Recently, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (the IARC) – a branch of the World Health Organization announced it had designated the artificial sweetener aspartame as “possibly carcinogenic to humans.” This sounds ominous but the truth is much less scary!
There are 5
different classifications that relate to the potential cancer causing
properties of a given substance:
Carcinogenic
to Humans
Probably
Carcinogenic to Humans
Possibly
Carcinogenic to Humans
Not
Classifiable as to its Carcinogenicity
As such the designation
of Aspartame as “Possibly Carcinogenic to Humans” does NOT mean it is a clear
and definite cancer causing agent at any dose!
It just means that there is reason to study this further.
Like all
potential carcinogens the details matter such as how much of a substance do you
need to be exposed to in order to initiate cancerous cellular changes. Keep in mind our bodies are constantly
exposed to poisons both natural and man-made, and our bodies have evolved to
handle this or none of us would be here today.
For example –
alcohol from alcoholic beverages – is a known carcinogen at high doses on a
regular basis! On the other some research
shows that small daily doses may in fact be beneficial.
So the take
home message on Aspartame is it is smart to consider how many artificially
sweetened beverages you take in on a regular basis and try to limit them daily.
To get a detailed
review of the science on aspartame and cancer check this great article out from
Dr. Peter Attia: https://peterattiamd.com/aspartame-and-cancer/?utm_source=weekly-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=230806-NL-aspartameandcancer&utm_content=230806-NL-aspartameandcancer-email-nonsubs&mc_cid=044a15ec2a&mc_eid=c0f54eddcb
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