6. Cancer
Perhaps one of the scariest side effects of consuming aspartame is that it increases the risk of developing cancer. In fact, one study that was done on animals found that even in small doses, the animals that were given aspartame were developing several types of cancer. Another important study was completed in 2012 and spanned over 20 years. This study found a clear association between the consumption of aspartame and the development of leukemia and non-hodgkin’s lymphoma.
The American Journal of Industrial Medicine made a commentary in 2014 that stated that there is not adequate support for the safety of aspartame. In fact, recent study results have provided consistent evidence that aspartame has carcinogenic potential. This means that there are direct links that consuming aspartame can increase the likelihood of a person developing certain types of cancer. For this reason alone, along with some of the other side effects noted about aspartame, it is definitely worth avoiding.