ASPARTAME ----IS IT REALLY BAD FOR YOU ??

chilipeppers

Read Skinny ***** and you will never touch Aspartame again... it stopped me!

p.s THANK you to all the people who are naysaying this horrific CHEMICAL. Last time we had this discussion on MFP most people were defending it (which I assume comes from the want to be able to eat/drink sweets "guilt free", I suppose wanting to lose weight overrides wanting to be healthy!)

thumper44

However it is approved by the American FDA and Health Canada (where I live), which is why there is so much confusion.

I believe people need to research on their own and advocate for their own health. Not everything approved is "safe" which we can see by the amount of things that get pulled off shelves after class action lawsuits.

Correct. Just because something is approved by the FDA, doesn't mean that it's safe.
Look at another thread about Alli - It's FDA approved.
I know someone who also had brain problems because of her drinking a 2L bottle of diet coke every day.

lisa35120

I don't know for sure if it's bad or not, but what I do know is that my mom gets vertigo EVERY time she eats/drinks something with aspartame in it. A few years ago she noticed that whenever she was dieting she would get vertigo, then just recently she was able to link it to aspartame... she went for alternative sweeteners and BAM! The vertigo stopped, & hasn't happened since.

Personally I try to avoid all artificial sweeteners, but every once in a while I don't think it's a big deal. Everything in moderation!

InterceptMedia

Here is a link to a pdf of the most recent aspartame cancer study:

http://www­.janethull­.com/newsl­etter/0206­/bella_ita­lia_the_so­ffritti_as­partame_st­udy.php

And here is an abstract:

http://www­.ncbi.nlm.­nih.gov/pu­bmed/17805­418

(By the way, Soffritti conducted three long-term studies that found a link between aspartame and cancer in recent years).

Many studies with dubious funding sources (Anjinamoto, Searle, etc.) will attest to the safety of aspartame. Non-industry funded studies are listed at this following link:

http://tinyurl.com/2awqfhv

ladyhawk00

My issue with aspartame (and other no/low calorie) sweeteners is that they've shown that they increase cravings. The body is signaled that sugar is coming in, and prepares for it - but it never receives the sugar. So it then initiates cravings to replace the sugar it didn't get. This is a particular problem with diet sodas, as you can consume a large amount of diet soda (as opposed to solid food) and that in turn keeps cravings high continually, without any satiation.

suzycreamcheese

i think its ok occasionally, but i wouldnt give it to my kids

sjmartinez

I used to get a lot of headaches when I would sweeten my tea with aspartame. I thought they had derived from the caffeine, so I switched to decaf, yet still. After some experimenting when I eliminated aspartame headaches disappeared.

Based on the things I have read, aspartame is in fact man-made and I have made a choice not to consume it. My diet now consists of whole foods, at least 90% anyways. What I have read has scared me enough to stay away, far, far away. I prefer better to be safe than sorry.

sjmartinez

I hate to be so down right ugly, because that's not who I am at all. I believe everyone is entitled to their own opinion and shouldn't be persecuted for it, however here is what I have to say.

Toxins have no place in your body! If it's man-made it's a toxin.

Here is a nice analogy to help put it in perspective:

Your body speaks English, and toxins speak Chinese.
If you consume a Chinese speaking toxin, your body is thinking..."HUH???"
So then your body just thinks whatever I'm just going to do this with it.
Sometimes it's as harmless as creating fat cells to store it. (which how harmless is getting fatter really, seeing as it creates more problems)
Worse yet sometimes it brings on diseases in your body, like worse case scenario cancer.
If we continue to feed our body toxins, well guess what, cancer cells are enjoying an endless buffet and start multiplying! Whippee!

So to all the naysayers, this is the ugly comment you were looking for, QUIT BEING BLISSFULLY IGNORANT!

Levedi

I'd like to see some science, not rumor and internet myth on this issue. Every scientist will tell you that anecdote is not evidence so one person's individual experience is not enough evidence to prove a trend or an overall toxic effect. It might prove that one person had a bad reaction to something or that certain people are vulnerable to certain chemicals. It doesn't prove that something is a poison over all or a carcinogen. My mom is deathly allergic to certain pain killers, but that doesn't mean they kill everyone.

Only two posters have offered links to actual scientific studies and those were mostly so old that I question their validity. The studies showing harmful effects stuffed the rats with such a high dose of aspartame that it would actually have been strange if they hadn't gotten sick. That methodology has generally been scorned in the scientific community in recent years. On the other hand, the poster who showed part of wikipedia cited numerous studies showing aspartame was not harmful, but no one seems to care to consider them. Apparently it's not evidence if it disagrees with preconceived notions.

Finally, can we please drop the whole "if it's man-made it must be bad for you" meme? Really? Because everything in nature is so cuddly friendly? I live in SoCal and I could go half a mile into the Los Angeles National forest and find at least 7 deadly things, all completely natural. Heck, I've probably got a black widow spider living in my garage right now. And a lot of the so-called natural stuff people are eating is synthesized in a lab anyway. How do you think Truvia gets to be white and granular? It certainly doesn't grow that way.

So does anybody have any actual proof that aspartame is bad for you? Because if not then you don't need to be accusing other people of being willfully ignorant just because they don't share your opinion.

jayjay121

I don't want to frighten anyone but, my step dad was involved in the development of aspartame in the early 80's. He was a microbiologist working in the food industry in England. During his research he dropped dead of a huge combustion of all his internal organs, at work in 82. He was 30 years old. Needless to say we do not have it in our house, ever.
Aspartame is 10% poison, says it all to me.

Roe1968

I USE TO USE SPLENDA ALL THE TIME. I WAS HAVE PELVIC PROBLEMS AND WHEN I WAS BEING SEEN BY A PELVIC SURGEON HE TOLD ME THAT SPLENDA HAD TO GO.....
ALSO IN WORKING WITH MY NUTRITIONIST SINCE 3/4...SHE TO AGREED....SHE TURNED ME ONTO A ORGANIC SUGAR CALLED "ZERO" IN A GREEN BAG, LOOSE OR A BOX IN PACKETS......

tmaksparkie

I think it depends on the person. Some people cannot handle it but others can. I drink it in my one diet pop for the week. Personally I think as long as you are not having it by the gallons or in everything once in a while is ok.

Natalie0506

Why would a person choose a man made chemical over a natural sweetener? I use Truvia (the brand name for Stevia), and I love it. It has no calories, and it's sweet. Plus no scary chemicals!

FearAnLoathing

YES YES YES YES YES
It is very bad for you- PERIOD. It causes CANCER and other irrevesable health issues. It will most likely cause headaches right off the bat too. No Good at all-

no it has never been proved to cause cancer in humans,here is what the american cancer society says about it
http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/CancerCauses/OtherCarcinogens/AtHome/aspartame


Studies in people
Most studies in people have not found that aspartame use is linked to an increased risk of cancer.

One early study suggested that an increased rate of brain tumors in the US during the 1980s might have been related to aspartame use. However, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the increase in brain tumor rates actually began back in the early 1970s, well before aspartame was in use. And most of the increase was seen in people age 70 and older, a group that was not exposed to the highest doses of aspartame, which might also make this link less likely. Other studies have not found an increase in brain tumors related to aspartame use.

In the largest study of this issue, researchers from the NCI looked at cancer rates in more than 500,000 older adults. The study found that, compared to people who did not drink aspartame-containing beverages, those who did drink them did not have an increased risk of lymphomas, leukemias, or brain tumors.

htimpaired

.

I know someone who also had brain problems because of her drinking a 2L bottle of diet coke every day.

Ok, I don't have an answer one way or the other about the aspartame, but a 2L of soda every day? Regardless of what's in it, THAT in itself is a problem. 2L of ANYTHING-well, except maybe water....YIKES! :frown:

FearAnLoathing

I hate to be so down right ugly, because that's not who I am at all. I believe everyone is entitled to their own opinion and shouldn't be persecuted for it, however here is what I have to say.

Toxins have no place in your body! If it's man-made it's a toxin.

Here is a nice analogy to help put it in perspective:

Your body speaks English, and toxins speak Chinese.
If you consume a Chinese speaking toxin, your body is thinking..."HUH???"
So then your body just thinks whatever I'm just going to do this with it.
Sometimes it's as harmless as creating fat cells to store it. (which how harmless is getting fatter really, seeing as it creates more problems)
Worse yet sometimes it brings on diseases in your body, like worse case scenario cancer.
If we continue to feed our body toxins, well guess what, cancer cells are enjoying an endless buffet and start multiplying! Whippee!

So to all the naysayers, this is the ugly comment you were looking for, QUIT BEING BLISSFULLY IGNORANT!

Ok so while you at it you better stay away from deoderant (has been said to cause cancer), makeup,hair dye,high tension power lines,the air in big cities,mobil homes water bottles and many many other things.You said "Toxins have no place in your body! If it's man-made it's a toxin." so stay away from mediciane cough syrup and all other man made things because it has no place in your body.I have yet to see someone post SCIENTIFIC PROOF that it causes these things. Even the american cancer society says it does not and there is no proof. So please educate yourself before calling people ignorant.

Oh and causing cancer in RATS is not proof since we are not rats. Did you know grapes and Avocados are toxic to dogs?So should we stop eating those?

FearAnLoathing

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/artificial-sweeteners

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/risk/aspartame

MysticMaiden22

Aspartame contains methanol. That for me is a good enough reason to believe it is bad.

"METHANOL (AKA WOOD ALCOHOL/POISON) (10% OF ASPARTAME) Methanol/wood alcohol is a deadly poison. People may recall that methanol was the poison that has caused some "skid row" alcoholics to end up blind or dead".

"Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood spirits, is a chemical with formula CH3OH (often abbreviated MeOH). It is the simplest alcohol, and is a light, volatile, colorless, flammable, liquid with a distinctive odor that is very similar to but slightly sweeter than ethanol (drinking alcohol).[4] At room temperature it is a polar liquid and is used as an antifreeze, solvent, fuel, and as a denaturant for ethanol. It is also used for producing biodiesel via transesterification reaction".

I haven't had any artificial sweeteners in over 2 years. My first time in a long time was the other day....when I bought some hot chocolate K-cups for my Keurig and took one sip. I spewed it right out in the sink because it tasted positively disgusting. After reading the label, I discovered it had a mixture of sugar and sucralose (Splenda).

After reading this post about methanol, I'm getting even more motivation to avoid all artificial sweeteners and treat them like poison. I used to include aspartame, sucralose, and saccharin in my diet. Each time I would eat or drink something containing it, I would get bloated and headachy. I never realized that was the problem until I eliminated those products from my diet.

I stick to real sugar, organic turbinado raw sugar, agave syrup, honey, and stevia. I refuse to end up with cancer or become insulin resistant because I put something created in a lab in my mouth.

ladyhawk00

Regarding my PP...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080210183902.htm

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892765/

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=artificial-sweeteners-confound-the-brain

http://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/getArticle.cfm?id=2554