Posted on 03/25/2022 6:11:02 AM PDT by Red Badger
Consuming artificial sweetener could increase the risk of developing cancer, a large-scale study suggested Thursday, but experts not involved in the research said it was not enough proof to consider changing current health advice.
Sweeteners are consumed by millions every day in products like diet soda, partly as a way to avoid weight gain from sugar – but how healthy these substitutes are themselves has long been a matter of controversy.
To assess the cancer risk of sweeteners, researchers analyzed the data of more than 100,000 people in France who self-reported their diet, lifestyle and medical history in intervals between 2009-2021 as part of the NutriNet-Sante study.
They then compared consumption to the rate of cancer, while adjusting for other variables such as smoking, poor diet, age and physical activity.
The participants who consumed the largest amount of sweeteners, "beyond the median amount, had an increased cancer risk of 13 percent compared to non-consumers," Mathilde Touvier, research director at France's INSERM institute and the study's supervisor, told AFP.
The study, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, said that a higher cancer risk was particularly seen with sweeteners aspartame and acesulfame potassium – both used in many soft drinks including Coke Zero.
Out of the 103,000 participants, 79 percent were women and 37 percent consumed artificial sweeteners.
Soft drinks accounted for more than half of the artificial sweeteners consumed, while table-top sweeteners represented 29 percent.
The study found that "higher risks were observed for breast cancer and obesity-related cancers".
Touvier said "we cannot totally exclude biases linked to the lifestyle of consumers", calling for further research to confirm the study's results.
The US National Cancer Institute and Cancer Research UK both say that sweeteners do not cause cancer, and they have been authorized for use by the European Food Safety Authority.
'Not proof'
"The relationship between artificial sweetener consumption and cancer risk is a controversial one, going back to the 1970s when (sweetener) cyclamate was banned for being linked to bladder cancer in rats – although this was never shown to be the case in humans," said James Brown, a biomedical scientist at Britain's Aston University.
Brown, who was not involved in the study, told AFP that it was "reasonably well-designed" and had an "impressive" sample size.
But he added he did not "believe the current study provides strong enough evidence" for Britain's National Health Service to "change its advice just yet".
Michael Jones of The Institute of Cancer Research, London said that the link reported in the study "does not imply causation" and was "not proof that artificial sweeteners cause cancer".
He said the findings could suggest that "cancer risk may be raised in the type of person who uses artificial sweetener rather than the sweetener itself."
Thursday's findings also do not mean consumers should rush back to sugary drinks – a 2019 NutriNet-Sante study found that they were also linked to a higher risk of several cancer types.
Brown said that not all sweeteners were equal, with some such as stevia showing health benefits.
Artificial sweeteners are "still likely a useful tool that can help reduce weight gain when replacing sugar – if the right sweetener is used," he said.
A lot of the packaging and storage containers are bad for you too. BPA, can linings used over the years. Then there's additives, ingredients extracted from corn and other things, preservatives, most of which are bad. Fertilizers, weed killers, hormones and antibiotics for feed lot cattle etc etc.
So how is the study “controversial”?
The left always calls anything they don’t want to hear “controversial”.
Coke is WOKE.
Pepsi is WOKE
Monsanto is WOKE.
CON AGRA is WOKE ................
I just invested all my money in high fructose corn syrup futures.
With my profits, I am going to buy a gluten farm.
Re: High Fructose Corn Syrup prompts more weight gain
I am not surprised.
It tastes better than any other sweetener on the market, including sugar.
Mountain Dew contains Brominated vegetable oil which is banned in Europe because of health concerns.
I quit drinking Mountain Dew because of it many years ago.
Interesting, as so often these studies cite rat studies and when they calculate the equivalent amount that a human would have to consume it turns out to be ridiculous numbers - like 5 gallons of diet soda a day or such. Sounds like your relative may have met that damaging level of consumption.
I think the problem is broccoli.
I think the absorption of caramel from coca cola is low because it’s a liquid that doesn’t stimulate a lot of bile movement and has a low ph.
I’ve heard that about stevia. There’s more options these days, (monk fruit?) so just keep trying.
If such a study does not even imply causation and also does not do a break-down for types of sweeteners, it is BS.
Good thing I don’t do Coke and Pepsi products and am trying to do as little of the others as possible.
“cancer risk may be raised in the type of person who uses artificial sweetener rather than the sweetener itself.”
1. Fat people get more fat related cancers.
2. Fat people consume more artificial sweeteners because they are fat.
That is all the study says.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3WkXJokBAU
Dr. Lustig goes off on high fructose corn syrup and fatty liver disease.
Saw one of the fat guys who works out in the plant today. He got three bags of Funyuns and a Diet Coke for break snack. He has to work hard to stay that fat, it’s a full time job!
There must be a new one hitting the market.
From the Article
‘The US National Cancer Institute and Cancer Research UK both say that sweeteners do not cause cancer, and they have been authorized for use by the European Food Safety Authority.’
Chinese vaccines have killed far more.
The lawyers are looking for another large payout for these artificial sweeteners.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.