The Full Breakdown of Potential Dangers of Aspartame the Artificial Sweetener
How Aspartame, a Low-calorie Synthetic Sugar Substitute, May Pose Health Risks When Consumed Excessively.
Aspartame is a popular sugar substitute that many people use to enjoy sweet foods and drinks without adding extra calories. But is it really a good choice?
A new study by three authoritative health organizations, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) has looked into the potential cancer risk of aspartame.
In this article, I will first briefly overview the study’s main conclusions, and then delve into what they mean for you and your health. Whether you are in a hurry or eager to learn more, I hope you will find this article useful and enlightening.
Overview
According to the study, based on limited evidence, aspartame was classified as a possible carcinogen to the liver (Group 2B) by IARC. The Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) reaffirmed the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of aspartame at 40mg/kg.
The study relied on various sources of scientific data, including peer-reviewed papers, governmental reports and studies conducted for regulatory purposes.
The study also verified the independence, credibility and validity of the evaluations by independent experts.
What is Aspartame?
Aspartame is a type of artificial sweetener discovered in 1965 that many people use instead of sugar to make their food and drinks taste sweet without adding too many calories.
Aspartame is 150–200 sweeter than table sugar, so you only need a small amount to get the same sweetness. Aspartame can also be found in many low-calorie products, such as diet sodas, yoghurt, chewing gum, and some medicines.
Aspartame is a sweetener that consists of two amino acids, which are natural components of proteins. When you consume aspartame, your body splits it into its amino acids, called aspartic acid and phenylalanine, and another substance called methanol.
Back to the Study
The research involved two groups of experts with different perspectives on aspartame:
- IARC as a branch of WHO that focuses on finding out what causes cancer.
- JECFA as a committee that evaluates the safety of substances added to food.
1. IARC Findings
A group of 25 experts from different countries came together in Lyon, France, in June 2023. They had no personal or financial interest in the topic they were studying.
They looked at all the research that had been done or shared publicly on whether aspartame, a common artificial sweetener, can cause cancer in humans and animals. They also looked at how aspartame might affect the cells and the body in ways that could lead to cancer.
The experts said aspartame could be a human carcinogen (Group 2B), but they were uncertain. Group 2B means possibly cancer-causing. See the image below for IARC’s classification groups.
The experts based their opinion on limited evidence for liver cancer in humans. Among the research on humans, there were only three studies that looked at how drinking artificially sweetened drinks might be related to liver cancer.
In these studies, drinking artificially sweetened drinks was used as a way to measure how much aspartame people were exposed to, because they knew when and where aspartame was used in drinks.
In all three studies, they found that people who drank more artificially sweetened drinks had a higher risk of liver cancer, either in general or in some groups of people, but they could not rule out other factors that might explain the results.
The group of experts also said that there was limited evidence for cancer in animals. They saw that more tumours appeared in two types of animals, mice and rats, of both males and females, in three published studies.
However, they had some doubts about how the studies were done, and how the data were interpreted and reported. Therefore, they said that the evidence for cancer in animals was limited.
Furthermore, the group of experts said that there was limited evidence that aspartame might have some features of substances that can cause cancer, based on consistent and clear evidence that aspartame might cause damage and stress to the cells and the body in experiments.
They also found some evidence that aspartame might cause inflammation and changes in cell functions that are related to cancer in experiments.
2. JECFA Findings
A group of 13 members and 13 experts from 15 countries, who had no personal or financial interest in the topic, met in Geneva from 27 June to 6 July 2023.
The group agreed that there was no strong evidence from studies in animals or humans that aspartame causes any harm after eating or drinking it.
This is because aspartame is completely broken down in the gut into parts that are the same as those found in many other foods, and none of it gets into the blood as it is.
The group said that the data they looked at did not show any need to change the safe amount of aspartame that people can have per day, which is 0–40 mg for every kg of body weight. The group confirmed this safe amount for aspartame.
For someone who weighs 70 kilograms, 2 800 mg of Aspartame can be consumed without any adverse effects. That’s equivalent to 9 to 14 cans of 330-millilitre soda per day.
However, this does not mean that you should drink that much soda every day. Soda can have other negative effects on health, such as an increased risk of obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay.
Conclusion
To sum up, aspartame is a common artificial sweetener that has been thoroughly researched and assessed by various health authorities. The most recent reviews by IARC and JECFA have come to different opinions on the potential carcinogenicity of aspartame, based on the existing evidence from animal and human studies.
However, both reviews have confirmed the safety of aspartame at the current acceptable daily intake levels. Therefore, consumers can still enjoy aspartame-containing products as part of a balanced diet, without fearing any adverse health effects.
However, it is also important to be mindful of the total amount of aspartame consumed from different sources and to limit the intake of other sugary or carbonated drinks that may have negative effects on health. As always, moderation is key.
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