A new study has reawakened a decades-old debate over the safety of artificial sweeteners, suggesting a small association can be detected between sugar substitutes such as aspartame or acesulfame-K and increased cancer risk. The authors of the new study call for a re-evaluation of these artificial sweeteners by food safety regulators, however, experts not affiliated with the research claim the findings are weak and mistake causation with correlation.
For years researchers have argued over the health impacts of artificial sweeteners in humans. While these controversial food additives may not necessarily be completely benign, there has been consistently conflicting evidence regarding potential deleterious health impacts.
The big headline finding is those subjects in the study consuming high levels of artificial sweeteners were found to experience greater incidences of cancer compared to those with low to no intake of artificial sweeteners. In particular, aspartame and acesulfame-K were linked to higher risk of breast and obesity-related cancers.
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โOur 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,โ the researchers concluded in the new study.
