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Hello:
The latest findings on Aspartame revealed that it causes cancer. This was mentioned on the news (ABC) a week or two ago, along with the admission that Teflon also causes cancer. Here is an article:
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Increased Cancer Incidence Associated with Low-Dose Aspartame Intake
More than 20 years have elapsed since aspartame was approved by regulatory agencies as an artificial sweetener. But scientists draw conclusions on carcinogenicity based on the evidence available at the time, and new research out of the European Ramazzini Foundation of Oncology and Environmental Sciences bolsters recent calls for reconsideration of regulations governing aspartame's widespread use in order to better protect public health, particularly that of children [EHP 114: 379-385; Soffritti et al.].
The researchers added aspartame to the standard diet of Sprague-Dawley rats, using dosages designed to simulate a wide range of human intakes. Each rat was observed from 8 weeks of age until death. This is in contrast with earlier studies that typically sacrificed animals between 104 and 110 weeks of age, corresponding to about two-thirds of a rat's lifespan (in humans, approximately 80% of cancer diagnoses are made in the last third of life, after age 55). Deceased animals were examined for microscopic changes in various organs and tissues, enabling a comprehensive assessment of aspartame's carcinogenic potential. A total of 1,800 rodents were included, far more than in previous studies.
Aspartame-fed females showed significant evidence of lymphomas/leukemias and of carcinomas of the renal pelvis and ureter. The effect on the renal pelvis was much more evident when carcinomas were combined with atypical preneoplastic lesions. The researchers also observed an insignificant increase in incidence of malignant schwannomas of the peripheral nerves in males, as well as hyperplasia of the olfactory epithelium in males and females. Lesions of the kidney and olfactory epithelium are extremely rare in this strain of rats and therefore merit special attention.
The carcinogenic effects were evident at daily doses as low as 400 parts per million, equivalent to an assumed daily human intake of 20 milligrams per kilogram body weight (mg/kg). This dosage is much less than the acceptable daily intake for humans, with current limits set at 50 mg/kg in the United States and 40 mg/kg in Europe. Surveys of aspartame intake in the United States and Europe from 1984 to 1992 showed that consumers typically consumed 2-3 mg/kg daily, with small children and women of child-bearing age consuming slightly more, at 2-5 mg/kg daily.
The public health implications of these findings may be substantial, since aspartame is used in about 6,000 products, and more than 200 million people regularly consume aspartame through foods, beverages, drugs (such as chewable vitamins), and hygiene products (such as toothpaste). Because the study did not take into account in utero and perinatal exposures, the authors point to this as a salient direction for future research, given that children and pregnant and breastfeeding women are among the major consumers of aspartame.
Source: Environmental Health Perspectives Volume 114, Number 3, March 2006
In Reply to: Aspartame Causes Cancer - Latest News. posted by PhillyLady [616.1599] on March 12, 2006 at 17:22:45:
Hi Philly,
I don't see any mention of a control group of rats which were NOT fed any aspartame.
Letting rats live their whole life, of course would show a higher incidence of cancer, (as well as heart disease, kidney failure and stroke) since that is what will happen to a large percentage regardless of diet.
Only when rats are sacrificed in their prime, can a
big deviation in cancerous changes be blamed for some diet change, but again there would have to be a control group to compare figures, or the study is useless.
Ron
In Reply to: Re: Aspartame Causes Cancer - Latest News. posted by Ron [2014.2318] on March 12, 2006 at 20:57:56:
Ron:
Allowing the rats to live out their lives and then examining them AFTER death was a valid means of determining the actual cause of death. Killing the rats in their prime before they even had a chance to become affected by the aspartame would have rendered useless results.
The article states that the dead females showed "...significant evidence of lymphomas/leukemias and of carcinomas of the renal pelvis and ureter". If non-aspartame-fed rats do not normally die of these cancers, then you only have the aspartame to blame for these sudden cancer death in the aspartame-fed rats.
1,800 rats is a lot of rats. That's the number of rats used in the study.
In Reply to: Re: Aspartame Causes Cancer - Latest News. posted by PhillyLady [616.1599] on March 12, 2006 at 21:58:03:
What Ron is trying to say, is that this may have been the result even if the rats were NOT given the aspartame if as he says, there was no control group to show what would have happened without the aspartame.
In Reply to: Re: Aspartame Causes Cancer - Latest News. posted by lmd [4025.1399] on March 12, 2006 at 22:11:39:
Hi lmd:
Yes, I understood Ron. That's why I said that IF rats do not normally die of cancer, then cancer deaths in aspartame-fed rats would arouse strong suspicion.
In Reply to: Re: Aspartame Causes Cancer - Latest News. posted by PhillyLady [616.1599] on March 12, 2006 at 22:21:38:
Hi Philly,
It could have been somethign ELSE in their diet...
They may heve been chewing on their painted cage bars
or some other toxin.. That is why there MUST be a control group living in EXACTLY the same surroundings and eating exactly the same OTHER foods.
The Aspartame may have robbed them of their ability to
drink water at the same rate because they were satisfied and slept a lot more... They may have eaten
more than they normally would.. Without a control group, these comparisons can not be made.
Who knows whether lack of exercise had something to do with some of the illnesses of aging.
Ron
In Reply to: Aspartame Causes Cancer - Latest News. posted by PhillyLady [616.1599] on March 12, 2006 at 17:22:45:
Thanks, PhillyLady.
Walt
In Reply to: Re: Aspartame Causes Cancer - Latest News. posted by Ron [2014.2318] on March 12, 2006 at 23:06:00:
Ron:
I don't think the rats' cages would be painted. If anything they'd be kept free of anything that would influence test results. But there are probably other studies following this one.
You seem convinced that aspartame is completely safe. Do you ingest it yourself? Do your children?
In Reply to: Re: Aspartame Causes Cancer - Latest News. posted by Ron [2014.2318] on March 12, 2006 at 20:57:56:
Ron, I'm highly suspicious of aspartame. My son got very ill and nauseous after drinking a new drink, Tang. It was the second time he drank it that we were sure it was the drink. Not that it proves cancer or anything but should drinks make you ill? How about the Gulf War Syndrome? Even if it doesn't cause cancer, should it be on the market if it causes other problems?
In Reply to: Re: Aspartame Causes Cancer - Latest News. posted by Sally [1945.1192] on March 13, 2006 at 16:55:34:
Hi Sally,
There is mounting evidence that GWS is a result of an infection with a Gram negative bacteria such as Mycoplasma.
With regard to the effects of that drink...
some people respond badly to some compounds.
Just be glad your son is not allergic to peanuts...
It could have been the high sodium content.. Some people dilute the drink to lessen the strenth.
For instance, I can not stand to drink tea, (even with 4 sugar and 30% milk) because it made me throw up when I was 5.
In Reply to: Re: Aspartame Causes Cancer - Latest News. posted by PhillyLady [1419.1536] on March 13, 2006 at 09:01:43:
Hi Philly,
"You seem convinced that aspartame is completely safe. Do you ingest it yourself? Do your children? "
Yes and yes, for at least the last 4 years.
I drink it in a caffiene free diet cola, usually more than a liter a day.
Ron,
(leaving soon to have my second head amputated) ;?)
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