The Aspartame Thread

Saiklor

There are a smattering of threads across MFP forums that touch on the benefits and detriments of aspartame. I think it would make sense to have one main thread.

What I'm hoping to start here is a conversation about the benefits and detriments of aspartame. Whether or not you think it tastes good is not particularly relevant (unless you have some larger point to make, such as your dislike of aspartame makes it difficult to buy food because so many of them contain it, or something).

Please, well thought out and considerate posts only. There are loads of conversations that casually bash aspartame with explaining or backing up the statements, or state things like "well I'm going to drink it anyway!!!" so we don't need another one!

I'm on the side of pro/wait and see. I wrote this is another thread so I'll copy it to here...

I admit that in 20 years ANYTHING could be the next asbestos (that's the point right? we don't neccesarily see it coming and the initial science can be flawed/wrong) but I found a peer-reviewed article from 2007 regarding the safety of aspartame. For those interested, here's the abstract:

Aspartame is a methyl ester of a dipeptide used as a synthetic nonnutritive sweetener in over 90 countries worldwide in over 6000 products. The purpose of this investigation was to review the scientific literature on the absorption and metabolism, the current consumption levels worldwide, the toxicology, and recent epidemiological studies on aspartame. Current use levels of aspartame, even by high users in special subgroups, remains well below the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European Food Safety Authority established acceptable daily intake levels of 50 and 40 mg/kg bw/day, respectively. Consumption of large doses of aspartame in a single bolus dose will have an effect on some biochemical parameters, including plasma amino acid levels and brain neurotransmitter levels. The rise in plasma levels of phenylalanine and aspartic acid following administration of aspartame at doses less than or equal to 50 mg/kg bw do not exceed those observed postprandially. Acute, subacute and chronic toxicity studies with aspartame, and its decomposition products, conducted in mice, rats, hamsters and dogs have consistently found no adverse effect of aspartame with doses up to at least 4000 mg/kg bw/day. Critical review of all carcinogenicity studies conducted on aspartame found no credible evidence that aspartame is carcinogenic. The data from the extensive investigations into the possibility of neurotoxic effects of aspartame, in general, do not support the hypothesis that aspartame in the human diet will affect nervous system function, learning or behavior. Epidemiological studies on aspartame include several case-control studies and one well-conducted prospective epidemiological study with a large cohort, in which the consumption of aspartame was measured. The studies provide no evidence to support an association between aspartame and cancer in any tissue. The weight of existing evidence is that aspartame is safe at current levels of consumption as a nonnutritive sweetener.

Magnuson BA, Burdock GA, Doull J et al. (2007). "Aspartame: a safety evaluation based on current use levels, regulations, and toxicological and epidemiological studies". Critical Reviews in Toxicology 37 (8): 629–727. DOI:10.1080/10408440701516184. PMID 17828671.

Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408440701516184

to clarify, the aforementioned 50mg daily top dose "That equates to about 20 cans of 12-ounce diet soda" according to this (admittedly nonscientific) website: http://aromatherapy4u.wordpress.com/2008/03/11/diet-soda-aspartame-and-one-womans-quest-to-discover-the-truth/

anyone have different ideas? have read different things?

Bobby_Clerici

The benefits of aspartame can never be denied.
Population control.
That's important....:laugh:

lsjd2000

personally I stay away from most items that I know have aspartame in them - not always possible but I try - though my problem is if I have it say in diet soda (which is what I typically see it in) then I usually end up with a major Migrane - so for me I stay away other people I know use it and do ok (for now)

LesliePierceRN

It's simple for me: Food is fuel.. Why put something (very questionable) in your body that's not even fuel? It's tantamount to chewing plastic or anything else that not going to do anything good for your body.. At the VERY BEST, aspartame is not going to do much harm.. at its worst, who knows? What possible gain is there from even taking the chance? I'll take water, sugar, and the other substances our body runs on, and not waste my time or money on things I can't use that may actually be detrimental.

Saiklor

Thanks LadyMuscles, that's a very thoughtful response. It made me think: are there other things that we consume that aren't fuel? I suppose that's for another thread, but I do appreciate your outlook! It's something I hadn't heard before!

julepgirl

I like to think about stuff like this, and as mentioned in the other thread, how future generations might view things compared to how we do. Aspartame is an interesting example - sure, it's possible that scientists will provide sound proof that it does some awful thing; but on the same note, it might become as ubiquitous as sugar. Just as sugar doesn't occur in granules in nature, but its chemical components do, aspartame doesn't occur naturally, but its components (a couple particular amino acids, which occur naturally in asparagus and breast milk, respectively) do. Think about other things we are used to now that were once newly created or discovered (i.e. don't occur in their current form in nature)... some are so widely accepted that we don't even think about it, some are the subject of concern for some people, and some are outright dangerous. Gasoline, hand cream, Tylenol, cocaine, red M&Ms, multivitamins and on and on.

Benefits and detriments? In my own estimation, it has little of either. Perhaps it helps some reduce their sugar intake, perhaps it's true that it increases your appetite - I don't know. But it's been around long enough and people consume it enough that I think it would have caused a health epidemic by now if it was going to.

Saiklor

^I appreciate your input.

maryhm1

Here is my experience:

For about the last 12 years, I was a 3-5 can of Diet Dr. Pepper girl. There were periods where I would literally go WEEKS without a drop of water, only drinking Diet. Dr. Pepper. When we would go out of the country, I would take it in my luggage for fear I wouldn't have access. Earlier this year I started having panic attacks, mainly during or after exercise. One was so bad that I had to pull over to the side of the road and have my husband come and get me. The frequency was increasing, so I started doing some research. I found some reports that linked aspartame and panic attacks. I quit cold turkey March 1, 2012. The headache I experienced for the first 4 days was unbearable- literally the only relief I could get was by sleeping. Once the headache stopped, the cravings for it kicked in full force. I resisted for the most part, but did have 4 regular Dr. Peppers during the first couple of months after quitting. Now, I don't crave it anymore. My panic attacks stopped immediately and I haven't had one since. That was the only change I made, and I'm fairly convinced that the aspartame was the culprit.

ninerbuff

If you're drinking over 20 12 ounce cans of diet soda a day, there's an issue and will be an issue. However a couple of cans a day is fine AS LONG AS you're also supplying an efficient amount of water too and not letting diet soda be your main fluid intake.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Saiklor

MaryHm1: "I found some reports that linked aspartame and panic attacks."
Can you pass along those reports, please?

NinerBuff: I never understood why liquid from sources including things like aspartame (or juice or whatever else) don't "count" as liquid. Clearly, MaryHm1 exists on only Diet Dr. Pepper for years and didn't shrivel up. What is the basis of the objection to not drinking pure water?

maryhm1

I don't have copies of them. Just googled panic attack causes and came across several references to it.

Rilke

Though they don't manufacture it anymore, at one time aspartame was a product of Monsanto. I don't trust anything having anything to do with that company. If Monsanto is associated, it's bad news.

All that aside, it's created in a laboratory out of nothing resembling food. Others have no problem with that.

Saiklor

Sorrry Mary, I think I was unclear. In this thread I'm trying really hard to maintain a higher level of discussion than as is common in most threads. I'd really appreciate it if you could take a moment and locate any of the resources you are referencing, even if you can't find the whole article and just have links to abstracts, or even just titles and authors, etc.

amandalfn

I have yet to hear of one benefit to aspartame...

ninerbuff

MaryHm1: "I found some reports that linked aspartame and panic attacks."
Can you pass along those reports, please?

NinerBuff: I never understood why liquid from sources including things like aspartame (or juice or whatever else) don't "count" as liquid. Clearly, MaryHm1 exists on only Diet Dr. Pepper for years and didn't shrivel up. What is the basis of the objection to not drinking pure water?

It's not the aspartame, but the caffeine (unless you drink decaffeinated) in diet soda that can cause dehydration. There are exceptions to every rule and situation, but being on the more logical side, an ample amount of pure water will help to offset this issue.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Keefypoos

MaryHm1: "I found some reports that linked aspartame and panic attacks."
Can you pass along those reports, please?

NinerBuff: I never understood why liquid from sources including things like aspartame (or juice or whatever else) don't "count" as liquid. Clearly, MaryHm1 exists on only Diet Dr. Pepper for years and didn't shrivel up. What is the basis of the objection to not drinking pure water?

It's not the aspartame, but the caffeine (unless you drink decaffeinated) in diet soda that can cause dehydration. There are exceptions to every rule and situation, but being on the more logical side, an ample amount of pure water will help to offset this issue.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

and an ample amount of water is what?

faefaith

I don't feel well after I drink a diet soda. I feel kind of lethargic both mentally and physically.

maryhm1

Not all are scientific papers- just some google first page links. There are many, many personal reports on the web from people who have linked aspartame to their panic attacks.

http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/articles/aspartame.htm

http://www.anxietypanic.com/aspartame.html

http://www.rense.com/general78/psych.htm

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(86)92456-6/fulltext

JPod279

I have yet to hear of one benefit to aspartame...

It replaces sugar in drinks. That is one benefit.

I know a retired doc that I respect very much (even though we differ on many political and social issues). We have talked about this issue and he states there is nothing wrong with aspartame. He drinks the generic Mt Dew (I forget what it is called) that has aspartame and he drinks A LOT of it. I trust him to give me a scientifically backed prospective any time I ask him a question. He often answers my questions in detail far above what I can understand, and I deal with a lot of medical issues daily, so that says a lot. He has never led me astray.

With all that said, would it be best to not drink aspartame? Sure, I think so. It is best to drink water 90%+ of the time. But some people need (or want) to taste things when they have a drink. So I feel those people are better served drinking something with aspartame instead of sugary drinks.

belgerian

I also drink DIet soda I have read the scares and I drink too much of it, but maybe its the lesser of two evils. I enjoy the taste dont know what else to say. Im not ready to give it up yet and I will agree its probably not giving me any physical benefits but neither did that ice cream I ate the other night. Nor does ,my two cups of coffee in the morning.

jella74

I suffered from severe migraines for years. Only to find out that ANY AND ALL artificial sugars were the cause of it. I'd drink a diet coke only to get a migraine for days, put sweet and low or equal in my tea or coffee and migraine again. They got so bad, I had to get a shot of nubain to sleep off the migraine for 2 days. NO diet drinks and NO foods with aspartame, sucralose and so on printed on the label. NO headache since 2010!

Cambrendle

I personally have to avoid Aspartame. I discovered by trial and error, I started to developed literally blinding headaches (could not actually see anything), and then what was later diagnosed as a temporary fine motor paralysis (a type of seizure). I was unable to talk, no matter how hard I tried, I was semi-aware of what was going on around me, if someone would ask me a question I had an answer but couldn't speak it, I could only grunt... I couldn't walk, couldn't move my fingers, my tongue felt way too large for my mouth, I had trouble swallowing. I basically just laid or sat in one spot drooling on myself until it passed, sometimes it would take hours to pass.

I placed on seizure medication, and even with therapeutic medication levels I had several repeat episodes. Finally sitting down with my doctor, submitting to many EEG and CT and MRI brain scans (all normal) and then combing through my food and drinks, my doctor advised I was most likely reacting to the aspartame, a severe allergic reaction, and to avoid it and see if anything changes. Avoiding aspartame in all foods and drinks (reading every label) has earned me no more episodes - and I'm off the seizure medications.

ETA: I know my reaction is not typical of what other people may experience, but it happened, so it's possible.

jmcdaniel0

MaryHm1: "I found some reports that linked aspartame and panic attacks."
Can you pass along those reports, please?

NinerBuff: I never understood why liquid from sources including things like aspartame (or juice or whatever else) don't "count" as liquid. Clearly, MaryHm1 exists on only Diet Dr. Pepper for years and didn't shrivel up. What is the basis of the objection to not drinking pure water?

It's not the aspartame, but the caffeine (unless you drink decaffeinated) in diet soda that can cause dehydration. There are exceptions to every rule and situation, but being on the more logical side, an ample amount of pure water will help to offset this issue.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

and an ample amount of water is what?

Recommended is 8 cups or 64 oz a day.

Prettylittlelotus

personally I stay away from most items that I know have aspartame in them - not always possible but I try - though my problem is if I have it say in diet soda (which is what I typically see it in) then I usually end up with a major Migrane - so for me I stay away other people I know use it and do ok (for now)

This. I am pretty sure I'm allergic to it. Besides the fact that it tastes like sweet chemical throw up.

fatzombiegirl

Aspartame gives me migraines. At one point, when I was drinking 2-3 Diet Dr. Peppers a day, I had migraines 5-6 days of the week, every week. I gave up the aspartame about 6 years ago and the migraines occur only every couple of months now.

No sci evidence, but my doctor told me he thinks it causes plaque build-up in the brain.

IveLanded

It's simple for me: Food is fuel.. Why put something (very questionable) in your body that's not even fuel? It's tantamount to chewing plastic or anything else that not going to do anything good for your body.. At the VERY BEST, aspartame is not going to do much harm.. at its worst, who knows? What possible gain is there from even taking the chance? I'll take water, sugar, and the other substances our body runs on, and not waste my time or money on things I can't use that may actually be detrimental.

I agree with this, although I don't abstain from drinking diet soda. The benefit I get from diet soda is that it acts as an appetite suppressant for me, and occasionally I need the caffeine boost. It's nice that I'm not having to add calories to my day in order to get those benefits, and that's really all I can say about it. It is a bunch of chemicals, and even if it's been "proven" to be safe, it just doesn't make a lot of sense to me that it is especially healthy. The whole notion that the FDA approves and so therefore it's safe is laughable to me....the FDA is largely bought by lobbyists and they have historically approved all sorts of dangerous things.

I think it is what it is. It's certainly not "good" and it doesn't really seem to be something that contributes to health and wellness. And it certainly doesn't give me any fuel to do my work outs and be healthier. But I'm aware of that, and take that into consideration when I feel the need for a soda.

threnners

I avoid the stuff like the plague. A couple of years ago I had horrific muscle pains in my chest wall and legs, and chronic headaches.. I drank diet coke and ate aspartame sweetened stuff. I gave up the diet drinks and the aspartame, boom, all maladies resolved.

KittieLea

I avoid the stuff like the plague. A couple of years ago I had horrific muscle pains in my chest wall and legs, and chronic headaches.. I drank diet coke and ate aspartame sweetened stuff. I gave up the diet drinks and the aspartame, boom, all maladies resolved.

I was the same way! I drank a huge diet coke every morning and would soon get a headache a few hours later. I was also experiencing shortness of breath, even when I was just standing around at work, not doing anything strenuous. I quit drinking all diet drinks and consuming anything that contained aspartame in January of this year. I haven't experienced a daily headache nor shortness of breath since. If eating or drinking something makes you feel that bad, use common sense. It can't be beneficial for your body.

carld256

I'm a diabetic and drink aspartame sweetened tea. I've never had any sort of reaction to it, so I drink it and don't worry about it.

CoderGal

People could say the same thing about bfs :laugh:

Why put something (very questionable) in your body that's not even fuel? It's tantamount to chewing plastic or anything else that not going to do anything good for your body.

Eve23

My husband has been diabetic for 30 years, so it was natural that we would use aspartame sweeteners in our everyday lives and thus our kids also did. I was raised using sugar or honey as our main sweeteners and didn't really think about it. However when our daughter was young and just beginning in school, they would call us because she was having migraines. This went on for several years, I was having the same problem. During this time my husband could not gain weight and was losing weight. His blood sugars were not staying stable and he was having a lot of pain. When it was becoming so bad that he would be off work more than he was working I started working hard to figure out the problem. Doctors were clueless at the time.

I came across a sight on aspartame while researching and read up on it. We had a great deal of the symptoms noted by others and a few extra. My husband was down to 95 pounds and could barely walk. I showed it to him and he made the choice to stop using it as well as our whole family. He went through severe withdrawls for about a month and it takes 6 weeks to completely get out of your system. My daughter and I quit having severe migraines. My husband began to gain weight, pain decreased and he was tasting foods he had not tasted in years. Most importantly his blood sugars stabilized and he has not had any more issues with blood sugars for 10 years.

Quite frankly it is a poison. Aspartame poisoning can happen and it can kill you. Forgive my frankness but in my experience it is true. We do not use anything artificial in my house. Our sweeteners are sugar or agave or honey. And sorry but one more thing, Splenda is not a good substitute as it takes 5 gallons of chlorine to create a pound of Splenda.

Best of luck everyone.