Cancer and Sweeteners, Is There An Increased Risk?

Since refined sugar substitutes or artificial sweeteners were introduced to the market, much has been
said about the potential risks of acquiring cancer. Individuals on slimming diets or diabetic patients, to
mention the most typical sweeteners consumers would be exposing themselves to a health hazard if
there were a link between cancer and sweeteners. However, the segment of the population exposed to
increased risk would be higher if there were such an association. Considering that sweeteners are not
only consumed as substitutes for refined sugars, but also added to an ample variety of edibles, drugs
and hygiene products, we could assume that almost all citizens consume artificial sweeteners and,
therefore, could be at increased risk of acquiring cancer.

There are the so-called first generation sweeteners( saccharin, aspartame and cyclamate), and the
new generation sweeteners (acesulfame-K, sucralose, neotame and alitame). Back in 1970, the Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the use of cyclamate from all foods and fruits in the USA
suspecting it could increase cancer risk in humans. The decision was taken since several studies
published in the National Library of Medicine had reported that first generation sweeteners saccharin
and cyclamate had shown bladder cancer inducing effects in rats. This action from the FDA raised
suspicious and fear among consumers. Even though so far there is no sufficient epidemiological
evidence of the possible cancer risk of new generation sweeteners, the overall population still feels
insecure when consuming artificial sweeteners, whether first or new generation. Trying to clarify or
demystify the fears of the consumers a thorough research on the different preclinical, clinical and
epidemiological studies on the different sweeteners published at PubMed was performed. Each
sweetener was investigated separately in order to present a final overview.

One of the difficulties found in most epidemiological studies in humans is that these studies relate to
overall sweeteners consumption, and not to particular substances.

On the other side, no significant studies were done to examine the potentially harmful effects of second
generation sweeteners.

After having thoroughly researched the English language published studies on the different sweeteners,
the researchers M.R. Weihrauch and V.Diehl came to the following conclusions about the carcinogenic
potential of sweeteners:

- Saccharin was proved to induce bladder cancer in rats when fed in high doses.

-Overall heavy use of artificial sweeteners (over 1680 mg a day) leads to increased risk of bladder
cancer in humans. However, considering that popular foods and products use a combination of
sweeteners, it is not possible to determine the exact substance that produces this augmented relative
risks of 1.3.

-Despite the overwhelming unscientific articles published in mass and scientific press, there is no
proven evidence that aspartame brings cancer risk.

-New generation sweeteners are relatively new to determine any epidemiological prove about potential
carcinogenic risks.

Concluding, since available studies are not totally conclusive about the possible risk of cancer brought
by each sweetener in particular, and knowing that heavy use might have an incidence, the most
appropriate behavior would be to consume them in moderation.

Reference: Annals of Oncology, (October 2004), Artificial sweeteners- do they bear a carcinogenic
risk?
http://annonc.oxfordjournals.org/content/15/10/1460.long