Why Aspartame Isn't Scary

aspartame will kill you
There are over 92 different health side effects associated with aspartame consumption. It seems surreal, but true.

so will living in general.

the last time i checked there were no conclusive studies pointing to proven harm

Wow ... this thread is getting pretty long ... but I'll add my 2 cents ...

I have never been a "dieter" or a "diet" drinker but about 10 years ago I decided I drank way too much Dr. Pepper and, because I have hypo-glycemia and it messed with my blood sugar, I switched to Diet Dr. Pepper. Within 2 months my memory had gotten so bad that not only could I not remember a conversation the day before (or even earlier that day) I couldn't remember even seeing the person. I have always had an amazing memory (remembering entire conversations that happened the year before). I didn't attribute it to the soda and honestly had no idea what was happening. Then I got an email warning of the possible side effects of aspertame. I don't always buy into all of the hype but since that made sense to me because one of the possible effects was memory loss I decided to stop drinking the Diet Dr. Pepper. I noticed an improvement immediately.
Although it may not effect everyone the same, there have been countless individuals who have had severe and even dibilitating side effects of aspertame. To tell others that it is safe seems a bit irrisponsible and negligent in my opinion. Just because you don't notice ill effects from something does not mean that it isn't causing your body harm or that those side effects won't surface later in life.

Now that is just silly.
I accept that aspartame can have undesired effects for some people.
If people say it gives them migraines or makes them feel hungrier, I believe them. It doesn't do that to me but it is credible that it does it to some others and yes, those people would be sensible to avoid it.

But going from perfect memory to Alzheimer's type memory loss and back again in 2 months from it - sorry, but, No, that is not real. :laugh:

To address your last sentences - there is no reason not to tell others it is safe, it is not at all irresponsible or negligent to do so, given, you know, that it is safe
Also when you don't notice ill effects from something and there is no evidence that the something causes ill effects then there is no reason to think it is causing harm or will cause harm in the future - because, you know, evidence and lack of evidence.

aspartame will kill you
There are over 92 different health side effects associated with aspartame consumption. It seems surreal, but true.

Citation?

Given that that was a blatant copy paste it wasn't that hard to find. Here is her source:

http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-side-effects.html

I will leave it to everyone to judge its legitamcy.

Totes legit!

I like the way she gives citations for her claims...oh, wait! Maybe we can find them if we buy the book she authored and is promoting.

I sure hope she also tells people to avoid meat, fish and dairy as these are high in those unnatural toxinzz aspartic acid and the essential amino acid, phenylalanine she refers to as well as tomato juice as that's pretty high in methanol.!!!!

I did follow a bunch of links in that site...all to pages within her website...one of which included a statement that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has come to the same conclusions as the FDA (because apparently anything from the FDA is suspect!). From the EFSA site:

"The sweetener aspartame and its breakdown products have been a matter of extensive investigation for more than 30 years including experimental animal studies, clinical research, intake and epidemiological studies and post-marketing surveillance. It has been found to be safe and authorised for human consumption for many years and in many countries following thorough safety assessments."

Not sure how that supports the claims she makes!

To the people who are saying "oh i had side effects to Aspartame therefore you shouldn't have it either"

1. I'm allergic to lavender, I'm not running around screaming at people telling them lavender will kill them
2. Yes, some people do have reactions to aspartame, a good friend of mine is very allergic to it, but this occurs with so many different things that it's not a basis for suggesting nobody should consume a product.

Reading the science behind this made me so happy. Honestly, diet drinks are the only thing that keep me able to deal with how strict my diet is- craving? Have a pepsi max, and everything feels better.

Thank you so much for sharing!

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Although it may not effect everyone the same, there have been countless individuals who have had severe and even dibilitating side effects of aspertame. To tell others that it is safe seems a bit irrisponsible and negligent in my opinion. Just because you don't notice ill effects from something does not mean that it isn't causing your body harm or that those side effects won't surface later in life.

For every individual who has sensitivity to aspartame, there are hundreds or people who consume it just fine. It is very irresponsible to spread around some lame scare tactics because of personal experience. The last sentence of your post could apply to any of the foods you currently consume on a daily basis and deemed safe.

aspartame will kill you
There are over 92 different health side effects associated with aspartame consumption. It seems surreal, but true.

How long do I have to live since I have consumed aspartame since I was 17 years old?

You would have lived 437 years had you not consumed the aspartame, that's the thing.

I just don't really like putting anything with the word "artificial" in my body, including the extremely processed white sugar. No aspartame cannot be proven to have bad health effects, but in a lot of cases when humans take something from nature (such as coca) and pervert it by refining and/or concentrating it chemically(such as cocaine), it generally has negative effects. And you may not have any negative impact from one can of soda, or even several in a day, but over a long period of time, even a low level exposure to something harmful (not that aspartame necessarily is or isn't) can potentially cause health effects.

And saying it is not toxic doesn't mean it's good for you, or okay to have in excess. Look what overuse of sugar can do, or overuse of white flour. Not technically toxic, but your body still doesn't like them.

*whiny voice* B-but it occurs in fruiiiiit....

Yes but in its natural form. The lab version of anything is almost never a perfect replica of what nature creates. Close, but not perfect.

All this is just opinion. I personally believe that unnatural substances aren't good for you because your body was not made to use them. Your body, a part of nature, can tell the difference. Even the taste is off. When was the last time you drank a glass of fresh squeezed grape or orange juice (both higher in methanol after breakdown than your average diet coke) and noticed the aftertaste that's in all diet drinks, and a lot of diet foods? Or ANY fruit or fresh squeezed unsweetened fruit juice you can think of?(This is not saying that the aftertaste is dangerous, merely that it signifies a difference between the artificial and natural) Scientifically, there may not be a known difference yet, but I trust my body saying there is a difference.

And yes, I am encouraging people to avoid this artificial junk (and any artificial junk they possibly can). You want "diet" sweeteners? How about you go buy a stevia plant and use that?

I just don't really like putting anything with the word "artificial" in my body, including the extremely processed white sugar.

Processed white sugar is not artificial. You can chose to put it in your body or not, but at least don't it for a false reason.

No aspartame cannot be proven to have bad health effects,

So if you can't prove it has bad effects, this'll be the end of your post, right? Oh... wrong :-(

but in a lot of cases when humans take something from nature (such as coca) and pervert it by refining and/or concentrating it chemically(such as cocaine), it generally has negative effects.

Compounds such as that have effects on the body whether they are refined or not. Humans have a tendency to seek them out, and make them work "better" though. But cocaine refined from coca leaves is still 100% natural.

And you may not have any negative impact from one can of soda, or even several in a day, but over a long period of time, even a low level exposure to something harmful (not that aspartame necessarily is or isn't) can potentially cause health effects.

Yes, it could. But there is no evidence that it does.

And saying it is not toxic doesn't mean it's good for you, or okay to have in excess. Look what overuse of sugar can do, or overuse of white flour. Not technically toxic, but your body still doesn't like them.

Define "overuse".

*whiny voice* B-but it occurs in fruiiiiit....

What, aspartame occurs in fruit? Don't think so. Or are you conflating a bunch of crap together to make some nebulous point?

Yes but in its natural form. The lab version of anything is almost never a perfect replica of what nature creates. Close, but not perfect.

Absolute baloney. Lab produced glucose (for example) is 100% identical to glucose from nature. The same. Not close. Perfect.

All this is just opinion.

And all of it is quite wrong. Opinions don't trump facts.

I personally believe that unnatural substances aren't good for you because your body was not made to use them.

Our bodies were not "made" to use anything. We evolved to be able to get nutrients from a wide variety of sources.

Your body, a part of nature, can tell the difference. Even the taste is off. When was the last time you drank a glass of fresh squeezed grape or orange juice (both higher in methanol after breakdown than your average diet coke) and noticed the aftertaste that's in all diet drinks, and a lot of diet foods? Or ANY fruit or fresh squeezed unsweetened fruit juice you can think of?(This is not saying that the aftertaste is dangerous, merely that it signifies a difference between the artificial and natural) Scientifically, there may not be a known difference yet, but I trust my body saying there is a difference.

Humans are part of nature, ergo anything we make is also part of nature. Unless you are saying we have supernatural powers?

And Brussels Sprouts are natural, but taste disgusting. Are they toxic too by your definition?

And yes, I am encouraging people to avoid this artificial junk (and any artificial junk they possibly can). You want "diet" sweeteners? How about you go buy a stevia plant and use that?

Don't want aspartame? Fine, don't eat/drink it. But please don't push your naturalistic fallacies on others.