Recently, "Aspartame Carcinogenic" was listed in Weibo Hot Search. According to media reports, aspartame will be listed as "a substance that may cause cancer to human beings" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer under the World Health Organization in July this year. Aspartame is widely used in China, and it can be added to 12 kinds of food. People can’t help asking, can diet drinks still be drunk? What else can you eat with healthy sugar reduction?
"In fact, aspartame, as a common synthetic sweetener, has been controversial for a long time and has been questioned about the possible neurotoxicity and cancer risk. However, years of scientific research have not really determined the carcinogenicity of aspartame. " Liu Xuemei, a clinical nutritionist in the Nutrition Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Tsinghua University, said in an interview with Workers Daily: "We don’t have to panic. The rating of carcinogens is not equal to their risk. Many common food ingredients are listed as carcinogens, but we can still consume normally."
Which foods contain aspartame?
At present, according to the probability of cancer, the international agency for research on cancer divides the carcinogenic factors into five categories: category 1, which has confirmed carcinogenicity to human beings; Class 2A is likely to be carcinogenic to humans; Category 2B, which may cause cancer to human beings; Category 3, it is still uncertain whether it is carcinogenic to human body; Category 4, basically no carcinogenic effect on human body. According to the information disclosed by the media, aspartame will be classified as category 2B, which may cause cancer to human beings.
As a sugar substitute, aspartame is very sweet, about 200 times as sweet as sucrose, and its calorie is only 200~300 times as high as sucrose. Because of its low calorie and high popularity, aspartame is widely used in food fields such as beverages.
China has approved that aspartame can be used in cola, ice cream, ice cream, candied fruit, jam, bread, cakes, canned aquatic products, vinegar, salad dressing, concentrated soup, carbonated drinks, flavored fermented milk and many other foods. The most common is sugar-free carbonated drinks, and aspartame is also widely used in sugar-free chewing gum and sugar-free mints.
Can you still drink sugar-free drinks?
When discussing the safety of aspartame, dosage is an important consideration. The Committee of Scientific Experts (JECFA), jointly managed by FAO and WHO, has previously issued recommendations on the safe dosage of aspartame. According to this suggestion, a 60 kg person will have to drink more than 12 cans of diet coke every day before it will be affected.
Zuo Xiaoxia, director of the Nutrition Department of the Eighth Medical Center of the General Hospital of the People’s Liberation Army, said that there is no need to be too alarmed and should be treated rationally. It is unscientific to talk about toxicity without dose. Although the mainstream research results have proved that aspartame is safe since it was discovered, it does not mean that aspartame can be eaten at will.
"If you don’t consume a lot of products containing aspartame, then its risk may not be great." Liu Xuemei said: "In the past, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a subsidiary of the World Health Organization, listed night shift work and red meat intake as possible carcinogens, and the use of mobile phones as possible carcinogens, similar to aspartame. In fact, aspartame is not used much in the products of many large companies, and there are other alternative sweeteners, so you don’t have to panic too much. "
Sweeteners are not necessarily healthier than sugar.
If you really want to drink sugar-free drinks, but you are worried about the carcinogenic problem of aspartame, Liu Xuemei suggested that you can choose to use other natural sweeteners, or fruits instead of artificial sweeteners, or you can give priority to some drinks that use safer natural sugars instead of sweeteners, such as mogrosides, stevioside and erythritol from natural plants.
Liu Xuemei said that the following kinds of sugars can be safely selected: sugars with "glycosides", such as stevioside and mogroside, are all from natural plants; Sugar with "poly", such as fructooligosaccharide, polyglucose, xylooligosaccharide, yeast β -Dextran, Galactooligosaccharide, Oat β -Dextran, isomaltooligosaccharide, inulin, stachyose; Sugar with "ketone", such as isomaltulose, isomaltulose alcohol and psicose; Sugar with "alcohol", such as erythritol (which exists in plants such as seaweed and mushrooms and is less likely to cause sugar fluctuation in vivo than xylitol), maltitol, isomaltol, lactitol, xylitol and sorbitol. In addition, there are some sugars with special functions, such as L- arabinose, which can inhibit the conversion of sucrose into fructose and glucose, thus reducing the digestion and absorption of sugar.
Judging whether a food is healthy or not? The key is to learn to look at the ingredient list and nutrient composition list.
Liu Xuemei said that attention to health should be paid to reducing the intake of various sweets from childhood, and perhaps the best choice is not to drink sugary drinks and sweetening drinks. "From a health point of view, whether it is sugary drinks or sweetening drinks, try to drink as little as possible, and try to choose healthier drinks such as boiled water, moderate coffee, light tea or sugar-free soda water."
Kai Zhong, director of Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center, reminded that sweeteners are not diet pills, but only an option to reduce sugar. Consumers who need to reduce sugar should drink more water, not or less sugary drinks. If they especially like sweet drinks, it is a better choice to choose sugar-free and low-sugar products. However, there is no shortcut to weight control. If you eat too much, you have to exercise more.
As we all know, too much sugar intake is harmful to health, so sugar substitute is becoming more and more popular. However, with the extensive use and in-depth research of sugar substitute, the potential risks of various sugar substitutes have also been exposed.
Professionals remind that consumers need to keep a clear head and look at the problem rationally with a scientific eye on the news that aspartame is listed as a carcinogen. Although it has not been confirmed by the official authority and specific suggestions, with the emergence of new research, it is believed that the authority will make corresponding adjustments.