Aspartame Safety
Do you drink a lot of diet soda and wonder how safe some of those sweeteners are? Today I will talk about aspartame, one of the most commonly used artificial sweeteners. Aspartame was approved by the FDA back in 1981. Since that time, it has become a very popular artificial sweetener. In order for an artificial sweetener to be approved, it goes through rigorous testing for safety to make sure it is safe to be in our food supply.
A report was published in this month’s (September, 2007) issue of Critical Reviews in Toxicology. The report is the findings of an analysis of all scientific information available to date on aspartame. The scientists concluded that aspartame is perfectly safe.
Safety
You may have heard some people claim that aspartame breaks down into harmful components, causing everything from Alzheimer’s disease to cancer. These claims are completely unfounded according to the report. No credible evidence was found that aspartame is carcinogenic or has any other adverse effects when consumed even at levels many times higher than the recommended limit.
Aspartame breaks down into aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol. Aspartic acid and phenylalanine are amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein. Methanol is a natural breakdown product of many foods and is not found to be harmful.
How much is safe?
The FDA has approved 50 mg of aspartame per kg of body weight per day as the safe level, or Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI). The average intake of people who use aspartame is 4.9 mg/kg/day, or less than 10% of the ADI.
Is it OK for me?
Aspartame has been shown to have no adverse effects. It is safe for pregnant women, lactating women, diabetics, children, obese individuals, and almost everyone. The only exception is people who have phenylketonuria (PKU). PKU is a rare inherited disease where a person does not break down phenylalanine properly.
Other interesting info on aspartame
- Discovered by accident in 1965
- It is in over 6000 food and pharmaceutical products
- It is approximately 200 times sweeter than sucrose
- It has the same number of calories as sugar on a weight to weight basis but since it is so sweet it is used in much smaller quantities
- Aspartame accounts for nearly 60% of all artificial sweetener use
- A serving of skim milk has 6 times more phenylalanine and 13 times more aspartic acid than the same amount of beverage sweetened with aspartame
- No evidence has been found that aspartame contributes to weight gain. The opposite is actually true—you can cut calories by using aspartame in the place of sugar
No medical evidence to date links aspartame to headaches, depression, weight gain, etc. If you think aspartame gives you a headache, avoid it. If you are not sure whether it is safe for you during pregnancy, avoid it. I trust the research done to date, but everyone's body is unique and you have the personal choice whether you want to use it or not.
For more information on Aspartame, visit www.aboutaspartame.com
For recipes using aspartame, click here
For information on aspartame and other artificial sweeteners, visit the Calorie Control Council
Image of Equal box courtesy of www.equal.com
Labels: artificial sweeteners, aspartame, Tara Gidus
5 Comments:
At Thu Sep 13, 03:56:00 AM 2007,
Anonymous said…
I have recently tried to limit my artificiall sweetners, because I woudl like to eat more natural foods. How do you feel about splenda. The only thing I havent let go of is my soy milk (made with splenda) and using 2 splendas in my mornning coffee.
I feel like my body is going through some stuff w/o the fake sugars, bloating, cramping, going to the bathroom alot. But i think that it is worth it to eat more natural sources and real foods. Do you agree?
At Sat Dec 22, 10:56:00 PM 2007,
Mikey said…
Hello. Iam 51 years old and drink 10 to 20 diet pepsis a day.DIET PEPSI CONTAINS ASPARTAME.I use to be in construction and was a nice looking guy. I use to drink regular pepsi. I got hooked on diet pepsi and only drink it and nothing else. No water,milk,beer, nothing. Just diet pepsi. I eat 3 meals a day. Cheeseburgers,fries and the like, Not much candy or crap. Just regular food. When I was in my twenties and thirties, I worked hard in concrete work and commercial fishing. Now I'm a welder. But, I have gained weight. In fact Iam too large to continue to do the type of work I'm trained for. In fact, I have trouble even getting into my truck. I weigh 347 lbs and I want MORE DIET PEPSI. I dont drink them anymore. I GUZZLE THEM DOWN. If I dont have at least a 12 pack in the fridge, I get worried. To be honest, There isnt enough friggin Diet pepsi IN THE WORLD FOR ME. I look like hell, I am very lazy and all I want to do is watch T.V. and drink DIET PEPSI. I recycle the cans and have 200 lbs of cans in my storage barn out back. It takes 35 cans to make a pound. Do the math. I have made 5 trips to the recycler this year alone. Each trip is over 100 lbs of cans. THATS 3400 CANS - ALL DIET PEPSI. Iam sick now. I have what is known as ADEMA in my feet and legs. You press on the skin and it dents in. My ankles and feet are full of water behind the skin. Iam tired all the time. I know it is the diet pepsi. I salt my food all the time too. I have to have something sweet to drink and something salty to eat. I love red meat. I hate exercise. I use to enjoy sex, but now it is too much work and would rather masturbate when the need arises.If I dont quit the diet pepsi and start exercising, I wont be able to write anymore letters on here,because I will be dead. Mike Daniels December 21,2007 Age 51.
At Sat Jan 12, 10:13:00 AM 2008,
Anonymous said…
Mikey,
I empathize with you. You are on a collision course with death. It sounds like you know what you should do to restore your health. You need help and support. Seek it immediately to begin detoxing from Pepsi and all artificial foods and additives that you possibly can. If you don't have Diabetes and heart disease it is amazing, and they may be around the corner waiting for you. See a doctor and nutritionist to help get you on the road to a healthy lifestyle. You must be willing to do this for yourself, but consider those who care about you also. God Bless You.
Anonymous RN
At Thu Apr 17, 05:37:00 PM 2008,
Anonymous said…
I cannot believe that you are recommending Aspartame as a safe sugar substitute. If one understands CHEMISTRY, then one would understand that when aspartame reaches a temperature above 86 degree F (in the body which is 96 degrees F) that the methanol converts to formaldehyde and formic acid. Many symptoms from Aspartame poisoning include headaches, tumors in the brain, joint pain, arthritis, leg cramps. bloating, major digestive problems, inflamed small intestine, memory loss, anxiety attacks and the list goes on. I have stopped drinking Diet coke for a month and have had substantial relief for a year of excruciating lower abdomen pain.
At Sat Oct 04, 11:34:00 PM 2008,
Anonymous said…
Aspartame is not good for you at any level. If you drink regular soda and you feel that switching to diet soda is a better choice because you think you will lose weight or it will be better for you in general please reconsider. I drank an extremely large amount (diet pepsi) for about 4 years. Before I always considered my self healthy but as soon as started drinking diet soda I felt really crappy. I would feel nauseous, got really bad headaches and have mystery joint pain not doing anything physical. I am a student and felt I needed it to stay alert in class. It also made me crave foods high in carbs especially late at night...which resulted in putting on noticable weight gain. It also seemed to be effecting my memory. I first heard through my sister (god bless her) the adverse health effects of aspartame and started to educate myself more. I knew I needed to quit or this stuff was gonna kill me. It took me a couple of tries but I have recently quit drinking diet soda about two months ago and I have never felt better in my life. I strongly urge anyone to quit, if I can do it than I feel anyone can. I seriously have a new and improved love of life. A good way to get off is with Green Tea it contains a lower amount of caffiene and has a calming effect.
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