Aspartame, an artificial product used instead of sugar in many foods – including Diet Coke – is expected to be declared a carcinogen by an agency of the World Health Organization (WHO), a news that delights two health professionals. health.
The sweetener – used since it contains no calories – will be classified in July as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an agency integrated into the WHO, two sources briefed on the process told Reuters.
“I have always been against the use of sweeteners of any kind. Studies show that there is no long-term advantage in terms of weight control,” insists nutrition doctor Isabelle Huot.
“I’ve been recommending avoiding fake sugars for 30 years,” she continues. It maintains the taste of sugar, it thwarts the brain which expects a delivery of sugar and it has an unfavorable impact on the microbiota [la flore intestinale] which is the basis of physical and mental health. [Que l’aspartame soit cancérogène] only reinforces the message.”
She also believes that the daily dose established by Health Canada at 40 mg/kg of body weight should be revised downwards.
Even worse
“Aspartame probably causes diabetes and cardiovascular disease also through its negative effect on the gut microbiota. This has been well demonstrated in the publications Nature And Cell by the Israeli group of Dr Segal and Dr Elinav in particular”, added doctor André Marette.
This researcher at the IUCPQ is the author of the book The truth about sugar published in 2016.
He wrote at the time that “the latest research suggests that we should be very careful with the excessive consumption of artificial sweeteners and other fake sugars that are not as harmless as we thought.”
Flats
Sylvain Charlebois, scientific director of the Laboratory of Analytical Sciences in Agrifood at Dalhousie University in Halifax, is more nuanced.
“The WHO institute has a reputation for being a bit alarmist. They did it with meat in 2015. But 90 countries have already ruled that aspartame is safe,” he says.
He also expects resistance, but thinks that many companies will end up changing their products.
“The decision will not be well received. I have a feeling the announcement is going to be challenged by several groups in the industry. There is still science that shows that aspartame is not so dangerous when consumed responsibly,” he said.
Coke and Pepsi Canada did not respond to questions from the Log.
“But no matter what science says, it’s a lot more politics than anything else,” continues Mr. Charlebois. The industry will have to readjust by communicating about aspartame and probably by reformulating products. The most important thing is public perception. If the public starts thinking that aspartame is carcinogenic, companies are going to be forced to change.”
Sylvain Charlebois thinks that changing the recipe for products using aspartame will entail additional costs, in particular because of the research to be carried out. This could force manufacturers to increase costs eventually.
Bad habit
Aspartame was widely used in yogurts until a decade ago.
“Once aspartame was linked to brain cancer, most yogurt companies replaced it with sucralose or Stevia. Are we going to come out later that these products also cause problems? Stop eating processed,” recommends Isabelle Huot.
“We took a wrong turn in reducing the fat in food 30 years ago. We added all kinds of products to compensate. We want to reduce the sugar and we add alternatives that are not healthier. Take a real Coke in a small format occasionally instead of taking such processed products, ”suggests the doctor of nutrition.
“Imitating is never winning. Think Beyond meat. We want to imitate meat, but we add lots of additives. If you want to substitute too much, you really lose,” concludes Isabelle Huot.
Reaction of the authorities
For its part, Health Canada said it is aware of the draft version of the IARC assessment and the assessment being prepared by the Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA).
“Health Canada will review the summary assessments from IARC and JECFA when they are available, as well as the full reports from each agency when they are published. The Ministry will determine at that time whether measures are necessary with regard to aspartame in Canada based on the scientific data presented in the complete reports,” explained André Gagnon, public relations at Health Canada.
“The sugar-free sweeteners that Health Canada has evaluated and authorized for use are considered safe […] If new scientific evidence is discovered showing health concerns with authorized uses of aspartame, Health Canada will not hesitate to take action to protect the health and safety of Canadians. he added.
—With Élisa Cloutier and QMI Agency