Saccharin, aspartame and cancer risk

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Cancer risk and consumption of arificial sweeteners especially saccharin, aspartame

• There has been an ongoing controversy over the health risks especially cancer risks due to consumption of artificial non-nutritive sweeteners like saccharin and aspartame. Most of the data about cancer risk has been based on animal studies. Question arises: What is the human data on cancer risk due to artificial sweeteners due to saccharin and/or aspartame.

  Gallus and colleagues from Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Milan, Italy.provided an analysis of the integrated network of case-control studies between 1991 and 2004 in Italy on variety of cancers. The findings were published in the journal Annals of Oncology. The odds ratios for saccharin use and cancer risk are as follows:

  • Oropharynx 0.83 (95% CI 0.30-2.29)
  • Esophagus 1.58 (95% CI 0.59-4.25)
  • Colon 0.95 (95% CI 0.67-1.35)
  • Rectum 0.93 (95% CI 0.60-1.45)
  • Larynx 1.55 (95% CI 0.76-3.16)
  • Breast 1.01 (95% CI 0.77-1.33)
  • Ovaries 0.46 (95% CI 0.29-0.74) --------------Reduced risk
  • Prostate 0.91 (95% CI 0.59-1.40)
  • Kidneys 0.79 (95% CI 0.49-1.28)

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• Oral cavity and pharynx 0.77 (95% CI 0.39-1.53)
• Esophagus 0.77 (95% CI 0.34-1.75)
• Colon cancer 0.90 (95% CI 0.70-1.16)
• Rectum 0.71 (95% CI 0.50-1.02)
• Larynx 1.62 (95% CI 0.84-3.14)
• Breast cancer 0.80 (95% CI 0.65-0.97) --------Reduced risk
• Ovaries  0.75 (95% CI 0.56-1.00)
• Prostate 1.23 (95% CI 0.86-1.76)
• Kidneys 1.03 (95% CI 0.73-1.46)

In fact there was a significant less likelihood with use of total sweeteners and the risk for breast and ovarian cancer. On the other hand, there was a significant trend for total sweetener consumption and for laryngeal cancer.

Conclusion of the study: The authors concluded that there is a lack of association between saccharin, aspartame and other sweeteners and the risk of several common neoplasms.

Update of above analysis for more cancers and sweetener risk: Bosetti and colleagues examined the role of sweeteners on cancer risk especially saccharin and other artificial or low-calorie sweeteners including aspartame. They conducted an update of their analysis of an integrated network of case-control studies conducted in Italy between 1991 and 2004 including data on cancers of the stomach, pancreas, and endometrium. The findings were published in the journal Cancer Epidemio Biomarkers Prev (2009).

The invesigators found that after adjusting for confounding factors, odds ratios (indicating less or more risk; if you just want conclusions, just scroll down) ever users of sweeteners versus nonusers were as follows:

• Gastric cancer 0.80 (95% CI, 0.45-1.43)
• Pancreatic cancer 0.62 (95% CI, 0.37-1.04)
• Endometrial cancer 0.96 (95% CI, 0.67-1.40)

Conclusions of the updated cancer risk study: The authors concluded that the findings lent further support to the evidence on the absence of an adverse effect of low-calorie sweetener (including aspartame) consumption on the risk of common cancers in the Italian population.

What do you think about the health risks due to artificial sweetners including cancer and metabolic risks? please share your thoughts. 

 

 

Comments

[cialis online]

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[SPDT4CANCERUSA]

This is a very interesting article. Given that I'm not an MD or Oncologist, I can't comment medically with regard these matters, however I have had personal experience with regard the link to aspartame and ovarian Ca'. A friend was diagnosed with ovarian Ca' and was told quite categorically by her oncologist that the large amounts of aspartame she had consumed over many years contributed to her condition. I have heard this from other patients also. My own personal opinion is that Ca' can be caused by many varying factors and also that different cultures or countries have vastly different occurence of Ca'. This study (above) was done on Italian population? My question is, what if the study was done on the American population, or Chinese population? (for example).

I recently read a study which claimed that men in Japan smoke double the amount of cigarettes than men in America, yet men in Japan have half the incidence of Ca'. In conclusion, I would suggest that the study group must be taken into consideration. Each culture has varying eating habits, activity habits - also, environmental factors must be taken into consideration. I believe that any/all artificial, man-made or genetically modified food products contribute in some way to ill-health of the human body, but also, there are ways (such as regular detoxification) to help to counter-act these negative side effects. We must all take responsibility for our own health, and we must not negate the growing incidence of Ca' and other diseases over the past 60 years (approx).. and it's during this past 60 years (approx) that all of these artificial etc products have entered our daily lives. Also it is during these past 60 years (approx) that wireless and micro-wave energy have also entered our lives (cell phones, computers, microwave ovens etc). All these factors take a toll on the human body - a toll that perhaps we are just starting to see now and will continue to see in generations to come.

The up-side of all this, is that we have come a long way in medicine, and that modalities such as stem-cell therapies, nano technology, energy based medical treatments (light & sound) are the now and the future of medicine. This seems to be a good road for medicine, where less toxic and more natural treatments are coming to the forefront - creating Integrated Medical treatments. We have learned alot over the past decades, and the next few decades will also prove to be interesting and very revealing for us all.

Thank you for sharing, brightest blessings.
Gabriella

[Tadalis]

People in the study who used this artificial sweetener had no greater risk of bladder cancer than people in the population as a whole. Aspartame and saccharin continue to be blamed for a wide variety of ills, even though research has shown them to be safe if eaten in reasonable amounts.
Aspartame, marketed as Nutrasweet, has been the target of an intense negative internet campaign claiming that it causes many diseases, including lupus and multiple sclerosis. However, researchers on these diseases discount any connection.