almost a million people, Installedthat in a group of lovers of such drinks above the risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

July 14, 2023 WHO actually published Press releasededicated to the results of assessments of danger and risk in relation to aspartam. In a study of potential consequences for those who use this sweetener, three large international organizations took part: WHO itself, the International Agency for the Study of Cancer (MAIR) and the United Committee of Experts on Food supplements of the food and agricultural organization of the UN (FAO).

In their conclusions reportsthat "evidence of the relationship between the consumption of aspartam and cancer in humans is not convincing." Coirs, indeed, does not allow to reliably determine whether Aspartram has become a key factor in the development of cancer. People who often use sweet soda can generally lead a less healthy lifestyle, prefer less high -quality products and pay less attention to their health. Therefore, the head of the WHO department according to the standards and scientific recommendations for food and food, Dr. MoEZ Sanaa Notes: “We need better studies with a longer subsequent observation and repeated questioning of existing curants on nutrition issues. We need randomized controlled clinical studies, including studies of metabolic mechanisms that play a role in regulating metabolism with the participation of insulin and pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome and diabetes, especially the relationship of these mechanisms with the development of cancer. ”

All substances and environmental factors in Classification, developed by the International Cancer Study Agency, are divided into four groups: 

• Group 1 - carcinogenic effect proved (smoking tobacco, drinking alcoholic beverages, solar radiation);
• Group 2A - most likely, carcinogenic (the use of red meat and fried products fried at high temperature, work on the night shift);
• Group 2B - possibly carcinogenic;
• Group 3 - precisely non -cancerogenic (coffee, mercury, paracetamol).

Based on the existing data, it attributed asparters to group 2V, however, the name of the group “Perhaps carcinogenic substances and factors” is not afraid. Along with Aspartam, there are Extracts of ginkgo biloba, Kava And Aloe Vera, caffeine acid, progestin contraceptives (mini-saw), pickled vegetables, and also Job V hairdresser, in textile or carpentry. Finding a substance in the 2B group is a stimulus for scientists to study it and learn more about its effect on the human body.

Moreover, in his press release clarifiesthat, according to the existing research today, it is safe to consume up to 40 mg of aspartam per kilogram of body weight per day. That is, for a person weighing 70 kg - this (depending on the composition of the drink) from 3 to 4.5 l of sweet soda with aspartam. In the same press release It is saidthat "the use of aspartam without exceeding this limit is safe for humans." Francesca Branca, director of the WHO Department on food and food safety, also notes that "assessments regarding aspartam do not give reason to seriously doubt his safety in the doses in which he is usually used."

Thus, although WHO attributed the sweetener of aspartam to a group of products that have a possible carcinogenic effect, this does not mean that any product that contains this additive in its composition will cause cancer. It is enough to observe the recommended dosages and do not drink more than 3 liters of sweet soda daily. Moreover, from the point of view of the prevention of the development of cancer, drinking a moderate amount of a sweetened drink is precisely safer than drinking beer, there are steaks or smoking.

Image on the cover: Bild von Igor Ovsyannykov Auf Pixabay

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