Today on Watch Mojo’s Top Ten, we’re going to look at the top ten things that … are not true. WatchMojo is a Youtube giant; according to Watch Mojo’s Youtube homepage, they have over 23.7 million followers as well as mini-accounts like MojoJr, TravelMojo, and GameShowMojo that also have millions of followers. With over 13.5 billion total views on their channel, they are one of the biggest content producers on Youtube. Unfortunately, WatchMojo cannot always be trusted to provide accurate health content. In their video, Watch Mojo’s Top Ten Things that Cause Cancer, WatchMojo makes many claims with no evidence. Cancer is a horrible disease; according to Our World in Data, cancer is one of the most deadly afflictions in the world, second only to cardiovascular diseases. Every one in six deaths in the world is due to cancer. While you may disagree with WatchMojo’s Top Ten Best Movies of all time, you have to agree that a content creator as large as WatchMojo has an obligation to provide accurate information in their videos, especially regarding health. In their video, this Youtube titan portrays certain food as known carcinogens. While WatchMojo makes these claims without evidence, they can still be easily fact-checked. 

“Artificial sweeteners cause cancer” (1:06)

The claim that artificial sweeteners cause cancer is one that many people truly believe, but this claim can easily be proven false by looking at the National Cancer Institute.  WatchMojo claims that eating artificial sweeteners will cause you cancer down the road. Fortunately, the National Cancer Institute provides evidence against that; the Institute states that “studies of… FDA-approved sweeteners have not demonstrated clear evidence of an association with cancer in humans.” Sweeteners like  Saccharin (Sweet’N Low, Sugar Twin), Aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal), Acesulfame potassium (Sweet One, Swiss Sweet, Sunett), and Sucralose (Splenda) have all been approved by the FDA. The source again assures us that “the FDA regulates all food, drugs, medical devices, cosmetics, biologics, tobacco products, and radiation-emitting products,” meaning there are strict guidelines and procedures the FDA uses to certify and regulate all sorts of items.  The source guarantees us that very small amounts “(200 to 20,000 times less [than sugar]) are needed to create the same level of sweetness [when using artificial sweeteners]”. Even if a person were to use these artificial sweeteners every day, the very small amount of it used and the fact that FDA approved these sweeteners can help everyone with a sweet tooth sleep a little better at night.

“Aspartame causes cancer” (2:18)

This video also makes the claim that the artificial sweetener, Aspartame, also known as NutraSweet or Equal, causes cancer; fortunately, you can continue using your Aspartame, because according to the National Cancer Society, it doesn’t cause cancer. The NCS states that “aspartame [was] approved in 1981 by [the] FDA after numerous tests show[ing] that it did not cause cancer or other adverse effects in laboratory animals ‘. Not only does Aspartame not cause cancer, but it also has not been linked to any other health hazards. The NCS has also disproven inconclusive studies about aspartame; “[in] 2005, a study raised the possibility that very high doses of aspartame might cause lymphoma and leukemia in rats, after reviewing the study the FDA identified many shortcomings in it… [and] did not alter its previous conclusion that aspartame is safe.” This is further evidence that Aspartame is safe for anyone to consume. While WatchMojo might question the integrity of said study because it did not test the effects on humans, “a  2006 [study]… examined human data from the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study of over half a million [retired people]… [concluding that] increasing [the] consumption of aspartame… was not associated with the development of lymphoma, leukemia, or brain cancer.” Aspartame was not found to have caused cancer in any study, proving that Aspartame is a safe and sweet everyday alternative to normal cane sugar. 

“Farmed Salmon Cause Cancer” (4:01)

WatchMojo makes the claim that Salmon causes cancer because it contains PCB, which are also known as Polychlorinated Biphenyls. This means WatchMojo is also making the claim that PCBs cause cancer. According to the University of San Diego, farmed salmon have a significantly higher PCB count than wild salmon. The University also stated that “the FDA emphasizes that the majority of… PCBs [are] found in the skin and fat of the fish which is not popularly consumed.” This means that humans are not even ingesting the largest concentration of PCBs that are hidden within fish. The university also says that cooking salmon can lyse a considerable amount of fat cells, where the PCBs are located, meaning that the PCB levels go down quite a bit. The source also reassures consumers that “the FDA and industry are skeptical to admit that a higher level of [PCBs] in farmed fish pose any threat to consumers.” Due to a lack of evidence within WatchMojo’s video, The University of San Diego easily disproves the claim that farmed salmon can cause cancer. 

Claim that farmed salmon is cancerous because they contain PCBs, so WatchMojo is also claiming that PCBs cause cancer (4:01)

WatchMojo may have been correct in the idea that PCBs are not healthy chemicals, but they were incorrect about the idea that PCBs cause cancer. WatchMojo makes the claim that PCBs cause cancer, while this claim is not entirely true, WatchMojo does not provide any evidence for this claim. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, PCBs, or Polychlorinated Biphenyls, is a man-made chemical, containing atoms of chlorine, hydrogen, and carbon. These molecules can range in textures from oily to waxy, and also have different variations of molecular arrangements. PCBs were used in industrial, as well as commercial applications until the practice of using them became a downward trend. These chemicals make their way into our oceans and waterways. The EPA states that “the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has determined that PCBs are a potential occupational carcinogen”. Potential carcinogens and known carcinogens are two very different things; WatchMojo should make the distinction between a known fact and a theory. The EPA goes on to say that “while mixtures of PCBs [harm] laboratory rodents, no link has been seen in humans.” WatchMojo makes the claims that PCBs cause cancer when in fact that topic is still unknown.

“All sugar products encourage the growth and division of cancer cells”

WatchMojo makes the baseless claim that all sugar products, including natural ones like sugar cane and honey, encourage the growth of cancer. This claim can thankfully be proven false for our sweet tooth friends, by the Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic states that “all cells, including cancer cells, depend on blood sugar, (glucose) for energy… and that depriving cancer cells of sugar will not make them grow more slowly.” This also means that giving more sugar to cancer cells will not increase their speed of growth. Furthermore, more overall health risks come from obesity, not from sugar itself. The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital Cancer Center states that “obesity [increases] your risk of cancer”; meaning that while consuming too much sugar can be detrimental to your health, sugar does not directly promote the growth of cancer cells. The Center also states that “the real root problem of the worldwide obesity epidemic… with cancer as a result of obesity has to do with too much caloric intake, [and] has little to do with abnormal insulin.” This means that while too much sugar can cause obesity, obesity is the factor that elevates your risk of cancer, and not the sugar itself. The Center also explains where the idea of sugar promoting cancerous growth comes from. The Warburg Effect or the Warburg Metabolism was discovered by a German scientist, Otto Warburg, who saw cancer cells tended to consume more glucose than non-cancerous cells. The Center explains “that Warburg was wrong, [and] tumor cells rely on [sugar] for energy in some situations… [but so do almost every cell in your body].” Over both the Mayo Clinic and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center provide evidence to disprove the claim that sugar promotes the growth of cancer cells, so sugar lovers around the world can eat it worry-free. 

Conclusion

In WatchMojo’s video, this Youtube titan portrays certain foods as known carcinogens; in reality though, these foods either do not cause cancer or they have not been proven to cause cancer. Multiple credible sources have consistently shown evidence and facts amid these internet claims of cancer warnings. From everyday food items like Splenda, to harmful chemicals such as PCBs, WatchMojo makes the same claim. Artificial sweeteners and specifically Aspartame, have been proven to be harmless through multiple sources like The National Cancer Institute, The National Cancer Society,  as well as government agencies. WatchMojo has made the claim that farmed salmon causes cancer due to the PCBs in farmed salmon, which means WatchMojo is also claiming that PCBs cause cancer. Sources such as The University of San Diego and Environmental Protection Agency have shown the evidence that PCBs, while not totally harmless, have not been proven to cause cancer. Furthermore, while farmed salmon do have a higher level of PCBs than wild salmon, there still is not high enough concentration of PCBs in the flesh of the fish we eat to be harmful. While looking for health information on sites where anyone can post such as Youtube, be cautious of the information you are hearing. WatchMojo may be an expert in the Top Ten Best Movie Shots of All Time, but they are no expert in topics such as cancer. According to the National Library of Medicine, “Youtube contains misleading information… that contradicts…  videos from government organizations and professional associations [that] contain trustworthy and high-quality information; YouTube needs to design interventions to enable consumers to critically [classify] the information posted on YouTube with more authoritative information sources to make effective healthcare decisions.” Videos from Youtube giants such as WatchMojo bring light to a more prevalent problem of misinformation, especially regarding health, on the internet. In order to protect your health, when researching medical information, always evaluate the claims and note the sources that have been used to justify said claims.  

Featured Image from Youtube via WatchMojo