Do Artificial Sweeteners Increase Your Cancer Risk?

AHA Publisher — Fri, 06 May 2022 07:00:31 +0000

Ethan Boldt via Dr. Axe – The widespread use of artificial sweeteners occurred, at the end of the day, because food and beverage manufacturers saw a business opportunity: They could tease their low-calorie foods or even zero-calorie drinks to potential customers who were looking to cut back on their calorie and sugar consumption. The bonus sounded too good to be true: You could enjoy the taste (okay, not quite like the real thing but close) of a soda or some chewing gum, for example, but without the calories, all the while helping your trim down. A win-win, right? That, of course, is not how it’s worked out. Already linked to worsening several chronic diseases, now artificial sweeteners are definitively linked to one of the worst diseases: cancer. Study: Artificial Sweeteners and Cancer Risk While artificial sweeteners were already linked to several chronic diseases, a group of French researchers noted the safety of these food additives remains a debated topic and conflicting reports abound. “In particular, their carcinogenicity has been suggested by several experimental studies, but robust epidemiological evidence is lacking.” Therefore, their objective was to examine the associations between artificial sweetener intakes and cancer risk, and this type of study was the first of its kind (investigating intakes as well as different types of sweeteners). The most commonly consumed artificial sweeteners were aspartame, acesulfame-K and sucralose, so they received the most scrutiny. Over 100,000 French adults were included in the study, with a median follow-up time of just under 8 years. Dietary intakes and consumption of sweeteners were tracked daily. Meanwhile, adjusted for other factors, links between sweeteners and cancer were assessed. In the end, researchers found a link between some artificial sweeteners — especially aspartame and acesulfame-K — and an increased risk for cancer. Higher risks were also recognized for breast cancer and obesity-related cancers. What It Means Simply put, these results suggest that artificial sweeteners “may represent a modifiable risk factor for cancer prevention,” says the authors. Remove them from your diet, lower your cancer risk. Seems like a no-brainer. Ultimately, of course, such a finding will also apply pressure to health and safety agencies across the world when it comes to the regulation of foods, beverages and other products that use artificial sweeteners. Study authors are already asking the European Food Safety Authority to re-evaluate food additive sweeteners. How to Avoid Artificial Sweeteners 1. Remove all products that contain artificial sweeteners from your diet Maybe you’re one of those people who eat a pretty healthy diet and consider a diet soda, for example, part of that approach. This study should dispel that notion. While many so-called diet foods and drinks can even be addictive, this study proves that these products are not worth the risk (i.e. cancer risk). 2. Do a solid label check to make sure artificial sweeteners aren’t sneaking into your diet The diet sodas and “sugar-free” chewing gums are pretty obvious. But did you know that artificial sweeteners are often found in fiber supplements, flavored water, meal replacement bars, sports drinks, yogurt and even vegetable juice?! Scour that nutrition label before purchasing. 3. Opt for natural low-calorie sweetener instead We’re not advocating that you suddenly switch back to sugar for your bit of sweetness (though a little can’t hurt you). Instead, try the many great natural sugar substitutes that exist today, such as no-calorie options stevia and monk fruit as well as natural sweeteners raw honey, maple syrup, banana puree and dates. For example, it’s easy to find soda, gum and even protein powder that’s sweetness comes from stevia rather than artificial sweetener. To read the original article click here.

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Artificial Sweeteners May Not Be Safe Sugar Alternatives

AHA Publisher — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 07:00:43 +0000

PLOS via Newswise – Artificial sweeteners reduce added sugar content and corresponding calories while maintaining sweetness. A study publishing March 24th in PLOS Medicine by Charlotte Debras and Mathilde Touvier at the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research (Inserm) and Sorbonne Paris Nord University, France and colleagues suggests that some artificial sweeteners are associated with increased cancer risk. Many food products and beverages containing artificial sweeteners are consumed by millions of people daily. However, the safety of these additives has been a subject of debate. To evaluate the potential carcinogenicity of artificial sweeteners, researchers analyzed data from 102,865 French adults participating in the NutriNet-Santé study. The NutriNet-Santé study is an ongoing web-based cohort initiated in 2009 by the Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN). Participants enroll voluntarily and self-report medical history, sociodemographic, diet, lifestyle, and health data. Researchers gathered data concerning artificial sweetener intake from 24-hour dietary records. After collecting cancer diagnosis information during follow-up, the researchers conducted statistical analyses to investigate the associations between artificial sweetener intakes and cancer risk. They also adjusted for a range of variables including age, sex, education, physical activity, smoking, body mass index, height, weight-gain during follow-up, diabetes, family history of cancer, as well as baseline intakes of energy, alcohol, sodium, saturated fatty acids, fiber, sugar, whole-grain foods, and dairy products. The researchers found that enrollees consuming larger quantities of artificial sweeteners, particularly aspartame and acesulfame-K, had higher risk of overall cancer compared to non-consumers (hazard ratio 1.13, 95% confidence interval 1.03 to 1.25). Higher risks were observed for breast cancer and obesity-related cancers. The study had several important limitations; dietary intakes are self-reported. Selection bias may also have been a factor, as participants were more likely to be women, to have higher educational levels, and to exhibit health-conscious behaviors. The observational nature of the study also means that residual confounding is possible and reverse causality cannot be ruled out. Additional research will be required to confirm the findings and clarify the underlying mechanisms. According to the authors, “Our findings do not support the use of artificial sweeteners as safe alternatives for sugar in foods or beverages and provide important and novel information to address the controversies about their potential adverse health effects. While these results need to be replicated in other large-scale cohorts and underlying mechanisms clarified by experimental studies, they provide important and novel insights for the ongoing re-evaluation of food additive sweeteners by the European Food Safety Authority and other health agencies globally”. Debras adds, “Results from the NutriNet-Santé cohort (n=102,865) suggest that artificial sweeteners found in many food and beverage brands worldwide may be associated with increased cancer risk, in line with several experimental in vivo / in vitro studies. These findings provide novel information for the re-evaluation of these food additives by health agencies.” To read the original article click here.

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Do Artificial Sweeteners Increase Your Cancer Risk?

Artificial Sweeteners May Not Be Safe Sugar Alternatives