While we hear about a lot of contradictory statements around the world, usually in the field of politics, it is not often that we see the same in the healthcare sector as well and also when the issue is related to a possible carcinogen as well. That is exactly what we are going through right now as the World Health Organization is giving confusing statements regarding Aspartame which it called a “possible carcinogen” earlier this week. Talking about aspartame, WHO found that it could be a possible reason for people developing cancer and told everyone to avoid it. Now, aspartame is the artificial sweetener used in almost all of the “diet” food items as a sugar substitute including Diet Coke as well. WHO has now backtracked on its earlier statement and say that it is a “possible carcinogen but safe in moderation” which is absolutely weird and rough to tell anyone.
WHO’s statement says that “We’re not advising consumers to stop consuming [aspartame] altogether,” while adding that “We’re just advising a bit of moderation”. The statement further adds that “If consumers are faced with the decision of whether to take cola with sweeteners or one with sugar, I think there should be a third option considered – which is to drink water instead”. WHO also says that “the existing consumption levels meant, for example, a person weighing between 60-70kg (132-154 lbs) would have to drink more than 9-14 cans of soft drinks daily to breach the limit, based on the average aspartame content in the beverages”.
Now, we are not the ones to pass judgement on such statements a lot but the fact that WHO has somewhat backtracked on their initial statement shows that the big cold drink companies might have had something to say on this matter as they are the biggest culprits of using Aspartame and if WHO says not to consume it, people won’t and that could affect their business directly. For those who are already aware of how these companies work, they sure won’t consume any diet products anymore considering the risks that these artificial sweeteners have.
