Coca-Cola began mixing aspartame into Diet Coke in the 1980s. The artificial sweetener is used in a wide variety of products from diet sodas, low-sugar jams, yogurts, cereals and chewing gum.
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Photos Justin Sullivan/Getty
Coca-Cola began mixing aspartame into Diet Coke in the 1980s. The artificial sweetener is used in a wide variety of products from diet sodas, low-sugar jams, yogurts, cereals and chewing gum.
Photos Justin Sullivan/Getty
A panel of 25 international experts has determined that aspartame may “probably” cause cancer in humans, according to a report released Thursday by the World Health Organization.
This new classification, based on a “limited evidence” consideration, no Are not recommendation change Limit daily intake of artificial sweeteners.
“Our results do not indicate that infrequent consumption presents a risk to most consumers,” said. Dr. Francesco Branca, director of WHO’s Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, during a press conference in Geneva. He said the problem was caused by “people who consume a lot” of diet soda or other foods that contain aspartame. “In a sense, we’ve raised the flag here,” Branca said, and he called for more research.
But the US Food and Drug Administration said it disagreed with the new classification, citing evidence of safety. In a written statement, an FDA official told NPR that aspartame being labeled by the WHO as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” does not mean that aspartame is actually linked to cancer.
WHO has long set the tolerable daily intake, or ADI, of aspartame at a maximum of 40 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day. So, a person who weighs 60 kilograms (about 130 pounds) can consume up to 2,400 milligrams per day, which is the equivalent of 12 cans of Diet Coke — much higher than most people consume.
While the WHO doesn’t change the tolerable daily intake, Branca says “we just recommend a little moderation.” If people consume aspartame as a way to avoid sugar and manage weight, the “benefits aren’t there,” says Branca.
Based review from 2022 shows that there is no clear consensus on whether sweeteners are effective in long-term weight control, WHO currently Disclaimer against the use of Sugar-free sweeteners to control body weight.
Aspartame has been approved for use as a sweetener in the US in 1974. Coca-Cola start mixing artificial sweeteners into Diet Coke in the 1980s and popularized the zero-calorie drink with attention-grabbing advertising campaigns promoting its taste. But for all its popularity, there have long been skeptics and critics, and in recent years, Small research proposal that artificial sweeteners can increase appetite in some people and change the microbiome. Also, some recent studies point to a potential cancer risk, which is why the World Health Organization started looking at all the data.
Two separate committees of the World Health Organization examined the evidence on aspartame. The International Agency for Research on Cancer used a Classification system to rank aspartame’s carcinogenicity in humans, landing on 2B, which means “possibly carcinogenic to humans.”
The agency found “limited” evidence that aspartame can cause liver cancer, based on a review of several studies that used artificially sweetened beverage intake as a proxy for aspartame exposure. It also looked at evidence from a large French study, the NutriNet-Santé study, published in 2022, which found that people who consumed the most aspartame had about 15% increase in cancer riskincluding breast-related cancer and obesity, compared with those who did not consume aspartame.
The research body concluded that these were “high-quality” studies, but it cannot be ruled out that the findings were not due to randomness, bias, or “confounding variables,” that is, not sure about the increase in cancer. is due to aspartame. It could be explained by other lifestyle habits or exposure to other carcinogens.” “limit“for liver cancer and”inadequate” for other types of cancer, according to the analysis published year Lancet Cancer.
A second committee, the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives, or JECFA, also reviewed the evidence and concluded that “evidence for an association between aspartame consumption and cancer in humans is not convincing,” according to a summary published by the WHO. The team pointed to inconsistent evidence and determined an acceptable daily intake should be maintained.
In its written response, the FDA said it disagreed with the conclusion that studies support the classification of aspartame as a probable human carcinogen. “FDA scientists reviewed the scientific information contained in the [International Agency for Research on Cancer’s] reviewed in 2021 when it was first made available and identified significant deficiencies in the studies,” an FDA spokesperson wrote in an email. safety concerns for aspartame at current and unchanged levels of use Acceptable Daily Intake….”
Scientists have called for longer-term studies, pointing out that it can take decades for cancer to develop after exposure to a carcinogen. “I think there are actually very few long-term studies, surprisingly,” says Dr. William Dahutscientific director at the American Cancer Society.
People want a simple yes or no answer about whether consuming aspartame can increase cancer risk. “We don’t have proof yet,” he said. Most human studies don’t actually track how much aspartame people consume over time, so there’s a gray area.
One link that needs further evaluation is whether aspartame increases inflammation in the body, which may increase cancer risk. “We are actually doing our own research in that area,” says Dahut.
Dahut says the possible link to cancer from aspartame is much less clear than with things like obesity and smoking, but he says it should be eaten with caution. “Since there may be a link, it makes sense to limit a person’s intake until more definitive studies are available,” Dahut advises.
The Beverage Association of America, a lobbying group that includes The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo and Keurig Dr Pepper, said the WHO’s decision to replace “acceptable daily intake” established earlier reinforces the FDA’s position. “Aspartame is safe,” said Kevin Keane, interim president and chief executive officer of American Beverage, in response to the World Health Organization’s assessment of aspartame.
There is conflicting evidence about whether diet soda helps people control weight or cut calories. Studies have gone in both directions. Although the WHO analysis points to a lack of long-term benefit, several studies have shown that Swapping out calorie drinks for a zero-calorie replacement can be helpful.
“For people who are currently consuming diet soda, the worst decision may be to switch to regular sugar-sweetened soda,” says the doctor. Walter Willett of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. Sugary drinks may increase the risk of obesity and Type 2 diabetes. Willett says: “The best drinks for everyday consumption are water, coffee and tea.
Willett sees evidence linking aspartame to cancer in frail individuals, and although the long-term consequences are uncertain, he sees a role for diet soda in people trying to control weight. weight and limit sugar intake. He likens diet soda to a nicotine patch: “It can be helpful for some people to get rid of dependence, but not the best long-term solution.”
