Aspartame and Acesulfame K in Yogurt: Is it THAT harmful?

Emagineer

I bought 2 packs of Muller low fat yoghurt (4x120g each) and just realised that it contains aspartame and acesulfame k (consists of carcinogen methylene chloride) when I reached home. Took it back to the supermarket and they won't allow me to exchange it as the policy states that frozen food should be exchanged within 15 minutes of purchase only (I came 5 minutes late).

The packaging itself says "FAT FREE YOGURT WITH SUGARS & SWEETENERS"

Is it going to harm my health? Is it okay to eat them and never buy that product again, or would you throw them away if you were in my position?



Random question: Is eating yogurt with aspartame considered the same as drinking a can of Coca Cola Zero?

fxg20

Both products have been extensively studied and approved for use in the EU and the US because they are perfectly safe to consume. You have nothing to worry about from them.

eksero2k

You WILL die if you eat those youghurts...

Phrick

You WILL die if you eat those youghurts...

Yep.






To be fair, you'll also die if you breathe though. :drinker:

jobegone

I think you'll be fine to eat them without too much harm BUT aspartame is bad - i was really ill of it, couldnt breath properly and felt awful, but i was loading up with it on cereals etc. Found a journal about the effects of it and I literally rhymed off every 'side effect' of essentially it poisoning me to my boyf and cut it out, felt ok within a few days. I guess in moderation (like everything) it would probably be ok though.

togmo

Too much of anything can kill you and my resolution this year is to eat less artificial sweetener because there is so much of it in protein powders and bars but I think you should be fine with just a little bit of it, some people eat stacks and stacks of the stuff.

Essentially in regard to your question the answer is yes, the aspartame in the yoghurt would be like having a pepsi max - probably a coke zero, but I don't drink that so I can't be sure - probably artificially sweetened with aspartame though.

Aspartame is only harmful (proven that is) to those with a rare genetic disorder called phenylketonuria. It goes by the names NutraSweet, Equal and Sugar Twin.
Ace-k too is supposedly fine for you and goes by the names Sunett, Sweet One, and Sweet & Safe. I have read some interesting studies on this product actually. It is not metabolised by the body meaning supposedly it passes straight through the system but a study I read (can't be bothered citing it sorry but you can find it) suggests that it passes through the system slowly and while there is a limit on how much of this you should be consuming some people may reach this safe limit due to the slow removal of this from your system and the ongoing consumption of it.

I looked into this stuff in quite some depth over the last few months because I had a pain in my lower left side for some time and after thinking about what I had done differently it was increase my protein levels and unknowingly my artificial sweetener intake. I had several blood tests, ultra sounds and xrays but the doctor couldn't tell me what it was. I may never know but I have since cut down considerably on things artificially sweetened and am having mostly natural protein powder shakes now instead and over the last few months I haven't had the pain but it could just be a coincidence, it could have been anything really but I figured I don't want to eat too many products created in a lab. I will probably never know and I haven't totally stopped eating the stuff, I still have a few flavoured protein shakes since I have a lot of Musclepharm and Isopure protein powder here and I still use my xtend during workouts because I do love that stuff but I have cut down considerably.

kmart919

Yes, let's waste perfectly edible food (& money) because it contains some artificial sweetener. Obviously, this will immedately harm you, if not kill you, and thats why is available for consumption. /sarcasm

Seriously though, I can almost guarantee you that this will not be the first or last time in your life that you consume artificial sweetener, knowingly or unknowingly. Eat the yogurt. Enjoy it. It's fine. I have Muller in my fridge and will be buying it again in the future. It is the same as a can of coke zero? Nutritionally, no, you'll get more nutrients from a yogurt than a soda. Are you consuming artificial sweeteners either? Well, yeah. Does it matter? Probably not, unless you're consuming massive quantities of the stuff or have a health condition that is affected by it.

Guamybear

Waiting to die here.. Love Mueller yogurts..

just_Jennie1

I'm not a fan of how that stuff makes things taste. IMO it tastes really fake. I stick to Chobani 0% plain Greek yogurt and add my own fruits and such to it.

YorriaRaine

I tried switching away from Dannon Light and Fit because people kept telling me the artificial sweeteners were bad for me. I tried so many natural / organic ones and they just don't taste as good to me. I have sense stopped worrying about it and just eat Dannon.

I would not replace all sugar with artificial sugar, but having some artificial sugars are NOT gonna kill you, give you cancer, etc. Everything in moderation.

mccindy72

I bought 2 packs of Muller low fat yoghurt (4x120g each) and just realised that it contains aspartame and acesulfame k (consists of carcinogen methylene chloride) when I reached home. Took it back to the supermarket and they won't allow me to exchange it as the policy states that frozen food should be exchanged within 15 minutes of purchase only (I came 5 minutes late).

The packaging itself says "FAT FREE YOGURT WITH SUGARS & SWEETENERS"

Is it going to harm my health? Is it okay to eat them and never buy that product again, or would you throw them away if you were in my position?



Random question: Is eating yogurt with aspartame considered the same as drinking a can of Coca Cola Zero?

There's been a ton of info on the web lately about how aspartame causes cancer in lab rats, etc, etc... the truth is that they gave thousands of times the adult human RDA of aspartame to tiny little rats before it caused cancer in them. It's perfectly safe in the amounts that are in our foods. And no, it's really no different based on food you are consuming it in.

Guamybear

I tried some Dannon for the first time this weekend and could definitely taste the fake sugar in it but couldn't in the mueller..

YorriaRaine

I tried some Dannon for the first time this weekend and could definitely taste the fake sugar in it but couldn't in the mueller..

I've never even heard of mueller, its not at my local grocery and I don't really remember seeing it at my closest Kroger either. XD

arrseegee

Depends how you feel about artificial sweetners, some people will swear they're the devil and others (like me) find them a useful tool to help replace sugar in foods. Then again I live in Germany and there isn't much of it around, which doesn't seem to be the case in the USA.

What is wrong with trying the damn yogurts and if you don't like them then throw the rest out and don't eat them again? Why can't you yourself research artificial sugars and decide whether that's something you want to eat or not?

Phaedra2014

They are to me but I can't speak for all people.

_John_

title question:

jewel6129

Personally I would not eat them

mazdauk

If a product is safe for use in food then you are fine to eat that product. It is a lot less harmful than tobacco, alcohol, saturated fat etc.

Just about anything will damage your health if taken in excess - people have died from drinking too much water but no-one is suggesting you give up water (I hope!)

A little of what you fancy is better than being miserable

Acg67

I bought 2 packs of Muller low fat yoghurt (4x120g each) and just realised that it contains aspartame and acesulfame k (consists of carcinogen methylene chloride) when I reached home. Took it back to the supermarket and they won't allow me to exchange it as the policy states that frozen food should be exchanged within 15 minutes of purchase only (I came 5 minutes late).

The packaging itself says "FAT FREE YOGURT WITH SUGARS & SWEETENERS"

Is it going to harm my health? Is it okay to eat them and never buy that product again, or would you throw them away if you were in my position?



Random question: Is eating yogurt with aspartame considered the same as drinking a can of Coca Cola Zero?

Context and dosage? Pfft

Callamcampbell

There nasty chemicals.

My mother is bedridden after drinking even a glass of drink with aspartame in for a day or two.

jetlag

Both products have been extensively studied and approved for use in the EU and the US because they are perfectly safe to consume. You have nothing to worry about from them.

They used to think trans fats were safe, too. Not saying that aspartame isn't, just that "they wouldn't allow it in food if it wasn't safe" is not proof that something is, in fact, safe.


As for the yogurts, eat them. No points wasting money or food.

IronPlayground

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/are-artificial-sweeteners-safe/

fxg20

They used to think trans fats were safe, too. Not saying that aspartame isn't, just that "they wouldn't allow it in food if it wasn't safe" is not proof that something is, in fact, safe.

Science is always an ongoing process, but the conclusions of the experts who have looked at the data as a whole are the only rational basis on which we can make our choices. They absolutely could discover bacon causes psychic powers tomorrow but today I would not make your eating decisions with that possibility in mind. To the degree science can call anything safe, the approved sweeteners are safe.

NikoM5

Despite the mountain of misinformation you will find on the internet claiming all sorts of ridiculous things about aspartame, it's perfectly safe. Aspartame is one of THE MOST studied food additives in the world and still no legitimate, peer reviewed study has ever found any negative health effects for the general population.

togmo

I think the jury is still out, they are new products and how can they say if it doesn't cause any long term effects, on yourself or your progeny. Aspartame has only been around for about 50 years...

Am I the only one though that finds it strange that in today's day and age we have to manufacture an artificial product that we can put in food so that we don't get fatter?

If you had told people 100 years ago that in the future we would be manufacturing artificial sweetner in a lab so that we could make our foods taste sweeter without any nutritional content because many people in the world consume too much food and there is widespread obesity they would think you were on drugs...

fxg20

They would think the idea of too much food was a utopian dream, and it is. As much as I struggle with eating too much I'm glad to live in a country where I can win that struggle instead of a time and place where starvation might be out of my control.

Anyway, if there was some plausible reason to believe there might be potential for long term damage scientists would be more cautious on it. There just isn't any convincing hypothesis on that. If somebody comes up with one, it will be studied.

jetlag

They used to think trans fats were safe, too. Not saying that aspartame isn't, just that "they wouldn't allow it in food if it wasn't safe" is not proof that something is, in fact, safe.

Science is always an ongoing process, but the conclusions of the experts who have looked at the data as a whole are the only rational basis on which we can make our choices. They absolutely could discover bacon causes psychic powers tomorrow but today I would not make your eating decisions with that possibility in mind. To the degree science can call anything safe, the approved sweeteners are safe.

I don't make my eating decisions with that in mind.

I also don't eat things just because someone else says it's safe. I never liked the idea of fake butter and I was proved right. I don't like the idea of fake sugar any better.

However, would I throw out food because it had aspartame in it? Hell no. I'm not big on the taste (I don't like stevia either) but, however unconvinced I am as to its safety, one yogurt is not likely to break me.

You can eat what you want, but fake food is guilty until proven innocent in my hippy head lol

togmo

Anyway, if there was some plausible reason to believe there might be potential for long term damage scientists would be more cautious on it. There just isn't any convincing hypothesis on that. If somebody comes up with one, it will be studied.

There are a lot of scientists still studying this stuff, hence the new products that keep getting released and trialled. There are currently 5 artificial sweeteners approved by the FDA. As I have said it hasn't even been 50 years since aspartame was first introduced to the market, even less for the others and the market is a billion dollar market. I shouldn't need to cite examples of products that have been released into a big money marketplace that have ended up being dangerous. There have actually been numerous studies which have shown negative side affects associated with artificial sweeteners that have been conducted by reputable scientists. This is one such article but there are a lot of them out there, some of which are cited in this article - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3737213/

Having said all this I am guilty of eating and drinking lots of products that are artificially sweetened, i simply try and make sure I am aware at the amount of this stuff I consume because most of the studies I have read have shown that most of these negative side effects occur with excessive build up.

neanderthin

Only to your taste buds.

JakiDee

I started adding sugar free wylers to my tea about three months ago. My weight loss stalled, I developed acne on my back, had intense cravings for sweets , experienced numbness in my limbs and just recently started getting sharp headaches. I am so glad I was able to figure out what it was. Since the 21st I have dropped 3lbs, my back is clearing up and the headaches and numbness have stopped. No more artificial sweeteners for me!

fxg20

" As I have said it hasn't even been 50 years since aspartame was first introduced to the market, even less for the others and the market is a billion dollar market. I shouldn't need to cite examples of products that have been released into a big money marketplace that have ended up being dangerous. "

I can't think of any that were as extensively studied as Aspartame has been.

Cell Phones and Computers are new technology. They could be emitting radiation we can't see with current technology that might give you stomach cancer...and yet here you are. That's the thing, people make selective choices based on feelings of suspicion instead of making the rational decision based on the best available information interpreted by the most well informed minds.

You are free to instead make choices based on cherry picked studies or (for the poster above) hippy inclinations but these are not the rationally grounded choices and should not be presented as if they are.