Time Stamps
- History of artificial sweeteners preceding aspartame (9:43)
- The very sketchy approval process for aspartame and subsequent media coverage (1:02:35)
- Breaking down the World Health Organization’s decision to classify aspartame as “possibly carcinogenic” (3:17:50)
- The fallout from the WHO’s classification (4:24:27)
- Closing thoughts (5:22:04)
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Sources and Links
Intro
- Greg’s recommendation: Factor meals
- Lyndsey’s recommendations: Sturdy Girl Club stand-up series and Casey Johnston’s newsletter “She’s a Beast”
WHO Reports
- WHO: Aspartame hazard and risk assessment results released
- The Lancet summary: Carcinogenicity of aspartame, methyleugenol, and isoeugenol
History of artificial sweeteners preceding aspartame
- Chemistry lesson for The Food Babe… and everyone else #8: Aspirin | Office for Science and Society – McGill University
- Saccharin mechanistic data and risk assessment: urine composition, enhanced cell proliferation, and tumor promotion
The very sketchy approval process for aspartame
- HRD-87-46 Food and Drug Administration: Food Additive Approval Process Followed for Aspartame
- The Lowdown on Sweet? – The New York Times
- Cancer Risk or No, Diet Soda Is Bad For You – The Washington Post
- Aspartame controversy – Wikipedia
- FDA Statement on Asparatame
- The History of Aspartame
Media coverage and public response
Nancy Markle conspiracy
- Is Aspartame Responsible for ‘An Epidemic of Multiple Sclerosis and Lupus’? – Snopes.com
- Falsifications and facts about aspartame
- Aspartame controversy – Wikipedia
- The Decades-Long Struggle to Figure Out Whether Aspartame Is Bad for You – Smithsonian Magazine
Media coverage in the 80s:
- Judging safety of aspartame in soft drinks – The New York Times
- Allergy to Aspartame – The New York Times
- U.S. Rejects Nutrasweet Ban – The New York Times
- F.D.A. Handling of Research On NutraSweet Is Defended – The New York Times
- Nutrasweet’s Bitter Fight
Media coverage in the 90s:
Media coverage in the 2000s:
Greg’s breakdown of Rammazini studies
- NTP Genetically Modified Model Report on the Toxicology Studies of Aspartame (CASRN 22839-47-0) in Genetically Modified (FVB Tg.AC Hemizygous) and B6.129-Cdkn2atm1Rdp (N2) Deficient Mice and Carcinogenicity Studies of Aspartame in Genetically Modified [B6.129-Trp53tm1Brd (N5) Haploinsufficient] Mice (Feed Studies) – NCBI Bookshelf
- Systematic review and evaluation of aspartame carcinogenicity bioassays using quality criteria – ScienceDirect
- Carcinogenicity – an overview | ScienceDirect Topics
Back to media coverage
- Risk Communication, Media Amplification and the Aspartame Scare
- The Lowdown on Sweet? – The New York Times
- Study Finds No Cancer Link to Sweetener – The New York Times
- Sweeteners: Real Aid or Excuse to Indulge? – The New York Times
- A New Sugar Substitute Joins a Street Fight – The New York Times
Media coverage in the 2010s:
- Pepsi Drops Aspartame From Diet Pepsi Varieties – The New York Times
- Why Pepsi’s decision to ditch aspartame isn’t good for soda—or science – The Washington Post
- The Evidence Supports Artificial Sweeteners Over Sugar – The New York Times
- Taking Questions: Artificial Sweeteners – The New York Times
- Death by Diet Soda? – The New York Times
Media coverage in the 2020s thus far:
- I Was Powerless Over Diet Coke – The New York Times
- World Health Organization Warns Against Using Artificial Sweeteners – The New York Times
NutriNet-Santé study
- Artificial sweeteners and cancer risk: Results from the NutriNet-Santé population-based cohort study | PLOS Medicine
- Is everything we eat associated with cancer? A systematic cookbook review
Media coverage mentioning NutriNet-Santé
- Aspartame Is a Possible Cause of Cancer in Humans, a W.H.O. Agency Says
- Should you kick your Diet Coke habit? As a public health expert, I’m not too worried | Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz | The Guardian
- Artificial sweeteners linked with a 13% higher risk of cancer
Present WHO reports
- WHO: Aspartame hazard and risk assessment results released
- The Lancet summary: Carcinogenicity of aspartame, methyleugenol, and isoeugenol
Biological plausibility:
- Evaluation of protein and amino acid intake estimates from the EPIC dietary questionnaires and 24-h dietary recalls using different food composition databases – Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases
- Estimates of Non-Alcoholic Food-Derived Ethanol and Methanol Exposure in Humans
- Biological fate of low-calorie sweeteners | Nutrition Reviews | Oxford Academic
National Toxicology Program mice studies
The three studies from the WHO report
- Stepien: Consumption of soft drinks and juices and risk of liver and biliary tract cancers in a European cohort
- Jones: Sweetened beverage consumption and risk of liver cancer by diabetes status: A pooled analysis
- McCullough: Sugar- and Artificially-Sweetened Beverages and Cancer Mortality in a Large U.S. Prospective Cohort
Interpreting epidemiology research
- Epidemiology of Hepatocellular Carcinoma – PMC
- Residual confounding: Impact of Residual and Unmeasured Confounding in Epidemiologic Studies: A Simulation Study
The fallout from the WHO’s classification
From the NY Times
- Aspartame is Possibly Linked to Cancer in Humans, the WHO Says – The New York Times
- Despite Aspartame Warning, Beverage Companies Likely to Stick With It – The New York Times
How did other outlets do?
To report on this fairly, I think it’s important to – at least – bring up the different levels of classifications for some context, so that’s the marker I used to sort things.
Articles that did:
- Exclusive: WHO’s cancer research agency to say aspartame sweetener a possible carcinogen – Reuters
- WHO cancer arm deems aspartame ‘possible carcinogen’; consumption limits unchanged – Reuters
- Aspartame: What else is ‘possibly carcinogenic’? – BBC Future
- You don’t have to freak out about aspartame in your diet soda – The Verge
- Should you kick your Diet Coke habit? As a public health expert, I’m not too worried – The Guardian
Articles that did not bring up classifications and – therefore – I think could potentially be a bit misleading:
- The WHO declared aspartame “possibly” causes cancer. Here’s what that means. – Vox
- Aspartame sweetener, a diet drink mainstay, is under scrutiny from WHO – The Washington Post
- Cancer Risk or No, Diet Soda Is Bad For You – The Washington Post
- What products contain aspartame? Here’s a list of popular foods, beverages with the sweetener. – CBS News
- WHO to Announce Artificial Sweetener Aspartame May Cause Cancer
Reaction to red meat news in 2015: Processed meats rank alongside smoking as cancer causes – WHO | Cancer | The Guardian
Closing thoughts
Other Stronger By Science content on artificial sweeteners
- Discussion of NutriNet-Santé study on the podcast (Episode 81)
- Impact of artificial sweeteners on gut health – discussion with Dr. Gabrielle Fundaro on the podcast (Episode 40)
- Discussion of artificial sweeteners and risk of stroke and dementia on the podcast (Episode 36)
- Research roundup about artificial sweeteners on the podcast (Episode 35)
- Research Spotlight: Stevia and hunger
- Research Spotlight: Stevia’s effect on appetite and caloric intake
- Guest article by Tanner Baze: An Unbiased Look At Artificial Sweeteners
The post Aspartame: The surprisingly interesting science and history (Episode 116) appeared first on Stronger by Science.
