So many light soda water you need to take to exceed ‘healthy’ levels

A team of researchers examined the effect of the ordinary artificial sweetener aspartame on mice. Aspartame has long been used as a calorie -poor alternative to sugar and is often found in sugar -free soda and chewing gum.

The researchers found that the human equivalent of just three cans of light soda caused an increase in the level of insulin – the hormone that helps the body use blood sugar as energy.

This led to the accumulation of fat deposits, which are also known as atherosclerosis, which causes the arteries to become narrower – and it ends up ultimately reducing blood flow to the heart and over time also damaging the vital organ.

Compared to mice that did not get a diet with sweetener, the mice that received aspartame developed for 12 weeks, according to the researchers, larger and fatter deposits in their arteries as well as higher levels of inflammation. However, some experts are not entirely convinced of the study’s conclusions.

« I have several concerns about this study, » said Professor Oliver Jones, chemical professor at RMIT University in Melbourne, according to Manchester Evening News.

« The authors claim that the intake of aspartame among adults and children ‘often exceeds the levels that the FDA recommends’ – I find very unlikely. »

The US Food and Medicines Authority (FDA) says that the acceptable daily intake of aspartame is 50 milligrams per day. kilogram body weight.

« I weigh 80 kg, so that means the FDA -based safe limit for me is 4,000 mg (or 4 grams) aspartame a day – every day, all my life, » explains Professor Jones.

« Since a can of light soda contains about 200 mg of aspartame, I had to drink 20 cans daily to reach this limit. A child of 40 kg had to drink 10 cans a day every single day. »

« Artificial sweeteners have penetrated virtually all kinds of food, so we need to know the long -term health effects, » said the study’s lead author Yihai Cao, who researches chronic diseases related to blood vessels at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden.

However, other experts point out that there is no other evidence that aspartame should be harmful to cardiovascular health.

« This seems like worrying results, but before they can be taken seriously, they need to be confirmed in studies on humans, » said Professor Naveed Sattar, professor of cardiometabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow.

« There is no good evidence from clinical trials showing that insulin increases the risk of cardiovascular disease in people with existing heart disease. »

« For now, I’m still comfortable consuming sweeteners and sugar -free drinks instead of sugary as the former limits excess calorie intake. »