In addition to aspartame, which foods does the WHO associate with cancer – 07/15/2023 – Health

The WHO Cancer Research Agency classifies the sweetener aspartame, used in soft drinks, as possibly carcinogenic. Other products are already on the list. The sweetener aspartame, used in soft drinks such as Coke Zero, may be carcinogenic to humans, but the known scientific data do not require changing the acceptable daily consumption values, said this Thursday (13/07) the World Health Organization (WHO).

The conclusion is part of a joint analysis carried out by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which is part of the WHO, and the joint committee of experts from the World Health Organization and the Food Organization of the United Nations. and Agriculture (JECFA).

Iarc classified aspartame as “possibly carcinogenic” for humans (group 2B), based on “limited indications on hepatocellular carcinoma”, but JECFA concluded that the evaluated data do not point to the need to change the previously acceptable daily dose established of up to 40 milligrams for each kilo of the consumer’s weight.

According to professor of cancer epidemiology Paul Pharoah of the Cedars-Sinai Center in Los Angeles, “the general public should not be concerned about the cancer risk associated with a product classified in group 2B.” This group also includes aloe vera extract and caffeic acid, he points out.

Taking as an example a diet soda containing 200 or 300 milligrams of aspartame, an adult weighing 70 kilos would need to consume between nine and 14 cans a day to exceed the acceptable daily intake of this artificial sweetener, said the two entities.

“The limited indications on hepatocellular carcinoma come from three studies” carried out in the United States and in ten European countries. These are the only epidemiological studies on liver cancer”, explained Dr. Mary Schubauer-Berigan, from IARC. According to her, additional studies are needed to “clarify the situation even more”.

Aspartame is widely used in various dietetic products, or “lights”, replacing sugar since the 1980s, such as beverages (Coca Zero, for example), chewing gum, jellies, ice cream, yogurt, cereals, toothpaste, and also in medicines.

This is not the first time that the WHO considers there is a risk of cancer in the consumption of a food. The list also includes:

processed meats

Eating processed meat, such as ham, sausage and bacon, increases the risk of cancer, found an IARC and WHO report released in October 2015.

The report was compiled by 22 experts from ten countries, who analyzed more than 800 international studies on meat and cancer. The team classified processed meat as “carcinogenic to humans”.

The analysis revealed that there was “sufficient evidence in humans that consumption of processed meat causes colorectal cancer,” the Lyon, France-based agency said. Meats of this type include sausages, corned beef, jerky, and meat-based sauces.

Thus, processed meat was listed in IARC group 1 – a category that also includes cigarettes, asbestos and diesel smoke. However, the agency stressed that this does not mean that she is as dangerous as they are.

“For an individual, the risk of getting cancer from eating processed meat remains small, but it increases with the amount of meat consumed,” said Kurt Straif of IARC. Each 50-gram portion of processed meat consumed daily increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 18 percent, according to the agency.

Red meat

As for red meat, there is “strong evidence of the carcinogenic effects” of consuming the food – mainly in the development of colon and rectal cancer, but also in pancreas and prostate cancer. This includes beef, pork, lamb, mutton, horse and goat. Red meat is thus in the WHO group 2A of those “probably causing cancer”.

Meat industry groups have criticized the result, arguing that cancer is not caused by specific foods but by multiple factors.

Doctors and government agencies have been warning for some time that a diet high in red meat is associated with cancer, including colon and pancreas.

It is not yet clear to what extent red meat can increase the risk of cancer, but a group of researchers from the University of California, in the United States, has a hypothesis.

They believe that Neu5Gc sialic acid, a sugar molecule present in red meat, stimulates an inflammatory process in the body, which predisposes to the development of cancer.

Neu5Gc is found naturally in most mammals, but not in humans. Persistent consumption of red meat would lead to chronic inflammation – which, as is already known, can trigger tumors – if the human immune system is constantly producing antibodies against Neu5Gc, a foreign molecule to the body.

To test the hypothesis, the researchers manipulated laboratory mice so that they imitated humans, that is, so that Neu5Gc was a foreign substance to them as well. Afterwards, the mice were fed Neu5Gc and developed systemic inflammation. Tumor formation quintupled and Neu5Gc accumulated in tumors.

Testing in humans is more complicated, but the team believes the finding could help explain the connection between red meat and other diseases made worse by chronic inflammation, such as atherosclerosis and type 2 diabetes.

Alcohol

Since 2012, alcohol has been in the same WHO group as processed meat, group 1. This is the group of foods that cause cancer.

Among the types of tumors related to alcohol consumption are bowel, liver, esophageal and breast cancer.

More than that: a recent study on alcohol consumption covering 195 countries found that even small amounts of wine or beer ingested occasionally can increase the risk of health problems or death.

And the WHO warns: ethyl consumption is related to more than 200 diseases and chronic conditions. This list, which includes cancer and cirrhosis, kills 3.3 million people a year – equivalent to about 6% of the global death toll.

Fried food

Fried foods are in WHO group 2A, “probably causing cancer”. They have been linked to tongue cancer.

In addition, trans fatty acids, also found in fried foods, may be associated with a higher risk of developing ovarian cancer, according to an IARC study released in 2020.

Aloe vera extract, a plant popularly known as aloe vera, is in group 2B, possibly causing cancer.

In Brazil, Anvisa has prohibited the sale, manufacture and importation of aloe vera-based foods and beverages because there is no proof of the safety of using these foods. In food, this substance can only be used as an additive in the function of flavoring.