by diy naturally 06.29 Here’s the headline of an article I read from the Organic Consumers Association; it’s a little disturbing:
“Aspartame Found to Cause Breast Cancer, Leukemia and Lymphomas”
Doesn’t this make you stop and think of all the people that drink diet sodas and the quantity that is consumed on a daily basis?
I know of several people in my life that consume very large amounts of diet soda. They are thinking that it’s safe and they want to avoid the extra calories in regular soda.
A new study on aspartame conducted by the Ramazzini Foundation reveals that aspartame causes a dose-dependent increase in cancers (lymphomas, leukemias and breast cancers) when consumed at levels approaching those consumed by humans in diet soft drinks. Specifically, the study shows (reprinted from the abstract):
……a) a significant dose-related increase of malignant tumor-bearing animals in males…..
b) a significant increase of the incidence in lymphomas/leukemias in males …….
c) a significant dose-related increase of the incidence of mammary cancer in females…..
Would they stop drinking their diet soda if it were proven to be harmful and may lead to cancer, especially breast cancer?
I think they would and there in lies the problem; big industry loosing a ton of money when people stop buying their product.
Isn’t the FDA responsible for protecting our communities from such things?
Shutting down good science to protect profits
Virtually the entire health and medical system in the United States is not interested in these questions. Following the publication of this study, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a statement flatly denying aspartame poses any safety risk whatsoever, rejecting the idea that its safety or approval as a food ingredient should be reviewed at all. Specifically, FDA spokesperson Michael Herndon said, “…the FDA finds no reason to alter its previous conclusion that aspartame is safe as a general purpose sweetener in food.”
In other words, the FDA is not interested in any new science that might challenge a decision it already made. Long live scientific-sounding dogma!
What can we do about this?
My thoughts are; stop buying the product. Personally I would rather gain a little extra weight from natural sugar than take the risk of cancer. If I were worried about gaining some weight from drinking soda, I would choose to exercise more.
We can also put pressure on the FDA to protect our health and not big industry.
And support organizations like the Organic Consumers Association and all the work they have done and continue to do.
~DIY Naturally
Aspartame | Diet Soda | Breast Cancer | Cancer | Organic Consumers Association
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