Artificial Sweetener Dangers
If you consume the artificial sweetener aspartame—also known by the brand names NutraSweet and Equal—you may be making a deadly mistake.
A recent study by the Ramazzini Foundation concluded that aspartame was directly related to an increased risk of developing leukemia, lymphoma and breast cancer.
In the study, rats were fed between 20 and 100 milligrams of aspartame per kilogram of body weight in order to mimic the amount of the sweetener some humans would consume. The lower dosage can be compared to a 50 lb child drinking 2.5 cans of Diet Pepsi or Diet Coke each day, and a 150 lb adult drinking 7.5 cans. The study found that even the rats fed the lower dose of aspartame were more prone to develop cancer.
Don’t think you’re off the hook because you only drink a couple diet beverages a day. Aspartame is also found in many other food products, such as sugar-free candy, chewing gum and dessert, instant breakfasts, wine coolers, yogurt, gelatin, juice beverages, and even over-the-counter and prescription drugs (listed under “inactive ingredients”).
Together, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), as well as a dozen toxicology and epidemiology experts, are asking the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to review the study and change aspartames safety rating.
Michael F. Jacobson, executive director of CSPI said that, “…consumers, particularly parents, shouldn’t wait for the FDA to act. People shouldn’t panic, but they should stop buying beverages and foods containing aspartame.”
[Source: Article in Consumer Reports, June 27, 2007]