Aspartame - Is it a possible carcinogen?

Lamont D

Oracle
Messages
15,950
Type of diabetes
Reactive hypoglycemia
Treatment type
I do not have diabetes
It is well known in medical research that aspartame is a industrial sugar substitute that can be harmful and be addictive. Why has taken so long to find another safe alternative?
 
  • Agree
Reactions: AloeSvea

fbirder

Member
Messages
6
Type of diabetes
Type 2
It’s classified as 2b.

So is,

Carpentry and Joinery.
Gasoline (Petrol)
Pickled vegetables (traditional Asian)
Melamine
Carbon Black
Titanium Oxide. Found in white paint
Metronidazole (a common antibiotic)
Acetaldehyde (a metabolite of ethanol)
Ginkgo biloba

And hundreds of others, listed here. blob:https://monographs.iarc.who.int/b5c119ee-0101-4057-b7e1-5614e50759aa
 

Case_

Member
Messages
11
You know what the absolutely key thing about "possibly carcinogenic" is? Dose/quantity.
Many things that are normally consumed and considered harmless can be very harmful in large(r) quantitites. As far as I know, aspartame has never been reliably proven to cause any health issues (it also wouldn't be used if it did). The only (and still inconclusive) evidence about it possibly being harmful I recall was always tied to large doses many times over a normally used limit.

Also, as pointed out, there are *many* things in the same 2B category ("There is some evidence that it can cause cancer in humans but at present it is far from conclusive"), including (as metioned) ginkgo biloba or aloe vera.

And then there's also the 2A category ("There is strong evidence that it can cause cancer in humans, but at present it is not conclusive"), classified as "probably carcinogenic" (as opposed to "possibly"). You know what is considered part of that category? Eating red meat, night shift work, working as a barber/hairdresser or drinking beverages above 65°C.

So, you know, if you happen to be a barber or work nights, it might be prudent to limit your aloe vera exposure. You might still get cancer, because cancer is far more complicated than exposure to specific things and, in a way, it's also inherent to advances in medicine and health care (because many people who nowadays get cancer would simply not live long enough to get it before), but if you're worried about aspartame being carcinogenic, I guess it might make you feel better.
 
  • Like
Reactions: fbirder

Oldvatr

Expert
Messages
8,470
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
It’s classified as 2b.

So is,

Carpentry and Joinery.
Gasoline (Petrol)
Pickled vegetables (traditional Asian)
Melamine
Carbon Black
Titanium Oxide. Found in white paint
Metronidazole (a common antibiotic)
Acetaldehyde (a metabolite of ethanol)
Ginkgo biloba

And hundreds of others, listed here. blob:https://monographs.iarc.who.int/b5c119ee-0101-4057-b7e1-5614e50759aa
That page cannot be found. It finds the IARC monograph page on the site, but not the link within the site

This one seems to work
 
  • Like
Reactions: fbirder
Messages
1
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Another may, maybe, hmmm does it? I do not care, the taste of aspartame in soft drinks tastes disgusting! Maybe the feelings I get if I drink some by mistake will give me cancer!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Paule Foster

Oldvatr

Expert
Messages
8,470
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Another may, maybe, hmmm does it? I do not care, the taste of aspartame in soft drinks tastes disgusting! Maybe the feelings I get if I drink some by mistake will give me cancer!
Speaking of drinking, alcohol is Class 1- evidenced carcinogen. Ethanol in alcohol converts directly to acetaldehyde in the liver.
 

Godzilla461

Newbie
Messages
3
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I am by no means an expert. But, I am a type 2 diabetic with some history of heart trouble.
I was discovered a diabetic in January of 1998. Immediately began a diabetic diet, which included diet colas. Around 2006 I had a mild heart attack and had 3 medicated stents put in.
Shortly after that my heart doctor discovered that I had an irregular heart beat. The wrong cell of my heart was beating 3 out of every 10 beats.
At first he thought it was being caused by coffee. I stopped drinking coffee. But, it didn't stop the irregular heart beat.
Since I knew Aspertain has some adverse side effects in some people. And, the aspertain in diet colas was only thing I could think of that might be effecting my heart. I stopped drinking them.
Within 3 days my irregular heart beat disappeared. And, it has not returned. I started drinking coffee again, about a pot full of more every day. But, still no irregular heart beat.
Don't know about for others. But, I know that aspertain is a dangerous thing for people to consume. If you or someone you know has similar heart problems, blind spots in their sight and/or suffering memory loss, stay away from anything containing Aspertain. It might save your life.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: Outlier and Oldvatr

Oldvatr

Expert
Messages
8,470
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I am by no means an expert. But, I am a type 2 diabetic with some history of heart trouble.
I was discovered a diabetic in January of 1998. Immediately began a diabetic diet, which included diet colas. Around 2006 I had a mild heart attack and had 3 medicated stents put in.
Shortly after that my heart doctor discovered that I had an irregular heart beat. The wrong cell of my heart was beating 3 out of every 10 beats.
At first he thought it was being caused by coffee. I stopped drinking coffee. But, it didn't stop the irregular heart beat.
Since I knew Aspertain has some adverse side effects in some people. And, the aspertain in diet colas was only thing I could think of that might be effecting my heart. I stopped drinking them.
Within 3 days my irregular heart beat disappeared. And, it has not returned. I started drinking coffee again, about a pot full of more every day. But, still no irregular heart beat.
Don't know about for others. But, I know that aspertain is a dangerous thing for people to consume. If you or someone you know has similar heart problems, blind spots in their sight and/or suffering memory loss, stay away from anything containing Aspertain. It might save your life.
I went through a phase of life when I was suffering from ectopic heartbeats where my heart would insert an extra beat every so often. My job was at that time quite stressful, so I put it down to that, but my consultant reckoned I was drinking too much coffee. He was right but it was not the coffee. I was using the factory drinks dispensing machine, and it was plastered with signs saying "Warning. Contains Apartame" and so when I stopped drinking the coffee from there, Lo and behold my ectopic heartbeat settled down. It has not returned since, although I drink a lot of coffee.
 

Oldvatr

Expert
Messages
8,470
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I note that some of the news reports show a picture of some products that contain artificial sweeteners.

One of the products shown is a pack of Splenda. That sweetener is NOT aspartame based, it is sucralose based. The trade names for Apartame as a table sweetener are Equal and Nutrasweet.