how do people feel about aspartame?

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Replies

  • IronPlayground
    IronPlayground Posts: 1,594 Member
    I have no concerns over aspartame for myself.

    I have no concerns over other people using aspartame provided that they don't have any personal aversion to it and they don't have PKU (inability to metabolize phenylalanine).

    Aspartame immediately breaks down into aspartic acid and phenylalanine and neither of these are harmful, and both of these items are found in regular food sources.

    Now if I happened to get my information from documentaries instead of actual research, I would probably fear aspartame. That comment is not directed at you.

    ^Exactly this!
  • brandyanne0204
    brandyanne0204 Posts: 45 Member
    I never had any side effects such as headaches from it. Soon enough they are going to say that everything is bad for us, I guess the only safe thing to do is drink plain water and even too much of that is bad.
  • Sweets1954
    Sweets1954 Posts: 507 Member
    I have tried all the artificial sweeteners and don't like any of them. They all have a weird aftertaste to me, including stevia. I also don't like the idea of eating or drinking all those chemicals. I would rather have a smaller portion of something sweetened with sugar or honey and just include it in my daily totals. I pretty much gave up soda because I would rather eat my calories than drink them. I do occasionally have a small regular soda but it is very rare.
  • noexcuses84
    noexcuses84 Posts: 100 Member
    I never had any side effects such as headaches from it. Soon enough they are going to say that everything is bad for us, I guess the only safe thing to do is drink plain water and even too much of that is bad.

    Totally agree!!!
  • babymaddux
    babymaddux Posts: 209 Member
    i have no concerns over aspartame, it's the only artificial sweetener that isn't insanely sweet to me.
    but on the whole, i try to avoid artificial anything. i'd rather use the natural option on the rare occasion i want sugar.
  • judydelo1
    judydelo1 Posts: 281 Member
    It's poison plain and simple. I have a friend that is now neurologically, irreparably jammed up from ingesting aspartame daily. Do yourself a favor and really look into this before jumping on the band wagon.

    Here are a couple of links to get you going. You can check the sources.

    http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/aspartame.htm
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robbie-gennet/donald-rumsfeld-and-the-s_b_805581.html
    http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/09/15/aspartame-side-effects.aspx
  • monty619
    monty619 Posts: 1,308 Member
    never killed anyone.. prove me wrong?
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    I gave up diet pop about a month ago because I was up to 5 or 6 cans a day! (sick, I know) About two days after I stopped I got really shaky, had a terrible headache, was nauseated, and had a fever and chills. My doctor said that this may have been my body's reaction to the lack of aspartame. (Couldn't have been caffeine, as I already tried to stay away from that as much as possible) I'm not saying it was the cause, but could have been behind it. The way I see it, if I can avoid it, I will. I haven't had a pop, much less a diet pop, since the first week in February. I've found that I'm losing weight much easier and I feel much better. (again, may not be aspartame related but could be a factor)

    Out of interest, how could it not have been the caffeine? If that was your only source of caffeine, you were also giving that up, or maybe I misunderstood.
  • judydelo1
    judydelo1 Posts: 281 Member
    never killed anyone.. prove me wrong?

    Tell that to the rats in this study. Over 60% of the female rats and over 20% of the males developed grotesque tumors.

    http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/04/09/victoria-innessbrowns-aspartame-experiment.aspx
  • robot_potato
    robot_potato Posts: 1,535 Member
    My tongue and lips go numb if I drink diet pop or chew gum with aspartame. I take that as a sign that I shouldn't have it.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    never killed anyone.. prove me wrong?

    Tell that to the rats in this study. Over 60% of the female rats and over 20% of the males developed grotesque tumors.

    http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/04/09/victoria-innessbrowns-aspartame-experiment.aspx

    Look at the doses in comparison to their body weight (and that is even assuming that it has the same impact on us as it does them)
  • he's right it's REALLY bad for you .Agave is perfect.
  • KathrynKennewell108
    KathrynKennewell108 Posts: 72 Member
    Aspartame is bad stuff. If you need to sweeten something, use something more natural like Stevia.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,259 Member
    I accept that it may give some people side effects like headaches, bloating and the like - I know of some people who also get migraines from MSG too - sure ,those people who have noticed tangible effects themselves (as oppossed to vague it is poison and might cause cancer later "effects") should avoid it and I accept that some people hate the taste and/or the after taste and I accept that it is outright toxic for those people with the rare disease PKU - those people should also avoid it.

    I even accept that some people may have almost died from it if they have an anaphylactic allergy to it - but same can be said for other things which casue anaphylatic allergies in other people.

    I am not going to stop eating peanuts, eggs, oranges, tomatoes ,seafood ,getting vaccinations, taking penicillin - because other people have anaphylactic allergies to them.

    I agree, 10 bottles of diet coke a day is a bad idea - but I have about 3 or 4 glasses of diet coke a week and I have tea, coffee without any sweeteners and a small amount of real sugar in some things - sprinkled on weetbix for example.

    Am not about to stop my very moderate intake of aspartame as I see no issues with it whatsoever.
  • tsh0ck
    tsh0ck Posts: 1,970 Member
    never killed anyone.. prove me wrong?

    Tell that to the rats in this study. Over 60% of the female rats and over 20% of the males developed grotesque tumors.

    http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/04/09/victoria-innessbrowns-aspartame-experiment.aspx


    first, we aren't rats.

    second, look at dosage. how much diet coke would a normal person have to drink to equal what those animals ingested? context and dosage are not only relevant, they are crucial.
  • MSQUARED7
    MSQUARED7 Posts: 19 Member
    To the poster: chew Trident gum, it has xylitol which is a good form of sugar...
  • halobender
    halobender Posts: 780 Member
    I have tried all the artificial sweeteners and don't like any of them. They all have a weird aftertaste to me, including stevia. I also don't like the idea of eating or drinking all those chemicals. I would rather have a smaller portion of something sweetened with sugar or honey and just include it in my daily totals. I pretty much gave up soda because I would rather eat my calories than drink them. I do occasionally have a small regular soda but it is very rare.
    Pretty much this. I can't stand the taste of the chemical sweeteners and it doesn't seem like it would be good for you, but I don't really care either way. When I still used a debit card I would sometimes want to buy some gum just to get cash back but I didn't want to waste my money on something I wasn't going to enjoy, since it all has aspartame in it, it seems.

    I prefer the taste of real sugar instead. I generally just drink water anyway, though.
  • aliceb39
    aliceb39 Posts: 84 Member
    My parents are both sensitive to aspartame (or say they are) and stopped using it years ago. Personally, I like the taste of Equal; I dip strawberries in it if there's no fruit dip around. It is very sweet, so I frequently only use a 1/2 packet in cereal, though I use a whole packet in my herbal tea. But in sodas, all the artificial sweeteners taste too strong and leave an aftertaste. I've tried stevia, saccharine, and splenda, and don't like them. As for the gum, I only recently tried Extra Dessert gum and have to agree that the flavor was gone in just a few minutes. But I don't know what sweetener is in it.
  • judydelo1
    judydelo1 Posts: 281 Member
    Soon enough they are going to say that everything is bad for us, I guess the only safe thing to do is drink plain water and even too much of that is bad.

    I find this a cop out. There are sooooooo many things to eat and drink that are healthy for you such as vegetables, fruits, fresh squeezed fruit juices, herbal teas, honey, legumes, lentils, rice, barley, millet, quinoa, nuts, seeds, seaweed, healthy oils like olive oil and coconut oil, etc, etc. And for those that aren't vegan there's eggs, milk, yogurt, cheese, meat, fish, etc. Notice none of these foods come from a laboratory but from nature. It's the processed foods, the foods that "food scientists" create that always end up being bad for you . . . or at the least they end up not being good for you like the bounty from nature.
  • judydelo1
    judydelo1 Posts: 281 Member
    To the poster: chew Trident gum, it has xylitol which is a good form of sugar...

    Wikipedia claims trident also contains aspartame. I'd look into it further.
  • Missjulesdid
    Missjulesdid Posts: 1,444 Member
    I can only have it in very limited quantities. If I have more than a few servings of aspartame I get a horrible headache. I first noticed this when I was on a crystal light kick. I would drink half a pitcher at work and I was constantly getting headaches. One co-worker pointed out to me that since I started drinking the crystal light, I was complaining of daily headaches. So I cut out the crystal light and headaches went away. I found I can have about three servings safely. Like a bit of gum, half a can of diet soda and a half cup of jell-o... beyond that I feel it. I tend to stick with stevia as much as possible as my first choice, sucralose as my second choice and lastly I'll pick a product with aspartame.
  • fresh_start59
    fresh_start59 Posts: 590 Member
    I have no concerns over aspartame for myself.

    I have no concerns over other people using aspartame provided that they don't have any personal aversion to it and they don't have PKU (inability to metabolize phenylalanine).

    It is so refreshing to read a post from someone who is not afraid of artificial sweeteners!

    Granted, some people have allergies, illnesses or an intolerance to some of these sweeteners, but then I know people who can't ingest cantaloupe, nuts, watermelon, strawberries, shellfish, tofu or milk.

    Maltitol is one of the artificial sweeteners that seems to give some people the most problems. It gives them cramps or diarrhea. Personally, I have no issues with it or polydextrose or aspartame or sucralose or Stevia (except that I don't care for the taste) or saccharin (remember when people swore saccharin was a carcinogen?).

    However, I would advise anyone using artificial sweeteners to see how they react before consuming large quantities, especially diabetics.
  • love22step
    love22step Posts: 1,103 Member
    At my husband's insistence, I've switched to stevia and the Zevia drinks that are sweetened with stevia. Some people say they don't like stevia, but it tastes fine to me.
  • CynthiasChoice
    CynthiasChoice Posts: 1,047 Member
    Dr. Russel Blaylock, a retired neurosurgeon and author of "Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills" claims that aspartame is a appetite stimulant. I don't know if this is indeed so, but I would rather stay away from foods made in a lab.
  • judydelo1
    judydelo1 Posts: 281 Member

    Dr Mercola is a quack.
    www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/mercola.html
    http://www.skepdic.com/mercola.html

    If you are using Mercola as a source of information I would suggest you stop that silliness, regardless of your position on aspartame.


    Keep in mind, Mercola also believes microwaves are dangerous.

    And sun tan lotion causes cancer...

    A LOT of reputable people think microwaves are dangerous and that sun tan lotion causes cancer. Look into it.

    Quack Watch knocks down anything that is not mainstream medical. They knock down homeopathy, herbal medicine, chiropractic, Ayervedic, energy healing, acupuncture . . . the list goes on and on. These are all practices that MANY people participate in. Complementary and Alternative medicine is on the rise and it's because it works.

    Many people think Quack Watch is bull****. Here's a history of the now defunct organization and the leader.

    http://www.gaia-health.com/articles251/000277-quackbusters-are-busted.shtml
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    I'm intolerant to it. Small quantities I can get away with, but large quantities make me ill. I get similar symptoms to lactose intolerance from it (hence why I think it's an intolerance rather than an allergy). So I avoid it. I don't eat/drink or have the desire to eat/drink stuff that contains it. If I have drinks like 7-up or whatever on very rare occasions, then I get the non-diet versions, and log the calories.

    I think intolerance to aspartame is more common that some people realise, and some of the demonisation of aspartame probably comes from people who have these problems, and after they realise that it was causing their illness, they think it does that to everyone so want to warn everyone about it. Add to that the usual scaremongering of foods that goes on, and you end up with a lot of hysteria. IMO if most people can digest it fine without getting ill from it, I don't see why they shouldn't consume it.
  • monty619
    monty619 Posts: 1,308 Member
    never killed anyone.. prove me wrong?

    Tell that to the rats in this study. Over 60% of the female rats and over 20% of the males developed grotesque tumors.

    http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/04/09/victoria-innessbrowns-aspartame-experiment.aspx

    name of person who died?
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member

    Dr Mercola is a quack.
    www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/mercola.html
    http://www.skepdic.com/mercola.html

    If you are using Mercola as a source of information I would suggest you stop that silliness, regardless of your position on aspartame.


    Keep in mind, Mercola also believes microwaves are dangerous.

    And sun tan lotion causes cancer...

    A LOT of reputable people think microwaves are dangerous and that sun tan lotion causes cancer. Look into it.

    Quack Watch knocks down anything that is not mainstream medical. They knock down homeopathy, herbal medicine, chiropractic, Ayervedic, energy healing, acupuncture . . . the list goes on and on. These are all practices that MANY people participate in. Complementary and Alternative medicine is on the rise and it's because it works.

    Many people think Quack Watch is bull****. Here's a history of the now defunct organization and the leader.

    http://www.gaia-health.com/articles251/000277-quackbusters-are-busted.shtml

    Could you provide some examples of who they are.
  • tsh0ck
    tsh0ck Posts: 1,970 Member

    Dr Mercola is a quack.
    www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/mercola.html
    http://www.skepdic.com/mercola.html

    If you are using Mercola as a source of information I would suggest you stop that silliness, regardless of your position on aspartame.


    Keep in mind, Mercola also believes microwaves are dangerous.

    And sun tan lotion causes cancer...

    A LOT of reputable people think microwaves are dangerous and that sun tan lotion causes cancer. Look into it.


    I think you are unsure of the definition on the term "a lot" and "reputable."
  • judydelo1
    judydelo1 Posts: 281 Member

    Dr Mercola is a quack.
    www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/mercola.html
    http://www.skepdic.com/mercola.html

    If you are using Mercola as a source of information I would suggest you stop that silliness, regardless of your position on aspartame.


    Keep in mind, Mercola also believes microwaves are dangerous.

    And sun tan lotion causes cancer...

    A LOT of reputable people think microwaves are dangerous and that sun tan lotion causes cancer. Look into it.

    Quack Watch knocks down anything that is not mainstream medical. They knock down homeopathy, herbal medicine, chiropractic, Ayervedic, energy healing, acupuncture . . . the list goes on and on. These are all practices that MANY people participate in. Complementary and Alternative medicine is on the rise and it's because it works.

    Many people think Quack Watch is bull****. Here's a history of the now defunct organization and the leader.

    http://www.gaia-health.com/articles251/000277-quackbusters-are-busted.shtml

    Could you provide some examples of who they are.

    The Mayo Clinic for one. They promote many of the same Complimentary and Integrative Medicine that Quack Watch knocks down. http://www.mayoclinic.org/general-internal-medicine-rst/cimc.html