• null_@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    There is a lot of public misunderstanding of the rodent studies that linked aspartame to cancer, which are very flawed and essentially come from a single Italian research group.

    There is still no definitive link to cancer risk in humans so I would continue to be skeptical. The maximum recommended safe exposure for aspartame is the equivalent of 12 cans of coke, and the strong effects from the rodent study were using exposure amounts equivalent to 5 times that amount, or 60 cans daily, every day of their life after day 12 of fetal life (i.e. before birth).

    Almost anything can cause long-term health risks and toxicity at such massive exposure levels.

    https://www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/chemicals/aspartame.html

    Link to the free Pubmed link to one of the original source studies from 2008 so you can see their methodology and the absurdly massive exposure amounts needed to ovserve these effects:

    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17805418/

    • Burstar@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      I disagree with the ‘massive’ exposure ‘needed’ to observe these effects exaggeration. First, the point of the study was to show it can be carcinogenic, not to parse at exactly what level in humans. Second, effects are seen at the 400ppm level which equates to 20mg/kg. This is 1600mg/day or 8 cans of Diet Coke (@200mg/can) for an 80kg male. That is NOT an impossible level of daily consumption for many.

      I suspect further research was done to confirm your linked studies and refine exactly at what minimum levels of daily consumption elicit carcinogenic effects. That will likely be in the full report once released. Until then, you sound like you don’t want it to be true, rather than an impartial evaluator of the research.

      • P03 Locke@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        1 year ago

        the point of the study was to show it can be carcinogenic

        Almost anything can be carcinogenic with a high enough exposure. You can pump a rat full of water until it dies and declare that water kills people. But, that doesn’t prove anything or serve a point.

        Second, effects are seen at the 400ppm level which equates to 20mg/kg. This is 1600mg/day or 8 cans of Diet Coke (@200mg/can) for an 80kg male. That is NOT an impossible level of daily consumption for many.

        In rats! You can’t just multiple a rat study by body weight and expect it to always correlate. That’s why studies are done in larger animals, and sometimes the concept just dies there.

        A single study is a statistic. Until they duplicate the results multiple times, and upgrade to monkeys, pigs, or (in a safe way) humans, this is all just noise.

        • Burstar@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          1 year ago

          Almost anything can be carcinogenic with a high enough exposure. You can pump a rat full of water until it dies and declare that water kills people. But, that doesn’t prove anything or serve a point.

          This is how science is done friend. You make no assumptions. You have reason to believe a theory predicts a testable outcome? You test it. Not everything causes cancer. Pure air doesn’t… Clean water doesn’t… The research shows us Aspartame does indeed have carcinogenic effects in rats. Now we know this, and the result can be used to support applications for more costly research using subjects much more similar to our anatomy because if it is carcinogenic in one mammal, it probably is carcinogenic in others.

          You call the study flawed when it looks perfectly fine to me for the purpose it was designed for. It shows it is carcinogenic in the mammal it was tested on at dosage levels that translate to non-‘massive’, quite reasonable consumption rates for humans. As such, it warrants concern and all these claims by the European and US Food Agencies saying ‘we did 100s of studies decades ago and it is fine trust me bro’ is not enough. I’m not arguing this one study proves Aspartame causes cancer in humans. I’m saying your particular criticisms of it are unfounded as is your confidence that Aspartame is non-carcinogenic. You cite FDA claims ‘Aspartame is safe’ but show no research that supports this conclusion. Looking at the provided links I noticed things like “don’t feed to pregnant mothers because phenylalanine”, “methanol is a metabolite - nothing concerning there”, and ‘we plan on doing a systemic revaluation of aspartame as the research is over a decade old (the whole time with the biggest corporations in the world breathing down our necks)’ https://www.efsa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/corporate_publications/files/factsheetaspartame.pdf

          Looks to me like somebody did more research and found contradictory results otherwise why would WHO say they are going to do this?

          • P03 Locke@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            1 year ago

            You cite FDA claims ‘Aspartame is safe’ but show no research that supports this conclusion. Looking at the provided links I noticed things like “don’t feed to pregnant mothers because phenylalanine”, “methanol is a metabolite - nothing concerning there”, and ‘we plan on doing a systemic revaluation of aspartame as the research is over a decade old (the whole time with the biggest corporations in the world breathing down our necks)’ https://www.efsa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/corporate_publications/files/factsheetaspartame.pdf

            I do? Which post do I claim anything? What links did I provide?

            My whole point is that one flawed study with rats doesn’t prove a damn thing, and is not enough to make a decision on.

        • NRoach44@lemmy.ml
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          1 year ago

          I’m going to agree with Burstar here - if you’re setting out to prove that something is possible, you’re going to give it the best chance you can. Once you know its possible (whether its something like using an arduino to simulate an old price of hardware, or if a compound can cause cancer), you go and refine it down.

    • P03 Locke@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      1 year ago

      the strong effects from the rodent study were using exposure amounts equivalent to 5 times that amount, or 60 cans daily, every day of their life after day 12 of fetal life (i.e. before birth).

      This is why I hate rodent studies. They always up the exposure to whatever they are testing to hyper-extreme limits. Then point their flawed results to the world and declare “See! X causes Y!”

      There are even similar rat studies for marijuana that try to link it to cancer as well, despite the fact that zero people have actually died from weed. It’s all overblown bullshit.

      • ██████████@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Dude have you seen how many diet Cokes people drink? Liters and liters daily. Not excessive at all honestly considering LifeTime total exposure

        Im a chemist by trade. This is actually chemically very simple. I only looked deeply into Sucralose Splenda. So I’ll discuss that

        These have Chlorine molecules. A very electrophilic element even in a chemical bond. Meaning it can cause reactions in other molecules very easily. Sucralose has Three Chlorines. If it touches DNA it’s bad business man.

        I love diet Coke btw lol I could drink 5 gallons right now idk I smoke cigs. But don’t sugar coat it

        • Dr Cog@mander.xyz
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          1 year ago

          The presence of chlorine does not make a chemical toxic.

          Are you a chemist in the sense that you run a drug store?

        • fermionsnotbosons@lemmy.ml
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          1 year ago

          You are saying that sucralose (or a metabolite thereof) could alkylate DNA - and theoretically proteins too - correct? Like what sulfur mustard gas does?

          I did a quick search and couldn’t find any papers demonstrating a mechanism of action for that, although I skimmed a few that postulated that a dichlorinated hydrolysis product might be the true carcinogenic agent. Do you know of any studies that demonstrate that the alkylation can happen, either in vitro or (ideally) in vivo? Or maybe some better search terms to use, that could be my issue…

          I am truly curious about this, I never knew the chemical structure of sucralose until I read your comment and subsequently looked it up.

    • else@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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      1 year ago

      Also note most people are choosing between sugar and aspartame or another sweetener, and sugar is pretty much categorically a health risk for humans.

      • BarrelAgedBoredom@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Nail on the head. Aspartame is still better for you than super processed foods loaded with sugar. This reminds me of the big smear campaign against fat that the sugar industry engineered to take the heat off of themselves way back when

    • MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      Is that a measurement relative to mass/size? Because if not, you’d need to consume a shitload of it to really do anything.

      There’s a ton of studies with these problems. Researchers simply engrossing the test subject in the material until something bad happens. Unless you’re researching on a test group of humans, then suddenly all the levels are actually less than typical.

      It all depends if you’re looking to prove that it’s harmful or not. Want to find it’s harmful? Get a bunch of mice and expose them to as much of whatever substance you need to in order to find a problem… Want to prove something is safe, set up a “double blind” study of the effects on humans, and give half of them regulated and limited doses of it for weeks or months until you can convince everyone that “nothing bad happened”.

      I have a problem with research done in either way. Researchers should be neutral, and just test and let the data speak for itself. (With limited interpretation for the people who read it)

      Instead, almost all research is funded by someone with an agenda who is trying to find out if x is good/bad, and prove or disprove a specific stance. Argh

    • ryannathans@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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      1 year ago

      Still proves it may cause cancer, the only thing seriously in question is the dose. Seemingly nobody knows what a safe upper bound is for any population.

  • wildchandelure@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Misleading title. They’re about to declare it as possibly cancerous. Not fully cancerous. And if anything this is just to get even more research into it.

    Aspartame is in a lot of things, mainly sodas and gum, but you’d have to consume a lot of the stuff beyond a human limit really.

    I do think this may put a dent in sugar free products assuming it gets declared as such.

    • Da_Boom@iusearchlinux.fyi
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      1 year ago

      Probably just enough for California to give it that label, and that’s about it.

      I hate the chemical aftertaste of artificial sweeteners anyway.

    • Altima NEO@lemmy.zip
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      1 year ago

      There’s still other zero calorie sweeteners though. Sucralose, stevia, saccharine, Monk fruit extract, etc.

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      1 year ago

      Every paragraph of that article got less and less certain about the results. Someday I’d love to be able to trust the headline.

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    I don’t think you can put “the” before WHO unless Roger Daltrey approves it.

    I worry about a lot of the additives used today. Some products will say “no sugar added” but will include some artificial sweetener that you only see in the fine print.

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      1 year ago

      I worry about the “natural” sugar alternatives. We all know that aspartame is safe, it’s been researched about as extensively as it can be. It only starts to be a concern when you’re drinking 2 dozen diets sodas daily.

      But people give “natural” a pass for some reason.

      • AlexWIWA@lemmy.ml
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        1 year ago

        Natural is always good, my cereal has natural uranium for a spicy natural alternative to sugar. It’s totally safe.

        (For legal purposes, this comment is a joke)

  • outbound@lemmy.ca
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    1 year ago

    As a Type II diabetic:

    fuck

    As a punk:

    All I wanted was a Pepsi
    Just one Pepsi

    *Diet Pepsi contains sucralose, not aspertame, so I guess I’m good (for now)

        • spauldo@lemmy.ml
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          1 year ago

          Just looked it up on Youtube. Holy shit, that was amazing. Perfect update to the original. It doesn’t have the punch the last verse of the original did, but otherwise it’s fantastic.

    • weariedfae@lemmy.world
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      In my area they phased aspartame back into Diet Pepsi, which pleases me. I unabashedly love aspartame sweetener.

  • Hazzardis@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Like how cancerous is it? Considering the amount of diet pop my family consumes…I’m kinda worried

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      I’m pretty sure the last I read about this it was an absurd concentration that showed to potentially cause cancer. Nothing a human could drink in such concentrations.

      That being said maybe that’s changed very very recently, I’ll be interested to see what their actual findings are.

      A lot of things potentially cause cancer in huge concentrations.

      Edit - From what I’ve read aspartame would be considered a possible carcinogen in the same class of Coffee. That doesn’t make quite the same headline though hah!

    • FlowVoid@midwest.social
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      It doesn’t take much for the WHO to classify something as a possible carcinogen.

      Aspartame is now in the same risk category as cell phones, kimchee, and carpentry. And still considered less carcinogenic than meat, fried foods, hot beverages, and working a night shift.

    • DrinkBoba@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Not gonna preach or anything but that stuff is trash. You guys should quit honestly. I “reset” my tastes to less sweet stuff over time and it’s incredible how different things taste after you lose the expectations they should be sweet to be delicious.

    • Showroom7561@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      That will be the most important factor: the quantity needed to be harmful.

      If it’s the equivalent of 30 cans of diet cola a day, this is a non-issue. They will give those details when they release the report.

    • fluke@lemmy.world
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      Aspartame has been in common usage as a sugar alternative for literally decades.

      If it was harmful or potent enough to be dangerous on a public or individual health risk then we would have certainly known about it by now. At this stage, even WHO, are saying it’s needed in HUGE concentrations.

      Diet sodas aren’t the only things that we consume that contains aspartame. And aspartame isn’t the only thing we’re exposed to that has been linked to cancer and other deseases.

      Just get on with life, enjoy what you enjoy in moderation. Don’t put too much thought into it otherwise you’ll just end up living in fear and avoiding everything.

        • fluke@lemmy.world
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          Lead’s affects were well known, just ignored.

          Aspartame is no different to any other food or substance we’re exposed to. You can’t buy anything in California that’s doesn’t have the ‘Known to cause cancer’ label on it.

          Honestly, the rise in the diagnosis of cancer in industrial humans is a result of living longer and not being killed by something else.

          Basically, what I’m saying is that as long as you live in moderation and overall healthy, a couple of pints of Diet Cola a day or a bottle of wine on a weekend isn’t going to kill you.

          From annectdotal experience, the people who get the most knotted up about this stuff probably sit down all day and eat absolute crap. The aspartame is not the thing to worry about in that equation.

    • whatsarefoogee@lemmy.world
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      Not cancerous whatsoever. It’s approved for use worldwide and it’s one of the most studied additives on the planet.

      It has been massively consumed worldwide for many decades, without causing any statistically noticeable increase in cancer rates.

      Considering the incredibly negative health impact of sugary drinks, artificial sweeteners probably prevented millions of deaths over the decades they have been used.

      Like the other “scary” “it causes cancer” studies, they probably stuffed a rat with its body weight of aspartame and when it developed cancer they figured it’s carcinogenic.

      Completely disregarding that a can of artificially sweetened coke will have less than 1g of aspartame, which is 0.0002% of average human’s bodyweight.

    • JackbyDev@programming.dev
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      Don’t panic until the report officially locked out. We are very certain that smoking and pork cause cancer, but smoking has a huge possibility of lung cancer while pork only increases your chances of cancer by something like 20%. This could be one of those “We are 99.999% certain that it increases your risk by 10%” sort of things.

    • LearysFlyingSaucer@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      Same here. My wife and I only really drink water but her stepdad got bladder cancer after decades of drinking nothing but Budweiser and diet dew. He’s cancer free now but lost his bladder and prostate.

    • Rusticus@lemmy.world
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      At most 1.15 x risk. Bigger effects are on risk for diabetes, heart disease and metabolic syndrome. By itself aspartame doesn’t appear to be too bad. But it causes sugar craving which can lead to excessive and poor eating habits.

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    I could be wrong, and I’m too lazy to Google at the moment, but I swore this was made public information long ago. When I was young, aspartame was being phased out in favor of sucralose. I recall hearing stories about aspartame being banned in other countries as a child.

  • 𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙚@feddit.win
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    Hopefully there’s more research done. It doesn’t sound like it’s “absolutely carcinogenic”.

    The “radiofrequency electromagnetic fields” associated with using mobile phones are “possibly cancer-causing”. Like aspartame, this means there is either limited evidence they can cause cancer in humans, sufficient evidence in animals, or strong evidence about the characteristics.

    https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/whos-cancer-research-agency-say-aspartame-sweetener-possible-carcinogen-sources-2023-06-29/

    • dakku@lemmy.world
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      Yeah, they came out and branded it as a “possible cause for cancer”. They’ve been studying aspartame for decades now and most they could label it with was a mere “possible”. I’m not saying it’s great to drink it when surely nowadays you can find alternative sodas sweetened with stevia or other “natural” sweeteners but I wouldn’t worry too much about this news.

      • Omega@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Is there a reason the natural sweeteners should be trusted over aspartame? From what I’ve read, you would need to drink a case of diet soda every day before it maybe even starts to be cancerous.

      • whatsarefoogee@lemmy.world
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        What makes you think that stevia or “natural” sweeteners are better?

        At the very least, they have to go thought an industrial process of extraction that can leave unwanted chemical agents in the final product. And anything naturally grown is a subject to be contaminated with pesticides and other unwanted substances.

    • Einar@lemmy.ml
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      Am glad they publish this, though. “Possible” still tells me to be careful.

      If I consider “possible” as no harm until it’s 100% proven, I might cause serious harm to myself in the process when and if it’s 100% clear.

      Better on the side of caution, IMO.

      • DFTBA_FTW@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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        Do you drink hot coffee or tea or soup? Cause hot beverages are considered more likely to cause cancer than this designation for aspartame.

        Do you eat meat? Cause that’s two levels higher than this designation for aspartame.

        Also the studies this ruling is based on indicates you would have to drink ~30 aspartame sweetened sodas a day to be at any risk.

  • reksas
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    1 year ago

    Stuff that has been sweetened by it kind of taste like there is something wrong. Yet still it tastes decent enough and much better than stevia. I would rather have option to drink stuff that just outright hasnt been sweetened at all.

  • Indie@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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    Didn’t they suggest that aspartame could cause cancer way back in the late 80s or early 90s?

    I remember growing up hearing about something like that when sweet and low was the go to sugar.

    It seemed to kind of just fall of the face of the earth and is resurfacing now?

  • watson387
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    1 year ago

    Dammit… I’ve been drinking that shit every day for years. I actually crave the flavor of it.

      • watson387
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        Well, I didn’t much before reading the article, but after reading it I don’t trust the FDA at all.

        • whatsarefoogee@lemmy.world
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          You don’t trust the FDA after you’ve read that they conclude that aspartame is safe, which is in line with over 100 other countries’ regulatory agencies?

          Wait until you read what the FDA has to say about water.

          • watson387
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            I don’t trust them because they rejected aspartame in the 70s and it was only approved by Reagan in the early 80s because he had an executive from the manufacturer in his entourage. That’s shady crony-capitalist bullshit. Downvote me all you want.

    • JoumanaKayrouz@lemmy.world
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      It’s fine. Aspartame causes cancer in rats at extremely high rates of ingestion. You would need to drink 100s of Diet Cokes a day.

    • miraclerandy@lemmy.world
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      I’ve read some of the studies and talked about them with some nurses who’ve done the same. The harm is due to the quantity you consume. The study’s found it cancerous after giving it to mice in high doses, like dozens of 2 liters of diet soda each day. Most people who drink a few cans are going to be fine.

      We’ll have to see what the new report says and some people might have to adjust the amount they drink it but I doubt it will say any amount is cancerous.

  • vikinghoarder@infosec.pub
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    If they conclude that even a small amount is harmful, inagine the backlash all the soda/food insutry giants will create The food industry is a fearful monster that cares more about profit than health. Now think about that.

  • Randy_Bobandy@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    For anyone who likes diet soda, check out Zevia. It’s sweetened with Stevia instead of aspartame. Doesn’t taste too bad either. Makes a great vodka mixer since it’s 0 calories.

    • minorninth@lemmy.world
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      Unfortunately I’ve never tasted anything with Stevia that I like. Weird, weird aftertaste.

      Aspartame has an aftertaste but I got used to it after maybe three tries. I’ve never gotten used to Stevia.

      Too bad, because in other ways Stevia is superior.

      I like fizzy drinks, so lately I’ve been mostly drinking unsweetened, like La Croix or Spindrift.

  • Monz@pawb.social
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    To be clear, saying this can cause cancer is similar to saying that water will be classified as toxic.

    Cancer is a genetic/cellular lottery we play every day. Consuming certain substances can change those odds. We’re talking 1 in a Trillion (a number I pulled out of my ass, to be clear), and perhaps consuming aspartame changes that to 100 in a Trillion. 100x more likely to get cancer? Not really.

    Just like how water is classified as toxic if you drink too much (cellular over-hydration) consuming too much aspartame can cause cancer.

    Though I suppose it remains to be seen. I’m making broad assumptions and I’ll wait for the professionals and studies and scientific journals to tell me what’s what.