Can I still eat foods containing aspartame?

Recently, a piece of news that "aspartame will be declared as 'possibly carcinogenic' by the International Agency for Research on Cancer under the World Health Organization in July" became a hot topic on the Internet. The related topics of aspartame have received widespread attention and aroused heated discussions among netizens.

As a member of the sweetener family, aspartame is widely used in various foods, especially sugar-free foods. So, can we still eat foods containing aspartame? What are the common sweeteners in life? What are the characteristics of aspartame as a high-quality sweetener?

A wide variety of sweeteners

There are many types of sweeteners, which can be divided into natural sweeteners and artificial sweeteners according to their sources; divided into nutritive sweeteners and non-nutritive sweeteners according to their nutritional value; and divided into sugars and non-sugar sweeteners according to their chemical structure and properties.

Although sugars such as glucose, fructose, sucrose, maltose, starch sugar and lactose are also natural sweeteners, they are usually regarded as food raw materials because they have been consumed by humans for a long time and are important nutrients. They are not used as food additives in China.

Non-sugar sweeteners include natural sweeteners and artificial sweeteners. Natural sweeteners include stevia, licorice, disodium glycyrrhizinate, tripotassium glycyrrhizinate and trisodium glycyrrhizinate, etc. Artificial sweeteners include saccharin, sodium saccharin, sodium cyclamate, aspartame, alitame, etc.

Aspartame is low in calories and high in sweetness

Aspartame is a non-carbohydrate artificial sweetener, scientifically known as aspartame, which is mainly composed of aspartic acid and phenylalanine. It can be quickly absorbed in the body like protein and will not accumulate in the body. Moreover, the aspartic acid in it can be directly used by the human body, so it will not cause a rise in blood sugar.

Aspartame has very low calories, containing only 4186 kilojoules per kilogram. The calories per unit of aspartame are two hundredths of sucrose, but its sweetness is 200 times that of the same amount of sucrose.

Aspartame has a clean, sugar-like sweetness without the bitter or metallic aftertaste often associated with artificial sweeteners.

In addition, aspartame has a synergistic effect on the flavor of certain foods and beverages, especially on sour fruit flavors. Sensory evaluation shows that it has a better synergistic effect on natural flavors than synthetic flavors. When applied to certain foods, this flavor enhancement property can reduce the amount of aspartame used and can also meet certain special needs of products such as chewing gum. The sweetness of chewing gum using aspartame lasts 4 times longer than that of sucrose. When aspartame is mixed with some sweeteners with slightly lower sweetness or some salts, its lingering sweetness characteristics and taste are easily changed. This must be noted when formulating foods.

Studies have found that aspartame can be mixed with strong sweeteners or carbohydrate sweeteners, which further expands its application range. When aspartame is mixed with carbohydrate sweeteners (such as sucrose, fructose or glucose), the energy of the product decreases significantly but the sweetness does not change. When aspartame is mixed with strong sweeteners (such as saccharin, sodium cyclamate, acesulfame potassium or stevia), the product sometimes has a slightly bitter taste, which can be improved by increasing the proportion of aspartame in the mixture, and the degree of improvement increases with the increase of the proportion of aspartame. The synergistic effect of mixed sweeteners is related to the proportion of each component sweetener and the food ingredient system.

Because of its low calories and high sweetness, aspartame is added to various foods as a good sweetener, especially sugar-free foods, such as sugar-free chewing gum, sugar-free beverages, etc.

Safety of Aspartame

From a safety perspective, many international health organizations and regulatory agencies, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), and the World Health Organization (WHO)'s Food Additives Committee JECFA, have conducted extensive evaluations and research on aspartame and all believe that it is safe to use within a reasonable range (except that patients with phenylketonuria cannot consume foods containing aspartame as a sweetener).

The information revealed so far is that aspartame may cause cancer, but there is no clear and specific result, but there is a tendency to increase the carcinogenicity level of aspartame.

We should not be anxious about the name of "carcinogen" or even be afraid to eat sugar-free foods.

In fact, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is an organization under the World Health Organization that specializes in cancer-related research. The IARC carcinogenicity classification is not equal to the carcinogenicity intensity. The IARC carcinogenicity classification is based on the degree of certainty of carcinogenicity evidence, and has no necessary connection with the carcinogenicity intensity or the actual threat to humans.

According to the strength of evidence for carcinogens, they are classified into four categories and five levels.

First are Class 1 carcinogens, which refer to substances that are clearly harmful to the human body. Common ones include alcohol, betel nut, tobacco, aflatoxin, etc.

The second is Class 2 carcinogens, including Class 2A carcinogens and Class 2B carcinogens. The former refers to substances that are likely to cause cancer to humans, and the latter refers to substances that may cause cancer to humans.

Then there are Class 3 carcinogens, which refer to substances whose carcinogenicity to humans cannot be classified, that is, substances whose carcinogenicity to humans is questionable.

Finally, there are 4 types of carcinogens, which refer to substances that are likely not carcinogenic to humans.

In this case, can we still consume foods containing aspartame on a daily basis?

First, we can eat foods containing aspartame in moderation, but not in excess.

Currently, more than 90 countries and regions around the world allow the use of aspartame, which is enough to show that it is safe within a reasonable range.

Second, if you hope to use sugar-free foods and beverages containing aspartame to help you lose weight, this is not advisable.

Text: Liu Yuhao