Common Things That Aren't Actually Carcinogens

Artificial Sweeteners

Replacements for sugar in food and drinks such as artificial sweeteners are not much more healthy than sugar itself. Some have even made claims that artificial sweetener consumption can increase an individual's risk of developing cancer. However, no credible research currently supports allegations that implicate artificial sweeteners in the pathogenesis of cancer. This misconception was popularized when a study over three decades ago implicated a substance called cyclamate in the pathogenesis of bladder cancer in laboratory rats. Some artificial sweeteners contained cyclamate, but these were banned in 1969 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a precaution, even though the results were never replicated in humans.

Laboratory studies in rats also implicated another substance called saccharin in the pathogenesis of bladder cancer over two decades ago, but these results were also never replicated in human studies. Misconceptions surrounding an artificial sweetener called aspartame started when claims were made that a spike in brain tumor diagnosis between the years of 1975 and 1992 could be related to the new establishment of the substance in 1981. While the statistics themselves are accurate, the reasoning behind the increase in cancer is not. This claim was debunked when statistical data proved the rates of brain tumors started to spike in 1973 and started to decline in 1986, despite continued consumption of aspartame as an artificial sweetener.

Dental Fillings

Silver dental fillings were commonly used up until the introduction of white fillings, and still used presently as a cheaper alternative to white fillings. However, there have been claims made that dental amalgams or silver fillings have the potential to increase an individual's risk of developing cancer. The basis of this claim involves the composition of the silver fillings including copper, silver, tin, elemental mercury, and trace amounts of other metals. Extensive studies have been carried out on dental fillings containing mercury because it is known to be a poisonous substance to humans at certain levels and types of exposure. The claims seem to lock on to the misconception that it doesn't matter what amount of mercury is in the fillings, but exposure in any amount can be harmful.

However, this is simply not true, as the human body itself naturally contains amounts of mercury significant enough to be measured. Larger amounts of mercury vapor inhaled into the lungs can cause cellular damage that may lead to cancer, but metallic mercury used in dental fillings is non-toxic when it is swallowed. The association of occupational mercury exposure dangers with the small amount of mercury used in dental fillings is likely the driving factor behind the claims that fillings can cause cancer.