What it is:
Aspartame (E951) is an artificial sweetener 200 times sweeter than sugar, meaning a miniscule amount is required to sweeten foods or beverages. It is, therefore, considered zero calories and is often used in sugar-free and low-calorie products.
Items that contain aspartame include:
Diet Beverages - Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, Coke Zero
Sweetener Packets - NutraSweet, Equal, and Sugar Twin.
Ice-creams - Breyers (No Sugar Added) and Skinny Cow Ice Cream
Cereals - General Mills' Cheerios and Kellogg's Special K
Yogurts - Yoplait Light Yogurt and Dannon Light & Fit
Sugar-free gum and sweets
Purported claims:
WHO, IARC classified aspartame as possibly carcinogenic to humans (IARC Group 2B)
What the science says:
Recently, a branch of the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), classified Aspartame in the carcinogenic group of 2B.
What are the IARC Classifications:
Group 1 = Sufficient evidence to claim carcinogenic to humans.
Strong evidence in human, animal, and in vitro studies.
Group 2A = Probably carcinogenic to humans.
Limited evidence in humans but strong evidence in animal studies.
Group 2B = Insufficient evidence
Limited evidence, but as a caution since it’s an unsure realm.
These items are identified as hazardous. It is not determining whether you are at risk. For example, a car is hazardous to humans. However, how fast that car is going, who is driving, what the weather conditions are, etc, will all determine whether that car is a risk to you specifically. As with carcinogens, the quantity and frequency you’re consuming them matter, as well as the other carcinogenic items you’re exposing yourself to.
Other items in the IARC Classification groups:
Group 1 | Group 2A | Group 2B |
Alcohol | Cured Meats | Aspartame |
Sun-exposure (Sunbathing) | Fried Foods | Gasoline exhaust |
Processed meat (bacon /salami/hotdogs) | Anabolic Steroids | Aloe vera extract |
Estrogen Contraceptives | Night-shift work | Ginkgo Bilbao |
Smoking | Grilled meat (BBQ) | Cellphones (magnetic fields) |
Outdoor air pollution | | |
The current research on aspartame is highly mixed and complex. If you can avoid sugar-sweetened beverages and sweetener beverages by replacing them with water, this will only be a positive. However, if you choose to have an occasional soda, no matter the type, the research points to them as equally but minutely harmful.
For example, a 12 oz Diet Coke contains ~200mg of aspartame. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) determined that the acceptable daily intake of aspartame is 40 mg/kg body weight. For a 160lb person, that’s ~2900mg/day, equivalent to ~14 cans of Diet Coke daily. This is not to say we recommend consuming this amount, just that aspartame is not an area of health you need to be hyper-focusing on.
Our take:
If you’re worried about exposure, begin with the list above, check out our post on Detoxing, and speak with your Client Advocate for more information.
Weighing the information in an applicable real-life situation means understanding your personal habits. Moderation is always the crux. If having a sweetened iced tea (with aspartame) prevents you from throwing healthy eating patterns out the window and indulging in copious amounts of Coca-Cola (high in sugar), then go for it. But if you’re replacing your iced green tea and manuka honey with aspartame, then yes, you should rethink your consumption. Always ask yourself, what am I replacing this with?
Our experts at Apeiron Life can help you to navigate these types of scenarios by assessing your quality of nutrition. We can then build the best eating pattern for your specific needs by focusing on whole foods and avoiding processed items.
Will this benefit you?
No. Aspartame is generally another item on the list of food substances you don’t need in your life. Focus on whole food sweeteners with added benefits like manuka honey.
Still curious to try it? If you do, here’s what to keep an eye on:
Do not go above 40 mg/kg body weight daily. For a 160lb person, that’s about ~2900mg/day.
References and additional reading:
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