Tópico: Um veneno chamado Aspartame

[Euzébio]

em 16/07/2005

Aspartame é um agente cancerígeno, diz estudo
da France Presse, em Paris

O aspartame, usado para dar um sabor açucarado a mais de 6 mil produtos de baixa caloria, produz câncer em ratos, destaca um estudo científico que poderá levar à reavaliação dos riscos que esta substância representa.

A Fundação Européia de Oncologia e Ciências do Meio Ambiente B. Ramazzini (http://www.ramazzini.it), instalada em Bolonha, Itália, anunciou na sexta-feira que os resultados de um estudo feito com 1.800 ratos "mostram pela primeira vez que o aspartame é um agente cancerígeno".

"A substância é capaz de provocar linfomas e leucemia em ratas, mesmo quando administrada em doses muito parecidas com a dose diária admitida para o homem", diz o instituto em um comunicado.

"O estudo gera novas dúvidas sobre os vínculos em potencial entre a exposição ao aspartame e o câncer, embora confirme a ausência de ligação entre o aspartame e tumores cerebrais", destacou nesta sexta-feira a Agência Francesa de Segurança Sanitária dos Alimentos (AFSSA).

"Estes resultados preliminares ainda devem ser confirmados antes que a Autoridade Européia de Segurança Alimentar (EFSA) faça uma reavaliação dos riscos ligados ao aspartame", diz o comunicado da AFSSA.

A EFSA considerou "impróprio sugerir mudanças na dieta alimentar do consumidor com base nas informações disponíveis atualmente".

[Marcelo Terra]

Por isso que eu só consumo açucar refinado.

[Zibss]

Eu só tomo adoçante de sacarose.

[Marcelo Terra]

Uma alternativa é não consumir açucar nem adoçante, apenas carne.

[Rodion]

odeio adoçante  

[Stéfano]

Aspartame: review of safety.
Regul Toxicol Pharmacol.  2002; 35(2 Pt 2):S1-93 (ISSN: 0273-2300)

Butchko HH ; Stargel WW ; Comer CP ; Mayhew DA ; Benninger C ; Blackburn GL ; de Sonneville LM ; Geha RS ; Hertelendy Z ; Koestner A ; Leon AS ; Liepa GU ; McMartin KE ; Mendenhall CL ; Munro IC ; Novotny EJ ; Renwick AG ; Schiffman SS ; Schomer DL ; Shaywitz BA ; Spiers PA ; Tephly TR ; Thomas JA ; Trefz FK
Medical and Scientific Affairs, The NutraSweet Company, Mt Prospect, Illinois 60056, USA. harriett.h.butchko@nutrasweet.com

Over 20 years have elapsed since aspartame was approved by regulatory agencies as a sweetener and flavor enhancer. The safety of aspartame and its metabolic constituents was established through extensive toxicology studies in laboratory animals, using much greater doses than people could possibly consume. Its safety was further confirmed through studies in several human subpopulations, including healthy infants, children, adolescents, and adults; obese individuals; diabetics; lactating women; and individuals heterozygous (PKUH) for the genetic disease phenylketonuria (PKU) who have a decreased ability to metabolize the essential amino acid, phenylalanine. Several scientific issues continued to be raised after approval, largely as a concern for theoretical toxicity from its metabolic components--the amino acids, aspartate and phenylalanine, and methanol--even though dietary exposure to these components is much greater than from aspartame. Nonetheless, additional research, including evaluations of possible associations between aspartame and headaches, seizures, behavior, cognition, and mood as well as allergic-type reactions and use by potentially sensitive subpopulations, has continued after approval. These findings are reviewed here. The safety testing of aspartame has gone well beyond that required to evaluate the safety of a food additive. When all the research on aspartame, including evaluations in both the premarketing and postmarketing periods, is examined as a whole, it is clear that aspartame is safe, and there are no unresolved questions regarding its safety under conditions of intended use.

[Stéfano]

Genotoxicity of aspartame.
Drug Chem Toxicol.  2004; 27(3):257-68 (ISSN: 0148-0545)

Rencüzo?ullari E ; Tüylü BA ; Topakta? M ; Ila HB ; Kayraldiz A ; Arslan M ; Diler SB
Biology Department, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Natural and Applied Sciences Institute, Cukurova University, Adana, Turkey. reyyup@mail.cu.edu.tr

In the present study, the genotoxic effects of the low-calorie sweetener aspartame (ASP), which is a dipeptide derivative, was investigated using chromosome aberration (CA) test, sister chromatid exchange (SCE) test, micronucleus test in human lymphocytes and also Ames/Salmonella/ microsome test. ASP induced CAs at all concentrations (500, 1000 and 2000 microg/ml) and treatment periods (24 and 48 h) dose-dependently, while it did not induce SCEs. On the other hand, ASP decreased the replication index (RI) only at the highest concentration for 48 h treatment period. However, ASP decreased the mitotic index (MI) at all concentrations and treatment periods dose-dependently. In addition, ASP induced micronuclei at the highest concentrations only. This induction was also dose-dependent for 48 hours treatment period. ASP was not mutagenic for Salmonella typhimurium TA98 and TA100 strains in the absence and presence of S9 mix.

[Stéfano]

Artificial sweeteners--do they bear a carcinogenic risk?
Ann Oncol.  2004; 15(10):1460-5 (ISSN: 0923-7534)

Weihrauch MR ; Diehl V
Department of Internal Medicine I of the University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany. martin.weihrauch@uni-koeln.de

Artificial sweeteners are added to a wide variety of food, drinks, drugs and hygiene products. Since their introduction, the mass media have reported about potential cancer risks, which has contributed to undermine the public's sense of security. It can be assumed that every citizen of Western countries uses artificial sweeteners, knowingly or not. A cancer-inducing activity of one of these substances would mean a health risk to an entire population. We performed several PubMed searches of the National Library of Medicine for articles in English about artificial sweeteners. These articles included 'first generation' sweeteners such as saccharin, cyclamate and aspartame, as well as 'new generation' sweeteners such as acesulfame-K, sucralose, alitame and neotame. Epidemiological studies in humans did not find the bladder cancer-inducing effects of saccharin and cyclamate that had been reported from animal studies in rats. Despite some rather unscientific assumptions, there is no evidence that aspartame is carcinogenic. Case-control studies showed an elevated relative risk of 1.3 for heavy artificial sweetener use (no specific substances specified) of >1.7 g/day. For new generation sweeteners, it is too early to establish any epidemiological evidence about possible carcinogenic risks. As many artificial sweeteners are combined in today's products, the carcinogenic risk of a single substance is difficult to assess. However, according to the current literature, the possible risk of artificial sweeteners to induce cancer seems to be negligible.

[Stéfano]

O artigo a que se refere esse tópico ainda não foi publicado, mas essa repostagem é mais completa:

Rat Study Links Aspartame to Cancer

Daniel DeNoon

WebMD Health News 2005. © 2005 WebMD Inc.

July 28, 2005 -- A study of rats links low doses of aspartame -- the sweetener in NutraSweet, Equal, and thousands of consumer products -- to leukemia and lymphoma.

But food industry officials point out that many other studies have found no link between aspartame and cancer.

The rats in the study were fed various doses of aspartame throughout their lives. In female but not male rats, lymphoma and leukemia were significantly associated with daily aspartame doses as low as 20 milligrams (mg) per kilogram (kg) of body weight. And there was a trend toward these cancers at doses as low as 4 mg/kg of body weight.

To reach a dose of 20 mg/kg, a 140-pound woman would need to drink three cans of diet soda a day. A 180-pound man would need to drink four cans of diet soda a day.

And diet soda isn't the only source of aspartame. The sweetener is in thousands of products, ranging from yogurt to over-the-counter medicines.

The average person consumes about 2 or 3 mg/kg aspartame each day. However, that figure goes way up for children and young women.

The study comes from an independent research team led by Morando Soffritti, MD, scientific director of the European Ramazzini Foundation of Oncology and Environmental Sciences in Bologna, Italy.

"What I am recommending is for healthy children and women -- if they do not have diabetes -- to avoid consumer use of aspartame," Soffritti tells WebMD. "We cannot continue to use aspartame in 6,000 types of products, soft drinks, yogurt, and whatever."
Consumer Group Reacts

A consumer watchdog group, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, has called for FDA action. At a minimum, the FDA should start its own studies and warn consumers of the potential danger, says CSPI Executive Director Michael F. Jacobson, PhD.

"The U.S. government really should analyze this study very carefully. If it is accepted as top quality, it could lead to a ban on aspartame," Jacobson tells WebMD. "I think a lot of companies are going to see the writing on the wall from this study and switch to newer artificial sweeteners. Meanwhile, I think consumers should switch to Splenda, the sweetener known as sucralose."

But Jacobson urges consumers not to panic.

"The risk to an individual is quite small," he says. "So people shouldn't fear that if they have one diet soda a day they are going to develop cancer. And I must say, the one qualm I have about the study is they found an increased risk of cancer at such a low level of exposure. If aspartame were that potent a carcinogen, I wonder if we wouldn't be seeing a real epidemic of cancer."

Soffritti has presented his findings to the European Food Safety Authority. In its 2002 review of aspartame safety, the EFSA found no cause for alarm. It promises that the new data will get a "high priority" evaluation.

"EFSA does not consider it appropriate to suggest any change in consumers' diets relative to aspartame on the basis of the information it currently has," the EFSA announced on July 14.
Low-Calorie Industry: No Cause for Alarm

The new findings fly in the face of all previous studies of aspartame safety, says the Calorie Control Council, an international association representing the low-calorie and reduced-fat food and beverage industry.

The Soffritti study findings "are not consistent with the extensive scientific research and regulatory reviews done on aspartame," the CCC says in a statement. "Aspartame has been used by hundreds of millions of consumers around the world for over 20 years. With billions of man-years of safe use, there is no indication of an association between aspartame and cancer in humans."

The CCC points to four long-term studies on aspartame that failed to find any relationship between aspartame and any form of cancer.

It's true that reports linking brain and breast cancer to aspartame had little merit, says blood-cancer specialist Martin R. Weihrauch, MD, of the University of Cologne, Germany. Last year, Weihrauch reported on his analysis of all published studies on artificial sweeteners in the Annals of Oncology.

"The entire stuff about brain tumors and breast cancer was really nonsense, Weihrauch tells WebMD.

So what does he think of the new study linking aspartame to leukemia and lymphoma?

"I think it is shocking news," he says. "However, the data have to be carefully reviewed and the study redone. Not because of their methods, probably they are fine. But for a study like this, which brings out data that would make a big change in what consumers do every day, it certainly has to be confirmed. It is worrisome."
What Happened to the Rats

Soffritti's study findings may be a first report, but the study was quite thorough. It looked at 1,800 rats fed various doses of aspartame -- or no aspartame at all -- from age 8 weeks until death. When the animals died, the researchers did a thorough autopsy.

They found that:

    * A daily dose of 20 milligrams of aspartame per kilogram of body weight was linked to lymphomas and leukemias in female -- but not male -- rats.
    * Rats that got daily doses of as little as 4 mg/kg aspartame got lymphomas and leukemias 62% more often than those that got no aspartame, but this finding could have been due to chance.
    * A few brain tumors were seen in rats fed aspartame, while those who did not get the sweetener did not get brain tumors. But this finding, too, could have been due to chance.

The findings are scheduled to appear in the European Journal of Oncology.

[InfectoMan]

Stefano, com você as discussões acabam muito rápido!

[Stéfano]

Só estou colocando subsídios pra discutir...

[Marcelo Terra]

Stéfano, acho que você deveria colocar os textos em japonês ou russo, assim o Euzébio teria uma desculpa melhor que a de não ler bem textos em inglês.

[Zibss]

O Euzébio adora qualquer teoria paranóica e psicótica que seja contra qualquer coisa "artificial".

[Marcus VBP]

tem um texto no projeto ockham falando sobre isso: http://www.projetoockham.org/boatos_aspartame_1.html

[Snake]

tem um texto no projeto ockham falando sobre isso: http://www.projetoockham.org/boatos_aspartame_1.html

Mas o texto é de 2002, e a notícia é de 2005.

[Felius]

Calma ai, não posso comer sacarose, não posso comer aspartame? Não posso comer mais nada dosse?

[Zibss]

Resumo das teorias do Euzébio:








Atenção para este aqui:

[Stéfano]

Falta o artigo inteiro pra discutir, sem ele não dá pra concluir nada.

[Zibss]

Calma ai, não posso comer sacarose, não posso comer aspartame? Não posso comer mais nada dosse?

"dosse"????
Tem certeza?
NÃO SERIA "DOCE"?

E você pode comer frutas. Existem muitas que são docinhas docinhas...

[Felius]

Calma ai, não posso comer sacarose, não posso comer aspartame? Não posso comer mais nada dosse?

"dosse"????
Tem certeza?
NÃO SERIA "DOCE"?

E você pode comer frutas. Existem muitas que são docinhas docinhas...

Po cabei de ver, ia editar mas tu me pegou primeiro.

[Eleitor de Mário Oliveira]

As pessoas tem o péssimo hábito de adoçar as coisas. Aliás, um paladar que só é capaz de apreciar coisas muito doces, muito salgadas ou muito temperadas é como uma audição que prefere músicas de melodia simples, repetitiva e com pouca harmonia: limitado.

Eu não entendo como as pessoas podem adoçar suco de laranja, salada de frutas e outras coisas que já são doces.

Se elas fossem comedidas ao adoçar, nenhum problema haveria em eventualmente usar aspartame em coisas que realmente precisam ser adoçadas, como café e limonada.

[uiliníli]

Mas o texto é de 2002, e a notícia é de 2005.

Ninguém vai prestar atenção nesse detalhe porque o objetivo do tópico passou a ser avacalhar o Euzébio independente de ele ter ou não a razão.

Você vê que muita gente antes da refutação do Stéfano acreditou erroneamente na notícia, mas depois atacou vigorosamente o Euzébio antes de ele ter direito a reconhecer ou não que estava errado também junto com eles.

Um ad hominem fica subentendido aí.

[Rodion]

bem notado, snake e gabriel...

[Stéfano]

Até agora não refutei ninguém. Não temos dados para discutir o artigo principal.

[Alenônimo]

Tudo, se a gente for ver, pode fazer mal mas só se ingerido em excesso. Conheço um rapaz que morreu de tanto ingerir água. Ele tava dentro da piscina, afundou e não subou mais para respirar, de tanta sede que ele devia estar…  

Enfim… Nâo acho que isso seja motivo de preocupação, a menos que aspartame cause uma brotoeja cancerígena depois dos 10 primeiros cafés. Cigarro faz muito mais mal que aspartame e não é proibido também.

Mas convenhamos: ô coisinha de tonto ficar colocando adoçante achando que vai emagrecer! Porra! Se quer emagrecer, porque não pára de comer?