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Article: Not so sweet: cancers in rats that consumed aspartame.(sweetner aspartame)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- February 18, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A large, new test in rats suggests that the artificial sweetener aspartame may be a carcinogen. But scientists not affiliated with the research express doubts about the study's validity and point to earlier trials that produced the opposite result.
Aspartame, sold under the brand names Equal and NutraSweet, is used in thousands of products, including diet soft drinks and sugarfree gum. The acceptable daily intake set by the Food and Drug Administration is 50 milligrams per kilogram body weight (mg/kg) per day, the equivalent of about 20 cans of diet soda.
Eight past studies looked at whether the sweetener causes cancer in lab animals, says veterinary ...