As few as one diet soda daily may increase the risk for leukemia in men
and women, and for multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma in men,
according to new results from the longest-ever running study on
aspartame as a carcinogen in humans. Importantly, this is the most
comprehensive, long-term study ever completed on this topic, so it holds
more weight than other past studies which appeared to show no risk. And
disturbingly, it may also open the door for further similar findings on
other cancers in future studies.
The most thorough study yet on aspartame - Over two million person-years
For
this study, researchers prospectively analyzed data from the Nurses'
Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study for a 22-year
period. A total of 77,218 women and 47,810 men were included in the
analysis, for a total of 2,278,396 person-years of data. Apart from
sheer size, what makes this study superior to other past studies is the
thoroughness with which aspartame intake was assessed. Every two years,
participants were given a detailed dietary questionnaire, and their
diets were reassessed every four years. Previous studies which found no
link to cancer only ever assessed participants' aspartame intake at one
point in time, which could be a major weakness affecting their accuracy.
One diet soda a day increases leukemia, multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin lymphomas
The combined results of this new study showed that just one 12-fl oz. can (355 ml) of diet soda daily leads to:
- 42 percent higher leukemia risk in men and women (pooled analysis)
- 102 percent higher multiple myeloma risk (in men only)
- 31 percent higher non-Hodgkin lymphoma risk (in men only)
These
results were based on multi-variable relative risk models, all in
comparison to participants who drank no diet soda. It is unknown why
only men drinking higher amounts of diet soda showed increased risk for
multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Note that diet soda is the
largest dietary source of aspartame
(by far) in the U.S. Every year, Americans consume about 5,250 tons of
aspartame in total, of which about 86 percent (4,500 tons) is found in
diet sodas.
Confirmation of previous high quality research on animals
This
new study shows the importance of the quality of research. Most of the
past studies showing no link between aspartame and cancer have been
criticized for being too short in duration and too inaccurate in
assessing long-term aspartame intake. This new study
solves both of those issues. The fact that it also shows a positive
link to cancer should come as no surprise, because a previous
best-in-class research study done on animals (900 rats over their entire
natural lifetimes) showed strikingly similar results back in 2006:
aspartame significantly increased the risk for lymphomas and leukemia
in both males and females. More worrying is the follow on mega-study,
which started aspartame exposure of the rats at the fetal stage.
Increased lymphoma and leukemia risks were confirmed, and this time the
female rats also showed significantly increased breast (mammary) cancer
rates. This raises a critical question: will future, high-quality
studies uncover links to the other cancers in which aspartame has been
implicated (brain, breast, prostate, etc.)?
There is now more
reason than ever to completely avoid aspartame in our daily diet. For
those who are tempted to go back to sugary sodas as a "healthy"
alternative, this study had a surprise finding: men consuming one or
more sugar-sweetened sodas daily saw a 66 percent increase in
non-Hodgkin lymphoma (even worse than for diet soda). Perhaps the
healthiest soda is no soda at all.
Sources for this article include:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23097267
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16507461
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17805418
About the author:
Ethan
Evers is author of the award-winning medical thriller "The Eden
Prescription," in which cutting-edge researchers perfect an effective,
all-natural treatment for cancer, only to be hunted down by
pharmaceutical interests which will stop at nothing to protect their $80
billion cancer drug cash machine. The Eden Prescription is based on the
latest science and draws on real historical events stretching back to
the beginning of the "War on Cancer." Ethan has a PhD in Applied
Science.
Be aware and beware...
With
that latter thought in mind, we've developed an infographic to
highlight the top 10 GMO (genetically modified organism) foods to avoid,
in no particular order:
1. Tomatoes: What? Tomatoes? Yes,
that's right. It's probably the No. 1 symbol of a GMO food, having been
on the market since about 1994. Still, some think modifying them
genetically is okay, including those who traditionally shun GMO foods,
which is perplexing. The most recent converts are hailing a new
technique developed by researchers for extending the shelf life of
tomatoes and other crops from the traditional 15 days or so to a full
month. This is accomplished by suppressing two enzymes (A-Man, B-hex)
which accumulate during the ripening process. Backers say this
modification can decrease waste and increase efficiency, but again, it's
a process that genetically alters the product, and there have been reports that some animals have died shortly after consuming GMO tomatoes.
2. Cotton:
Considered a food item because its oil can be consumed, cotton - in
particular, genetically modified Bt cotton, common to India and China -
has damaging consequences. According to recent Chinese research, while
Bt cotton is capable of killing bollworms without the use of
insecticides, its decreased use has increased the presence of other
crop-harming pests. Also, Bt cotton production has been linked to
drastic depletion of soil nutrients and lower crop yields, as well as
much higher water requirements.
3. Canola: This is
probably one of the most misunderstood, misguided "healthy" food choices
out there right now, but there is little about canola - and similar
oils - that is good for you. Extracted from rapeseed, canola oil and
others must be chemically removed from the seeds, then deodorized and
altered, in order to be utilized in foods. They are among the most
chemically altered foods in our diets.
4. Aspartame: An
artificial sweetener found in a number of products, aspartame -
discovered by accident in 1965 by a chemist testing an anti-ulcer drug -
accounts for as many as 75 percent of adverse reactions to food
additives reported to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), according to some reports. Some seizures and even some deaths have been blamed on aspartame.
5. Dairy:
A disturbingly high number - as many as one-fifth - of dairy cows in
the U.S. today are given growth hormones to increase milk production, a
figure that has been rising since the FDA approved a genetically
engineered recombinant bovine growth hormone known as rbGH or rbST for
use in dairy cows in 1993. While said to boost production by 5-15
percent, scientists have expressed concern that the increased levels of
IGF-1 (insulin growth factors-1) from hormone-treated cows may boost the
risks of colon and breast cancer. Since 2008, Hiland Dairy has stopped
using milk from dairy farmers who inject their cows with growth hormone.
6. Corn:
Modified now to create its own insecticide, as many as half of all U.S.
farms growing corn for Monsanto are using genetically modified corn,
with tons of it now being introduced for human consumption, according to
the FDA. Doctors at Sherbrooke University Hospital in Quebec
recently found Bt toxin from modified corn in the blood of pregnant
women and their babies, as well as in non-pregnant women.
7. Papayas:
Genetically modified papayas have been grown in Hawaii commercially
since 1999, designed to combat the Papaya Ringspot Virus. Approved for
sale and consumption in the U.S. and Canada, GM papayas cannot be
imported or sold in the European Union.
8. Potatoes: That
favorite of American starches, potatoes, especially those that have been
genetically modified with Bacillus thuringiensis var. Kurstaki Cry 1,
have been fed to mice and those mice have been found to have toxins in
their systems. Also, according to Dr. Nina V. Fedoroff Willaman
Professor of Life Sciences and Evan Pugh Professor at Pennsylvania State University, "rats fed the transgenic potatoes had significantly lower organ weights [...]".
9. Soy:
Like other foods, soy, too, has been genetically modified to resist
herbicides. Soy is included in soy flour, tofu, soy beverages, soybean
oil and scores of other products, especially baked goods and pastries.
According to one report, "[a]fter feeding hamsters for two years over
three generations, those on the GM diet, and especially the group on the
maximum GM soy diet, showed devastating results. By the third
generation, most GM soy-fed hamsters lost the ability to have babies.
They also suffered slower growth, and a high mortality rate among the
pups."
10. Rice: One of the most prevalent starches in the
Asian and U.S. diets, rice has been modified to contain a high amount
of vitamin A. But despite the goal of boosting rice production in
countries with high demand, it's not being universally accepted. China,
for instance, suspended distribution of genetically modified rice within
its commercial food supplies over growing concern about its safety.
Sources for this article include:
http://www.naturalnews.com/Infographic-Top-10-GMO-Foods-to-Avoid-Eating.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/035734_GMOs_foods_dangers.html
http://www.deccanherald.com
http://www.hilanddairy.com/green/no-artificial-growth-hormones
http://www.huffingtonpost.com
It could be lurking in the foods you eat every single day, including U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) certified organic foods, and you would never even know it. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has declared that one of Monsanto's latest creations, a synthetic sweetener chemical known as neotame, does not have to be labeled in food products, including even in organic food products.
A modified version of aspartame with even more added toxicity, neotame received quiet and unassuming FDA approval back in 2002, even though no safety studies have ever been conducted on the chemical (http://www.neotame.com/pdf/neotame_fda_US.pdf). In fact, an investigation conducted by Feingold.org found only four studies relating to neotame in the MEDLINE database.
Two of these "studies" were not studies at all, and the other two were actually one duplicate study conducted by NutraSweet, the company that produces and sells neotame.
So just like with aspartame, the FDA has once again approved for use a dangerous sweetener chemical that metabolizes into formaldehyde when consumed. Except this time, the chemical contains added 3-dimethylbutyl, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has listed as one of the most hazardous known chemicals, and it does not have to be labeled on any of the products to which it is added.
"Neotame has similar structure to aspartame -- except that, from it's structure, appears to be even more toxic than aspartame," writes HolisticMed.com on its page about neotame. "Like aspartame, some of the concerns include gradual neurotoxic and immunotoxic damage from the combination of the formaldehyde metabolite (which is toxic at extremely low doses) and the excitotoxic amino acid" (http://www.holisticmed.com/neotame/toxin.html).
The FDA, the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA), and the World Health Organization (WHO) all consider neotame to be safe for use, despite the fact that WHO actually published a paper seeking to establish acceptable daily intake levels for neotame. If neotame is so safe that it does not even have to be labeled, according to the FDA, then why do acceptable daily intake levels have to be established? And what is the point of establishing them in the first place?
This dog and pony show of special interest regulatory corruption is a travesty that will have global negative health consequences. Like most other toxins added to foods, neotame will most likely cause chronic damage over a long period of time, which means mainstream health authorities will get away with never having to admit that neotame is a dangerous toxin.
Sources for this article include:
http://articlesofhealth.blogspot.com
http://www.gaia-health.com
