Trading sugar for artificial sweeteners appears to mean trading for a significant increase in cancer risk. In a long term cohort study recently revealed that artificial sweeteners were linked to an overall 13% increase in cancer risk. The results of the study revealed that folks were trading sugar for increased cancer risk.

The cohort study followed 102,865 French adults who regularly reported their dietary intakes, including food product names. The participants’ background health and family history were weighted and assessed along with their dietary habits including baseline intake of a variety of foods. The patient’s health was then tracked for a median of 7.8 years.

The study focused on “high consumers” of artificial sweeteners, but even limited consumption of these sweeteners created a higher risk for cancers. “High consumers” of artificial sweeteners were defined as those who consumed more than the median amount of exposure. You would probably appreciate knowing that the sweeteners most closely tied to cancer risk were aspartame and acesulfame –potassium (Sounds delicious. Also known as Sunett or Seeet One). You would also probably appreciate learning that sucralose (Splenda) caused no identifiable increased risk of cancer.

The specific cancers identified for which these patients were at higher risk include breast cancer and obesity-related cancers (e.g. colorectal, ovarian, pancreatic, kidney, liver, and thyroid cancers).

Why does this matter? One modifiable risk factor for cancer already is obesity; and some folks aim to manage their obesity in part through substituting out sugar for artificial sweeteners. This may be the first cohort study that directly investigates whether that trade off is in fact worth it. This sort of information will help patients make the risk/benefit analysis they are comfortable with. If there is a lesson to be gleaned from this, it may be the same as consuming glucose – in consuming artificial sweeteners, moderation is key.