人造甜味剂的甜度可能是糖的数百倍。这些强力甜味剂通常用于节食和低糖食品和饮料中。报告将其中许多与癌症联系起来。
人造甜味剂与癌症
在1970年代，一些对老鼠喂食大量糖精的研究（954）发现，糖精的使用与膀胱癌的高发有关。它在加拿大被禁止使用，直到1996年在美国含有糖精的产品都必须贴上警告标签。但是在人类的研究很大程度上未能提高这种风险，2000年，美国政府的国家毒理学计划将糖精列为可能的致癌物。
欧洲Ramazzini基金会在2005年进行的一项研究（于2007年更新）发现，以对人类安全模拟剂量喂食大鼠阿斯巴甜（951），增加了大鼠患白血病，淋巴瘤和乳腺癌的风险。
另一种极强甜味剂甜蜜素（952）在加拿大，英国和美国在30年前已被禁止使用，因为动物研究显示与癌症有关，但于1996年英国取消了该禁用。但是，另一项英国调查发现，某些儿童的甜蜜素摄入量可能是ADI的两倍。 FSANZ的一项调查类似地发现，有5％的澳大利亚孩子超出了每日可接受的摄入量（甜蜜素的每日允许摄入量（ADI0）。甜蜜素仍被批准在澳大利亚使用。
人造甜味剂与怀孕
2010年，丹麦研究人员将人工甜味剂但非加糖的汽水与婴儿早产联系起来。尽管研究不能区分各种人造甜味剂，但阿斯巴甜和乙酰磺胺酸钾是使用最广泛的甜味剂。作者认为，问题的原因可能是阿斯巴甜在容器或体内分解时释放的甲醇。在这个问题上需要更多的研究。同时，孕妇可能需要特别努力，避免食用人造甜味剂。
人造甜味剂和其他健康问题
阿斯巴甜也与头痛，过敏和行为改变有关。但是，由业界资助的包括Ramazzini研究在内的500多项研究得出的结论是，阿斯巴甜作为一种非营养性甜味剂，在目前的食用水平下是安全的。尽管许多科学家仍然对拉马齐尼基金会的研究结果感到担忧，但FSANZ和美国食品监管机构告诉我们，他们认为没有理由改变他们对阿斯巴甜是安全的立场。
我们的判决
与吃人造糖产品相比，超重对您健康的威胁肯定更大。
人们通常推荐使用甜味剂来帮助减轻体重，但是关于人工加糖饮料对健康有益的研究却存在矛盾。一些研究表明，定期食用人工甜味剂的饮料会减少卡路里的摄入并促进体重减轻或保持体重，其他研究则没有效果，甚至有研究表明体重增加。
评审团仍对人造甜味剂的绝对安全性持反对意见，因此限制您和您的孩子摄入人造糖食品和饮料是有道理的。在没有人造甜味剂帮助的情况下减肥将是双赢的局面。
那些绝对应该避免阿斯巴甜的人是患有罕见的苯丙酮尿症（PKU）的人，他们必须限制摄入阿斯巴甜中的氨基酸苯丙氨酸。
Artificial sweeteners can be hundreds of times sweeter than sugar. These intense sweeteners are typically used in diet and low-sugar foods and drinks. Reports link many of them to cancer.
Artificial sweeteners and cancer
In the 1970s, several studies of rats that were fed very large amounts of saccharin (954)found its use was associated with a higher incidence of bladder cancer. It was banned in Canada, and until 1996 products containing saccharin in the US had to be labeled with a warning. But research in humans largely failed to turn up that risk, and in 2000 the US Government’s National Toxicology Program delisted saccharin as a possible carcinogen.
Research in 2005 from the European Ramazzini Foundation (updated in 2007) found feeding rats aspartame (951) at simulated doses around levels considered safe for humans increased the rats’ risk of leukaemia, lymphoma and breast cancer.
Another intense sweetener, cyclamate (952), was banned in Canada, the UK and the US over 30 years ago because animal studies indicated links to cancer, but this ban was lifted in the UK in 1996 following further studies. However, another UK survey found some children could be consuming up to twice the ADI for cyclamate. A survey by FSANZ similarly found that 5% of Australian kids were exceeding the acceptable daily intake (ADI0 for cyclamate. Cyclamate is still approved for use in Australia.
Artificial sweeteners and pregnancy
In 2010 Danish researchers linked the consumption of artificially sweetened, but not sugar-sweetened, soft drinks to preterm delivery of babies. Though the study couldn’t distinguish between the various artificial sweeteners, aspartame and acesulfame-potassium are the most widely used. The authors suggested that the cause of the problem might be the methanol released when aspartame breaks down in the container or in the body. More research is needed on this issue. In the meantime, pregnant women might want to make a special effort to avoid consuming artificial sweeteners.
Artificial sweeteners and other health concerns
Aspartame has also been linked to headaches, allergies, and changes in behaviour. But a review funded by the industry of more than 500 studies, including the Ramazzini research, concluded that aspartame is safe at current levels of consumption as a non-nutritive sweetener. While many scientists remain concerned about the Ramazzini Foundation results, FSANZ and the US food regulatory authority told us they see no reason to alter their position that aspartame is safe.
Our verdict
There’s certainly a bigger risk to your health from being overweight than there is from eating artificially-sweetened products.
Sweeteners have often been recommended to aid in weight loss, but there’s conflicting research about the health benefits of artificially-sweetened drinks. Some studies show that regular consumption of artificially-sweetened beverages reduces the intake of calories and promotes weight loss or weight maintenance, other research shows no effect, and some studies even show weight gain.
The jury’s still out on the absolute safety of artificial sweeteners, so it makes sense to limit your and your children’s intake of artificially-sweetened foods and drinks. Losing weight without the help of artificial sweeteners would be the win/win situation.
Those who should definitely avoid aspartame are people with the rare disorder phenylketonuria, or PKU, who must limit their intake of phenylalanine, an amino acid in aspartame.
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