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

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  • IronPlayground
    IronPlayground Posts: 1,594 Member
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    http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/are-artificial-sweeteners-safe/
  • fxg20
    fxg20 Posts: 61 Member
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    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
    NikoM5 Posts: 488 Member
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    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
    togmo Posts: 257
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    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
    fxg20 Posts: 61 Member
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    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
    jetlag Posts: 800 Member
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    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
    togmo Posts: 257
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    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
    neanderthin Posts: 9,949 Member
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    Only to your taste buds.
  • JakiDee
    JakiDee Posts: 43 Member
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    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
    fxg20 Posts: 61 Member
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    " 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.

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