THE FDA COVER UP—Any routine internet search produces initial articles claiming artificial sweeteners are safe—
In 1996, John Olney, a professor of pathology and immunology at Washington University Medical School, claimed to have found epidemiological evidence that the introduction of aspartame in the US was connected to an increase in an aggressive form of brain tumor called glioblastomas. But this was criticized for just being a correlation and dismissed by the FDA.
Many of those Searle studies that Gross questioned are now lumped into the data that says aspartame is safe. And though the question of aspartame causing brain tumors has largely been dismissed over the years, there hasn’t been much new data on the subject. In fact, a 1987 General Accounting Office report states that 28 out of 69 scientists said more research was needed in the areas of “neurological functions, brain tumors, seizures, headaches, and adverse effects on children and pregnant women.” Nonetheless, the report added, research was ongoing in all areas except brain tumors. What’s more, the FDA dissuaded the National Toxicology Program (NTP) from doing further cancer research on aspartame. As the founder of the NTP, David Rall, put it, “It’s a wonderful way to ensure that it isn’t tested—discourage the testing group from testing it and then say it’s safe.”
A longterm study in humans found a positive association between aspartame intake and risks for non-Hodgkin lymphomas and multiple myeloma in men, and leukemia in both men and women.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/nzpbkx/the-story-of-how-fake-sugar-got-approved-is-scary-as-hell