Artificial Sweeteners

4-5-06
I use artificial sweeteners, but only in ice tea. I get my "sweets" from fruit and an occasional bite of someone's dessert (of which my body later tells on me). A recent Italian study found that modest amounts of aspartame caused cancer in rats. Naturally this is of concern to me. A huge federal study in people — not rats — takes the fizz out of arguments that the diet soda sweetener aspartame might raise the risk of cancer.No increased risk was seen even among people who gulped down many artificially sweetened drinks a day, said researchers who studied the diets of more than half a million older Americans. A consumer group praised the study, done by reputable researchers independent of any funding or ties to industry groups. The Center for Science in the Public Interest pointed out some potential problems with the study: the people observed in the new study were only 50 to 69 years old. In contrast, the Italian researchers allowed the rats to die a natural death, equivalent to people living into their 80s, 90s, or older. If aspartame only causes cancer in truly elderly people, the new study wouldn't detect a problem. Also, the new study's means of measuring aspartame consumption -- food-frequency questionnaires -- is imprecise. That approach is not capable of detecting small increases in cancer rates.