Hot search first! Aspartame may cause cancer？ Can these drinks be drunk？

On June 29th, "Aspartame causes cancer"

This topic topped the hot search list.

Arouse a heated discussion among netizens.

It is reported that the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a subsidiary of the World Health Organization, held an expert meeting in early June to evaluate whether some products are potentially dangerous based on all published evidence. At the meeting, it was determined that aspartame "may be carcinogenic to human body". At the same time, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) is also reviewing the use of aspartame and will announce the results in July.

WHO responded to the media that it will publish relevant content on this topic on July 14th, but did not disclose the specific content.

According to the Washington Post on the 22nd, aspartame is one of the most common artificial sweeteners in the world. Last year, a study in France showed that eating a large amount of aspartame may increase the risk of cancer in adults, and the United States began to re-examine this sweetener. The American Beverage Association, as the representative of beverage manufacturers, and related industry organizations refute this conclusion. Officials from the American Beverage Association said that aspartame is generally considered safe by the scientific and regulatory circles, which is the conclusion reached by food safety agencies around the world again and again.

Aspartame is the most common synthetic sweetener, such as sugar-free cola and Sprite, which is used to replace sucrose. At present, many foods and beverages labeled as "sugar-free" on the market, such as Coca-Cola diet soda, Mars Extra chewing gum and some Snapple drinks, actually use sweeteners such as aspartame.

Many netizens began to feel nervous:

Reviews from netizens

@Icomtys: Put down my diet coke immediately.

@Hellen wants to teach and educate people: What else can you eat? What to drink?

What’s delicious about coriander? Fortunately, I don’t like sweetness.

@ 京京: I will never eat anything but sugary cola.

@ Tiger Mom Return: My family has diabetes, and there has always been a saying that I should not eat aspartame.

The food and beverage circle began to express its position.

Have a brand emergency response

Aspartame will be listed as a "possible carcinogen". As soon as the news came out, associations and companies in the food and beverage circle stood up and expressed their views.

Kate Loatman, executive director of the International Beverage Association (ICBA), said that IARC’s statement is contrary to a large number of high-quality scientific research conclusions for a long time, or it may mislead consumers to give up safe sugar-free and low-sugar choices and consume more sugar instead. "We still believe in the safety of aspartame because we have conducted safety assessments with food safety authorities from more than 90 countries." Kate Loatman said.

The response of the International Beverage Association also stated that, contrary to the conclusion of IARC, a review report issued by WHO, the parent organization of IARC, in April 2022 showed that there was "no obvious correlation" between high consumption of low-calorie or calorie-free sweeteners and cancer mortality, and it would not cause any form of cancer.

Frances Hunt-Wood, secretary-general of the International Sweetener Association (ISA), accused "IARC is not a food safety agency" and believed that the agency’s evaluation of aspartame "is not comprehensive in science, because it is based on many widely questioned studies and may mislead consumers." Many members of this association include Mars Wrigley and Coca-Cola, both of which have introduced products containing aspartame.

In addition, some China brands immediately distanced themselves from aspartame.

The person in charge of Naixue’s tea said that in November last year, all products had been upgraded with the natural sugar substitute "Luohan"; Siraitia grosvenorii is a medicinal and edible plant, and its extract "Siraitia grosvenorii sugar" is a natural sweet fructose substance.

On the other hand, Yuanqi Forest said that the company’s entire line of products also does not contain aspartame. "Yuanqi Forest ingredients list is cleaner, and Yuanqi Forest Coke has 0 sugar, 0 fat, 0 card and 0 aspartame."

Sugar-free drinks are healthier?

The harm of sweeteners may be underestimated by us.

Aspartame is one of the most commonly used sweeteners. We use aspartame in familiar sugar-free drinks such as "Coke Zero".

Many people know the harm of excessive sugar intake, which will increase the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even cancer. The emergence of artificial sweeteners and sugar substitutes seems to help people avoid the harm caused by excessive sugar intake, and at the same time satisfy the taste. But is this really the case?

In 2021, it was reported by the media that Mr. Kong (pseudonym), 30, likes to drink carbonated drinks, but he is worried that drinking too many sugary drinks will lead to obesity and diabetes. He fills the refrigerator with "sugar-free" or "zero sugar" drinks and drinks at least 4 or 5 bottles every day. Later, Mr. Kong always felt thirsty and his urine output increased, so he went to the hospital. After the doctor knew the course and history of the disease in detail, combined with typical symptoms such as polydipsia and polyuria, and improved the examination in time, Mr. Kong was diagnosed as the first onset-diabetes complicated with ketoacidosis.

Tan Jinmei, a physician of nephrology endocrinology at Wuhan Yangtze River Shipping General Hospital and Wuhan Brain Hospital, explained that sugar-free does not mean that there is no sugar, but it does not contain sucrose, glucose and other sugar-increasing components, and various forms of artificial sweeteners are used instead. Once the sweetener is consumed too much, it will not only stimulate the production of insulin, affect the sensitivity of insulin receptors, but also increase appetite reflexively, leading to excessive calories. Therefore, Mr. Kong’s long-term drinking of sugar-free drinks instead of normal drinking water has accelerated the metabolism of the body out of control and caused diabetes.

Studies have shown that the sweetness of sweeteners can make people feel that they have eaten sugary food, which in turn stimulates the human body to produce insulin, leading to a drop in blood sugar, which makes people feel hungry and increase their appetite. Although the "sweetener" in sugar-free drinks has zero calories, long-term intake of artificial sugar substitutes will lead to insulin endocrine imbalance, which will lead to human metabolism disorder.

On September 7, 2022, researchers from the World Health Organization, the French National Center for Health and Medical Research and the University of Paris published a research paper in the top medical journal BMJ. This study shows that artificial sweeteners are not a healthy and safe substitute for sugar, and higher intake of artificial sweeteners increases the risk of heart disease and stroke.

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Original title: "Hot search first! Aspartame may cause cancer? Can these drinks be drunk? 》

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