WHO says soda sweetener aspartame may cause cancer, but it's safe within limits

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: CNBC

The World Health Organization on Thursday classified the soda sweetener aspartame as a possible carcinogen, but said it is safe for people to consume within the recommended daily limit.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer, a WHO body, identified a possible link between aspartame and a type of liver cancer called hepatocellular carcinoma after reviewing three large human studies conducted in the U.S. and Europe that examined artificially sweetened beverages.

Aspartame is used in Diet Coke, Pepsi Zero Sugar and other diet sodas, as well as some chewing gum and various Snapple drinks. Artificially sweetened beverages have historically been the biggest source of exposure to aspartame, according to Lancet Oncology. Dr. Mary Schubauer-Berigan, a senior official at IARC, emphasized that the classification of aspartame as a possible carcinogen is based on limited evidence.

The three studies could have been influenced by chance, bias or other flaws, Schubauer-Berigan noted. More research is needed to determine whether consumption of the artificial sweetener can actually lead to cancer, she said. “This shouldn’t really be taken as a direct statement that indicates that there is a known cancer hazard from consuming aspartame,” Schubauer-Berigan told journalists during a press conference Wednesday before the findings were released to the public.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/13/who-soda-sweetener-aspartame-may-cause-cancer-but-safe-within-limits.html

[Ferrets are Cool]

1. Class action lawsuits flooding the airwaves in 3,2,1...

[BumRushDaShow]

2. That product has been the subject of many lawsuits (including class actions)

over the past almost 50 years since it was first approved.

[kimbutgar]

3. I read about this 20 years ago about the dangers of aspartame.

I remember reading it can also cause diabetes.

[BumRushDaShow]

5. It may have been longer ago than that

It had been pulled from the market back in the early '80s but reinstated and has been under assault ever since.

It had come out as a sort of replacement for the earlier "Sweet'n Low" saccharin-based sugar substitute that was an older product also thought to be cancer-causing at some point (but then that was back-tracked because the data based on mouse studies was not aligning with how humans were eventually found to metabolize the product). I remember something along the line of how the testing had been done where the concentration used amounted to feeding the mice the equivalent of 800 cans of soda or something like that.

[LizBeth]

4. I was told you would have to consume such an incredible amount that is to capable of consuming

in order for there to be a possibility. Otherwise I am shit out of luck cause have been drinking since 18'ish.

[Omaha Steve]

6. Now that I have diabetes II, I don't drink diet pop

I drink Sparkling Ice drinks. No sugar. Better taste.

https://www.sparklingice.com/flavors/classics/

[BumRushDaShow]

7. "Pop"

So midwest!!

(it's SODA!!! )

[Effete Snob]

9. I thought he was addressing his father

My Pop and Pop-pop went to the Pops and drank so much pop they went “Pop!”

[BumRushDaShow]

10. Could have been this too

[Rhiannon12866]

11. LOL! When my cousin from Colorado visited, she ordered, "pop" when we went out to dinner

And the waiter had no idea what she was talking about...

[Ferrets are Cool]

13. Not in the south. If you are drinking a "soda" you're drinking a coke.

Not Coke, but a coke. Or MAYBE a Cola. But never a pop or a soda.

[Bayard]

16. Coke was always just a generic term when I was growing up

And still is. I never heard pop until I got further north.

[BumRushDaShow]

19. I went to UMASS for college and up there they call it a "tonic"

I mean, to me, "tonic" has a specific meaning as "tonic water", but "soda" (or "pop" ) was called a "tonic" there and drinking water fountains were called "bubblers".

[Greybnk48]

15. You must be from Wisconsin! n/t

[AwakeAtLast]

21. I think those have sucralose in them?

Taste better, yes, but still an artificial sweetener. The peach/apricot is my favorite!

[Zeitghost]

22. Those are just different diet sodas

It's flavored, caffeinated, carbonated water with an artificial sweeter. No different than Diet Coke or Pepsi.

[Omaha Steve]

23. Only the canned version is caffeinated

And the taste is much better.

[Zeitghost]

24. They look good

But still diet soda. Which is fine, I just don't understand the desire to differentiate.

[JohnnyRingo]

8. Somebody get Trump another diet Coke. n/t

[Rhiannon12866]

12. My immediate thought, too...

[niyad]

14. It is not safe within limits if one is highly allergic, sorry.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

17. Neither is shellfish.

That's not the point.

[robbob]

18. Besides, what are the safe limits?

I have some friends who, for whatever reasons (stopped drinking alcohol? gave up smoking?) took up diet sofa to satisfy their cravings, and now go through a large 1.5 litre bottle a day. Is that “within limits”?

[Danascot]

20. What famous idiot drinks a ton of diet coke?

Oh yeah, tfg. It's obvious it hasn't done him any good.