You may have seen a number of headlines these past weeks surrounding the artificial sweetener Aspartame as being set to be listed as (possibly) carcinogenic.

Our head nutritionist, Lauren Windas is sharing her views on this conversional ingredient…

Aspartame is an artificial sugar alternative found in many diet drinks, sugar-free chewing gum, some sugar-free or low fat yoghurts along with some jelly and desserts. It is 200x times sweeter than table sugar, so it gives the taste without the added calories.

There are two sides to the coin; this ingredient has been heavily researched already and much research says it’s safe to consume within accepted daily limits. However, research is always ongoing. Last year, there was a French observational study published by PLOS Medicine journal on over 100,000 adults, showing an increased cancer risk in those who consumed larger amounts of artificial sweeteners – particularly aspartame. However, it was difficult to prove that this increased risk was directly linked to aspartame consumption.

My take… I’m not one for scare-mongering as there are many people out there with a disordered relationship with food and these types of headlines can negatively impact this. That being said, for the vast majority I think it’s good to stay informed and this certainly builds the case for sticking to more of a natural diet and less of the artificial stuff! Aspartame is an artificial sweetener and in my opinion I would rather stick to natural sugars.

Plus.. we also know that aspartame can be harmful for our blood sugar and gut microbiome (studies show artificial sweeteners have been associated with inducing glucose intolerance via dysbiosis aka changes to our gut bacteria) – so that’s my reason to stay well clear of it!!

In reference to the products displayed in the infographic, in my opinion there are so much tastier and healthier foods and drinks out there anyway and for that reason I wouldn’t recommend them.

I guess it’s also important we remember that for many of these heavily marketed “Diet” foods, that they’re not always necessarily healthier as they can use alternative or synthetic ingredients. Don’t focus too much on the “Diet, sugar-free, fat-free” halo that companies use to help market their products, as they’re certainly not always the healthier option.

References:  

https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1003950

https://genie.weizmann.ac.il/pubs/2014_nature.pdf