Aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet) causes cancer, even consumed in small quantities, according to results of an 8-year study, led by Dr. Morando Soffritti, head of the Cancer Research Center, the Ramazzini Foundation of Oncology, in Bologna, Italy.
(PRWEB) April 18, 2006 -- Anti-aspartame consumer advocates* who have fought to remove the chemical sweetener since its approval in 1981, welcome Dr. Morando Soffritti’s response at attempts to negate his work.
Dr. Soffritti gave an interview to Tierramérica, sponsored by IPS, a specialized news service backed by the United Nations Development Program and the United Nations Environment Program.
On the heels of recent claims by the US National Cancer Institute and industry-based organizations announcing aspartame does not cause cancer, Dr. Morando Soffritti reaffirmed his findings.
Dr. Soffritti, in his interview, reveals the carcinogenic effects of the artificial sweetener. The NCI announcement of aspartame safety is based on an “unscientific study” from a food questionnaire circulated by AARP to its members, a number of years ago.
Dr. Soffritti and his team studied 1,800 rats (Sprague-Dawley) raised especially for the study. “We gave them, by groups, doses similar to those ingested daily by people, of 5,000, 2500, 500, 100, 20, 4 or 0 mg/kg of body weight. Aspartame was added to the standard diet (seven doses in the food). The experiment began when the animals were eight months old and lasted until their natural death, at 159 weeks. When the rats died we conducted histopathological studies of their organs and tissues. We analyzed more than 30,000 samples. "
Tierramérica' reports the results of the study were first released in July 2005 and some months later, published in the US Department of Health’s journal, “Environmental Health Perspectives”.
Dr. Soffritti’s long-term study contradicts other studies (assuring the public aspartame poses no risks to human health) financed by the large corporations that manufacture and sell the chemical sweetener.
Tierramérica’s, Francesca Colombo, in an article and interview with Dr. Soffritti, “Yes, Aspartame Is A Carcinogen” writes: “The sale of aspartame, with only four calories per gram and 200 times sweeter than sugar, is sold under the trademarks NutraSweet and Equal, bringing in 570 million dollars a year. It is estimated that some 350 million people around the world, many in hopes of losing weight, consume aspartame daily through 6,000 kinds of foods and beverages. In Europe alone, 2000 tons of the sweetener are sold annually”
When Ms. Colombo asks about the results of Dr. Soffritti’s controlled trial between 1997 and 2005, on the cancerous effects of aspartame, he replies:
“The results indicate that aspartame is a multi-potential carcinogen, even consumed daily at 20 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. That is a lower quantity than the maximum recommended by the FDA (50 mg/kg of body weight) and the European Union (40 mg/kg).”
Questioned about what kind of cancer aspartame produces, Dr. Soffritti explains the conclusive evidence of his long-term test.
“Our study showed for the first time that aspartame increases the incidence of malignant tumors in rats. In the females it increases leukemia and lymphomas, as well as cancerous cells in the pelvis and urethra. In the males, it especially increases the incidence of malignant tumors in peripheral nerves.”
Tierramérica’s interviewer inquires: “Can it be assumed that what happened in the rats could also happen in human beings?”
Dr. Soffritti responds, “According to an investigation of cancer by the World Health Organization, the experimental study of carcinogenic agents in rats is very important for humans. One-third of the cancer-causing agents in man have been discovered with experiments conducted on animals.”
Answering an important question about consumption of aspartame by women and children and what effects it could have on them, Dr. Soffritti states: “… the carcinogenic effect in children could be greater because of their lower weight. The carcinogenic agents have a stronger effect on the embryo, which is why pregnant women are at greater risk”
Resolving a frequent question consumers ask the government (FDA) and industry: “Are new scientific studies about the potential cancer-causing effect of aspartame necessary?” Dr. Soffritti tells the world:
“Yes, more studies are needed to obtain greater precision in quantifying the risk… The current results already demand… an urgent review of the norms regulating the use and consumption of aspartame in order to protect public health, especially children’s health.”
A question on all user's minds is: “Aspartame is sold mainly as a means for people to control their weight. In your experiment, did the animals lose weight?"
Dr. Soffritti answers, “No.”
Read the complete interview at:
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=32904
Posted by:
Carol Guilford, LA-based writer and cookbook author and
Shoshanna Allison, environmental researcher.
See our PRWEB release of April 6
AARP Food Questionnaire Pitted Against Italian Cancer Institute Aspartame Study
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/4/prweb368992.htm
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http://www.dldewey.com/aspar.htm
www.presidiotex.com/aspartame
www.sweetpoison.com
www.aspartamesafety.com
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