Do You Think Artificial Sweeteners Cause Cancer?

Not necessarily cancer always but many other things you wouldn't associate with it-like a good friend of mine had severe joint pain that after many different doctor visits was diagnosed as arthritis. When she stopped putting splenda in her coffee this problem completely cleared up.
I personally do not eat artificial sweetener nor do I allow my kids to. I would rather they eat real sugar. Besides the health concerns it causes me major bloat as well.

I don't know about cancer but I do know that they all trigger a migraine in me. Sugar cane or honey doesn't. So, I'm sticking with sugar cane or honey. Not worth it to me. I'll find other places to cut calories.

it hasn't been definitively proven. but they are clearly awful enough for the human system that i don't put 'em in mine.
khairete
S.

Cancer..possibly. Disease....yes. I personally think that artificial sweetners are poison......and I don't allow it. Real sugar is not great, but healthy when compared to artificial sweetners.

Oh.....and read the studies where those who use artificial sweetners in their drinks often weigh more than those who just drink sugared drinks. It's all about how our bodies use the substance. Don't think you are doing yourself any favors weight and calorie wise by choosing artificial sweetners.

Maybe try sweetening with honey...or not at all...

I honestly believe it will come out at some point in the future that almost all of our "illnesses" that have increases in huge amounts will be linked back to artificial sweeteners.

I think that many childhood illnesses that are long term will be linked to artificial sweeteners used while the mom was pregnant. They found after years and years that Saccharin caused cancer. Many people used it on everything every day. Some of them died from cancer that was not passed on genetically from their ancestors. Maybe they would have anyway but what "if" it was caused by a gene mutation because they used Saccharin.

I think a lot of behavior problems, childhood obesity, Autism, allergies, all kinds of things "might" be liked back at some point in the future.

I truly thing this is a time where we are educated enough to know that a healthy diet that is natural and eating in moderation is much healthier than any artificially made food that comes from science changing and manipulating DNA.

My friends diabetes doc told her to never use anything artificial again, to stop using all artificial sweeteners, all fat substitutes, he told her to use only real butter, eat real meat if she wanted meat, to eat real sugar and real cream. That she needed to count her carbs so she didn't go over a certain amount. It was a normal amount, not a low carb diet. She lost over 150 lbs and her insulin pump is gone, she doesn't walk around using oxygen at Walmart anymore, she is out walking and exercising and doesn't even have to test her blood except occasionally if she doesn't feel well. She was insulin resistant diabetic. She cut out artificial stuff and is living a healthy non hospitalized life nowadays.

Her doc is right, the artificial stuff was killing her and it is killing all sorts of other people too. If you want sweet coffee or sweet tea add a little bit of sugar, don't go overboard, use it in extreme moderation.

I don't know about cancer, but it's linked to Type 2 Diabetes and contributes to obesity.

My dad had aspartame poisoning and suffered severe seizures. He has cut artificial sweeteners out of his diet and only has a seizure if he inadvertently ingests aspartame.

As far as Splenda goes..... it's garbage. I don't care what anyone says, anything that highly processed is not good for your body.

I recommend not drinking soda at all and switching to raw honey for your coffee. It's great stuff and the health benefits of raw honey outweigh the extra bit of calories. I think it's important to cut out the unnecessary calories to make room for the calories in foods that actually benefit us.

Hey there,
artificial sweeteners have shown to cause a lot of problems in the human body, including obesity. Have you noticed that a lot of people who consume diet soda are fat? Not only because of the soda of course. However, the human body can process real sugar. It has not evolved to process all these artificial substances. You taste something sweet, the brain gets ready to deal with the sugar, but nothing arrives. It causes an imbalance which leads to weight gain. Artificial sweeteners have even been proven harmful for diabetics, so these weird diabetic foods are being outlawed in Germany now. Don't feel bad about a little real sugar in your coffee. And don't drink too much soda. Then you have nothing to worry about.

While I was pregnant, 22 years ago.. My OBGYN, asked me if I drank artificial sweeteners.

I told her no, I could not stand the taste of them.

She said good, promise me you will also never allow your child to injest them. They are really, really bad.. While in Medical school, she had run a study about artificial sweeteners and found they were really not good for human consumption.

But because they passed our federal standards.. They are legal to use.

How about cutting out the soda all together! Try using Agave, maple syrup, honey, coconut palm or Stevia as sweetners.

I don't "know" if artificial sweetners cause cancers, but I do think they ARE NOT in any way, shape or form "good" for you! So, why put it in your body?

I refuse to use them. My body is not a toxic waste dump.

BTW sugar has only 16 calories/ teaspoon and 48 calories/tablespoon. So an extra 96 calories a day in your coffee is not too bad. Better yet start using half the amount in your coffee and wean yourself off sweetened coffee.

I don't think they necessarily cause cancer. but they leave a vile aftertaste in my mouth. Give me real sugar (not high fructose corn syrup) in reasonable amounts.

Your body doesn't know what to do with non-caloric sweeteners. They aren't food.

nothing "artificial" is going to be good for you! The best way to be healthy is to eat foods with as little processing and artificial stuff as possible. I don't know that these sweeteners are causing cancer, but they certainly are not the cure for our health struggles either.

If I remember correctly, when I looked into the "lesser of the evils" Splenda is the WORST.
I use stevia. Because at least it's natural. Have you tried it?

ETA for those who think Splenda is "safe" and "natural":
http://www.draxe.com/dangerous-splenda-potential-pesticid...

http://www.peertrainer.com/health/complete-guide-to-sweet...

Did you know that Splenda was accidently discovered during development of a pesticide??? Ackkkk!

I think it might be a trigger for some people.
Artificial sweeteners can mess up your kidneys badly.
Also, there have been a few studies which show they tend to slow down your metabolism so you burn fewer calories - which ends up causing you to gain weight.
When I have a soft drink (which isn't often - less than once a week), I'll go for a regular coke with real sugar in it.
1 tsp of white granulated sugar is 16 calories - it's not that much as long as you don't go overboard on it in your coffee.

Well, anything that is said to possibly cause cancer, I avoid. Why risk it?

I would switch to just water and milk, and 100% juice as a treat. That's all we drink (adults too). But you need to do what works for you, of course.

Nah, I don't. I mean there is supposedly a big link to the pill being associated with breast cancer and I don't see as many people getting all nuts about that bc well I guess sex is worth it??? ;) Just kidding around there both of those things (sex and low calorie sweets) are great IMO ;) I think we all eat things daily that are fake like food coloring, preservatives and on and on. Now some people have really gone all out crunchy and don't eat that junk and I am all for that, just not something I have put the time into at this point in life. I don't think aspartame is any worse than yellow lake 40 (or whatever it's called!), a birth control pill, or decaf coffee that is decaffeinated in some unnatural way. Just my two cents!

I can't say it causes cancer but it is a man made chemical........it is also believed to cause people not to loose weight too because it is so much sweater than sugar that it causes your body to crave the sweet even more so. I've heard talk about aspartame poisoning from consuming too much fake sugar. I watched one of my daughter's basketball team mates go down from dehydration on day. Mom said she drinks diet soda and G2 (gatorades made with artificial sugar).

Same with butter like smart balance, it isn't real at all.

I am a believer in moderation of things like sugar and butter. All this man made fake stuff can't be 100% safe for us even if the FDA says so.

S.

No, I don't. I also disagree with the distinction of "natural" vs. "artificial". If you buy food off a store shelf instead of grazing out in a field, it's no longer "natural". I believe in moderation in all things and the banning of none.

I think that anything unnatural consumed in great amounts or over a period of time can wreak all kinds of havoc in the body. There are so many different variables--lifestyle, genetics, diet--that factor into how one person's body will respond to any one thing. I just believe in keeping my diet as natural as possible, so that (in my mind) I can afford the occasional "trash".

I wouldn't touch Splenda with a 10-foot pole . . . and nobody really needs soda - diet, sugar (which is actually corn syrup in most cases) or otherwise.

My husband was a huge diet Coke addict for awhile, and even he broke that terrible habit.

My only weakness is saccharin (Sweet 'n Low) because that's what I grew up with (one of my parents is a Type 1 diabetic). Even that I avoid now.

I cut out sweeteners when I was pregnant with my first. I never looked back! I can actually taste my tea and coffee now. :) you may be surprised and actually like the transition better in the long run.

Agave nectar is a great safe and natural sweetener that has a healthier glycemic index (because you don't have to use as much to get the same sweetness as sugar). I do think there's probably something to the artificial sweetener health concerns, so we opt for safety (most of the time--we still drink Coke Zero, but are trying to wean off completely.)

Saccharin has been shown to cause bladder cancer in lab rats, but not in humans. And even in those tests, it was when given in ridiculously excessive quantities that nobody actually eats.

For the most part, your chances of getting cancer are related to your genetics, not your sweetener. Splenda is made from real sugar and there are no health risks in using it. Also...Rite brand cola makes their diet colas with Splenda... :-)

Please check out this good information: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/artific...

Everything causes cancer. Well at least a ton of things do--food, environment, medication, household cleaners, paint, toxins, etc.

But yes---artificial sweeteners definitely change your body and then stimulate things to go wrong. If you look on doctor oz's website--he talks about all the different things that can predispose you to cancer.

Nah. If that were the case, the "thinner" states would have a higher cancer rate than the "fat" states... but we don't.

I think anything, in mass quantities, causes cancer.

2x a day... NO.

I don't think that reasonable amounts cause cancer, to be honest. Rats that get cancer from artificial sweeteners are getting such high and impossible amounts of the stuff that they're bound to get cancer. Humans couldn't possibly consume that amount if they tried.

I do think that it's a good substitute for people that have Diabetes, but should still be in moderation.

That's not to say that I think it's healthy. It can still cause weight gain. It can cause serious water retention and dehydration. It can cause migraines and flare up eczema. It can also aggravate digestive problems.

That's just Splenda. And Stevia. And NutraSweet. And Aspartame.