What Is Aspartame?
Aspartame is a low-calorie artificial sweetener that can be used in place of sugar to sweeten:
FoodsBeveragesDental productsGum
It is about 200 times sweeter than table sugar (sucrose), so much less is needed to produce the same sweetness level. Aspartame consists of amino acids phenylalanine and aspartic acid, with a methyl group added to the phenylalanine to create a sweet taste.
It is not a carbohydrate (saccharide) like regular sugars. It’s generally used to reduce calories in foods to help manage weight or for those with diabetes to prevent blood sugar spikes.
Aspartame is not heat stable and loses its sweetness when heated. For this reason, it is not often used in baked goods or other cooked foods. Other sweeteners are sometimes combined with aspartame to create a taste that is more similar to table sugar. Popular brands of aspartame include:
Equal®Sugar Twin®Nutrasweet®
Does Aspartame Cause Cancer?
There has been conflicting research on whether aspartame causes cancer.
The National Toxicology Program determined in 2005 that aspartame does not cause tumors in mice but concerns developed from conflicting research performed on rats in 2006. The tests on rats suggested a link between aspartame and the development of lymphoma and leukemia. The FDA and others have scrutinized this research.
Further research on humans has not shown a clear link between aspartame and cancer. In 2006, the National Cancer Institute revealed that its study on almost 500,000 men and women between the ages of 50 and 71 showed no connection between a higher level of aspartame intake and blood or brain cancers.
A 2013 meta-analysis in the Archives of Environmental and Occupational Health looked at the available research to date and determined that aspartame has no cancer-causing effect in rodents.
Findings of Regulatory Agencies
The FDA reviewed the 2006 research on rats and determined it was not performed up to standard and did not change their position that aspartame is safe for human consumption.
For example, a 2012 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition claimed that women who drink diet soda every day have an increased risk of developing lymphoma and leukemia. However, the researchers apologized for promoting weak evidence and attempting to make the data fit the ideology rather than letting the science speak for itself.
While the American Cancer Society does not determine if a substance is carcinogenic (causes cancer), it does rely on the FDA and other regulatory boards to decide on safety. The FDA says that even after over 100 studies, aspartame is safe for most people.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) says that aspartame has never been found in the blood or organs after ingestion. This finding means that aspartame is completely digested in the gut, absorbed by the body as amino acids and methanol, and is safe for consumption. Additionally, the EFSA states that there is no determinable link between cancer and aspartame when considering many human population studies.
A Word From Verywell
It can be challenging to know whether a substance like aspartame is safe for you to consume when presented with conflicting evidence. The evidence linking aspartame to cancer is weak, and there is an abundance of evidence that aspartame does not cause any type of cancer.
The FDA and EFSA state that aspartame is safe for human consumption. Talk to your healthcare provider if you are worried about your consumption of aspartame.
