despite a recent report linking aspartame with cancer, the FDA doesn’t think there’s any reason to review its safety—man, that FDA sure is progressive. More from Reuters:At least it seems that way. Because
Morando Soffritti of the Ramazzini Foundation in Bologna, Italy, and colleagues tested aspartame in rats, which they allowed to live until they died naturally.Personally, I avoid artificial sweeteners like the plague. They’re fake, chemically created junk—why chance it? Dr. Fuhrman doesn’t trust them either. In Eat to Live he calls a spade a spade, take a look:
Their study of more than 4,000 rats showed a lifetime of eating high doses of the sweetener raised the likelihood of several types of cancer.
"On the basis of the present findings, we believe that a review of the current regulations governing the use of aspartame cannot be delayed," Soffritti's team wrote in the journal Environmental Health Perspectivesexternal, which is published by the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
"This review is particularly urgent with regard to aspartame-containing beverages, heavily consumed by children."
FDA spokesman Michael Herndon said the agency had not yet reviewed the study.
"However, the conclusions from this second European Ramazzini Foundation are not consistent with those from the large number of studies on aspartame that have been evaluated by FDA, including five previously conducted negative chronic carcinogenicity studies," Herndon said in an e-mail.
"Therefore, at this time, FDA finds no reason to alter its previous conclusion that aspartame is safe as a general purpose sweetener in food."
Sweeteners cause brain tumors and seizures in animals, a legitimate health concern exists, despite the FDA’s declaration that aspartame is safe. In the past twenty years, brain tumor rates have risen in several industrialized countries, including the United States. Aspartame was introduced to the American market several years prior to the shaper increase in brain tumor incidence.1 This suggests to me that the potential danger of aspartame should more carefully studied.Dr. Fuhrman goes on to explain that aspartame plays into our dangerous food addictions—not good—and here’s why, back to Eat to Live:
Clearly this is a controversial subject because much of the research documenting the so-called safety of aspartame was financed by the aspartame industry, and a huge amount of political and monetary pressure led to eventual FDA approval. My opinion is that the possible dangers of aspartame are still unknown. Utilizing such artificial products is gambling with your health. Aspartame also exposes us to a methyl ester that may have toxic effects. I recommend playing it safe and sticking to natural foods. Getting rid of your addictions to unsafe substances is valuable in achieving long-term success.1. Olney, J.W., N.B. Farber, E. Spitznagel, and L.N. Robins. 1996. Increasing brain tumor rates: is there a link to aspartame? J. Neuropathol. Exp. Neurol. 55(11): 1115-23.