Aspartame "sensitives" study published
yarwell
Posts: 10,477 Member
After a long delay a study of self-reported "aspartame sensitive" subjects has been published
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0116212
In a double blinded random crossover study no effect of aspartame was recorded in either the self reported sensitive group or the matched "normal" individuals.
The sensitive group had high triglycerides and lower HDL cholesterol at baseline (more carbs ?) and there were also significant psychological differences between the two groups.
The aspartame dose was given in a snack bar, leaving the study open to criticism that it might be different in a drink. In terms of the acute effect of ingesting the chemical aspartame, none were found.
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0116212
In a double blinded random crossover study no effect of aspartame was recorded in either the self reported sensitive group or the matched "normal" individuals.
The sensitive group had high triglycerides and lower HDL cholesterol at baseline (more carbs ?) and there were also significant psychological differences between the two groups.
The aspartame dose was given in a snack bar, leaving the study open to criticism that it might be different in a drink. In terms of the acute effect of ingesting the chemical aspartame, none were found.
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Excellent post, thanks.
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herrspoons wrote: »Or, in other words, people were just being precious.
"significant psychological differences between the two groups" was a clue I guess. Same as the "electrosensitives" who fear wi-fi. They were self selecting people claiming to have problems with aspartame...Although 268 self-reported aspartame sensitive individuals (AS) inquired, only 53 (21 men, 32 women) attended and gave their informed consent to take part in the study, with only 48 completing both sessions.0 -
Can we link this every time an "aspartame is baaaad" post comes up?0
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My personal experience from about five years ago;
Before I ever heard of MFP I switched to diet sodas in an attempt to lose weight. I drank two to three diet 12 ounce sodas daily. Normally I carried two in my lunch and had them at work in the early afternoon.
I began to experience slurring of my speech during the day after consuming the diet soda. The condition became worse and occurred more often over time.
I read that aspartame could cause headaches and slurring of speech so I cut out diet sodas completely. Within 24 hours the slurred speech stopped and has never occurred again.
I am certainly not qualified to comment on the study linked above but have seen many studies that document the hazards of aspartame and I also know my personal experience. I am absolutely convinced that aspartame is toxic to the human body and at best is a diversion from proven weight loss techniques.0 -
Thank you for posting this yarwell. Sometimes it can be difficult to discredit personal experiences; I wish people were a bit more understanding of studies of research (from actual professionals and peer review).0
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So some people are "sensitive" to aspartame. What's the big deal. Millions of people are sensitive to millions of different foods. Why should this be any different?
I, for example, am severely sensitive to soy. This sensitivity to soy, combined with an over-consumption of soy, has caused me to be sensitive to almonds, peanuts, pecans, walnuts, dairy, eggs, spelt, wheat, gluten, and scallops.
I don't see what the big deal is.0 -
beemerphile1 wrote: »My personal experience from about five years ago;
Before I ever heard of MFP I switched to diet sodas in an attempt to lose weight. I drank two to three diet 12 ounce sodas daily. Normally I carried two in my lunch and had them at work in the early afternoon.
I began to experience slurring of my speech during the day after consuming the diet soda. The condition became worse and occurred more often over time.
I read that aspartame could cause headaches and slurring of speech so I cut out diet sodas completely. Within 24 hours the slurred speech stopped and has never occurred again.
I am certainly not qualified to comment on the study linked above but have seen many studies that document the hazards of aspartame and I also know my personal experience. I am absolutely convinced that aspartame is toxic to the human body and at best is a diversion from proven weight loss techniques.
Do you mind linking those studies you've seen?0 -
I accept that aspartame can cause reactions in some people - things like migraines.
Other people get migraines from MSG or other triggers.
This does not mean me. Or anyone else, should stay away from the product any more than everyone should stay away from peanuts or seafood or anything else that causes allergy or sensitivity on other people.0 -
I agree with the previous posters. For years I suffered with blinding headaches and fatigue. I came across a medical article about the possible side effects of aspartame, both were on the list. I was willing to try anything at the time (this was almost 5 years ago). I quit drinking diet pop and started reading ingredients. I don't care if it was just a stroke of luck or that is what was really the issue, but I haven't had any issues since. I'll continue to stay away from it.0
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beemerphile1 wrote: »My personal experience from about five years ago;
Before I ever heard of MFP I switched to diet sodas in an attempt to lose weight. I drank two to three diet 12 ounce sodas daily. Normally I carried two in my lunch and had them at work in the early afternoon.
I began to experience slurring of my speech during the day after consuming the diet soda. The condition became worse and occurred more often over time.
I read that aspartame could cause headaches and slurring of speech so I cut out diet sodas completely. Within 24 hours the slurred speech stopped and has never occurred again.
I am certainly not qualified to comment on the study linked above but have seen many studies that document the hazards of aspartame and I also know my personal experience. I am absolutely convinced that aspartame is toxic to the human body and at best is a diversion from proven weight loss techniques.
No, what is means is you don't react well to aspartame. Some people die from eating peanuts - does that mean peanuts are toxic to the human body? of course not.
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This study didn't include all symptoms connected to aspartame intake. While I have had no psychological reactions to aspartame, I can tell you with certainty that it aggravated my scalp psoriasis and I lost patches of hair around my hairline.0
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stevencloser wrote: »beemerphile1 wrote: »My personal experience from about five years ago;
Before I ever heard of MFP I switched to diet sodas in an attempt to lose weight. I drank two to three diet 12 ounce sodas daily. Normally I carried two in my lunch and had them at work in the early afternoon.
I began to experience slurring of my speech during the day after consuming the diet soda. The condition became worse and occurred more often over time.
I read that aspartame could cause headaches and slurring of speech so I cut out diet sodas completely. Within 24 hours the slurred speech stopped and has never occurred again.
I am certainly not qualified to comment on the study linked above but have seen many studies that document the hazards of aspartame and I also know my personal experience. I am absolutely convinced that aspartame is toxic to the human body and at best is a diversion from proven weight loss techniques.
Do you mind linking those studies you've seen?
Not worth my time, you can easily find them yourself.
I have nothing to prove but was only sharing my personal experience. If someone tolerates aspartame, then drink away, it won't hurt my feelings.
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My only 'sensitivity' to Aspartame is to the aftertaste.0
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I don't know how you can blind an aspartame study of this sort. I can absolutely taste aspartame every single time. Doesn't mean that I believe anyone is "sensitive" to it... but without being in pill form I'm not sure you can really blind the study.
ETA: It helps, of course, that this was a crossover study.0 -
Maybe imitate the flavor with different ingredients?HardcoreP0rk wrote: »I don't know how you can blind an aspartame study of this sort. I can absolutely taste aspartame every single time. Doesn't mean that I believe anyone is "sensitive" to it... but without being in pill form I'm not sure you can really blind the study.
ETA: It helps, of course, that this was a crossover study.
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beemerphile1 wrote: »stevencloser wrote: »beemerphile1 wrote: »My personal experience from about five years ago;
Before I ever heard of MFP I switched to diet sodas in an attempt to lose weight. I drank two to three diet 12 ounce sodas daily. Normally I carried two in my lunch and had them at work in the early afternoon.
I began to experience slurring of my speech during the day after consuming the diet soda. The condition became worse and occurred more often over time.
I read that aspartame could cause headaches and slurring of speech so I cut out diet sodas completely. Within 24 hours the slurred speech stopped and has never occurred again.
I am certainly not qualified to comment on the study linked above but have seen many studies that document the hazards of aspartame and I also know my personal experience. I am absolutely convinced that aspartame is toxic to the human body and at best is a diversion from proven weight loss techniques.
Do you mind linking those studies you've seen?
Not worth my time, you can easily find them yourself.
I have nothing to prove but was only sharing my personal experience. If someone tolerates aspartame, then drink away, it won't hurt my feelings.
You claim to have seen the studies proving the hazards, studies we have all looked for and haven't been able to find conclusive evidence but you won't show it to us? It isn't worth your time to show us how you based your conclusion so everyone should just believe it? Basically it would be safe to see that your opinion can just be disregarded by everyone due to lack of substance.
That is right, not worth my time. I know your type, nothing can be correct if it differs from your opinion. Even if I provide links to the studies you will find fault.
I only share my personal experience and opinion. Aspartame is one of the most researched and debated food additives, there are plenty of studies and even full books written on the topic.-1 -
Why am I not surprised? It's always "I can't be assed" or a link to some blog or news article. Rarely an actual study that actually says the opposite of what was claimed.beemerphile1 wrote: »stevencloser wrote: »beemerphile1 wrote: »My personal experience from about five years ago;
Before I ever heard of MFP I switched to diet sodas in an attempt to lose weight. I drank two to three diet 12 ounce sodas daily. Normally I carried two in my lunch and had them at work in the early afternoon.
I began to experience slurring of my speech during the day after consuming the diet soda. The condition became worse and occurred more often over time.
I read that aspartame could cause headaches and slurring of speech so I cut out diet sodas completely. Within 24 hours the slurred speech stopped and has never occurred again.
I am certainly not qualified to comment on the study linked above but have seen many studies that document the hazards of aspartame and I also know my personal experience. I am absolutely convinced that aspartame is toxic to the human body and at best is a diversion from proven weight loss techniques.
Do you mind linking those studies you've seen?
Not worth my time, you can easily find them yourself.
I have nothing to prove but was only sharing my personal experience. If someone tolerates aspartame, then drink away, it won't hurt my feelings.
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beemerphile1 wrote: »My personal experience from about five years ago;
Before I ever heard of MFP I switched to diet sodas in an attempt to lose weight. I drank two to three diet 12 ounce sodas daily. Normally I carried two in my lunch and had them at work in the early afternoon.
I began to experience slurring of my speech during the day after consuming the diet soda. The condition became worse and occurred more often over time.
I read that aspartame could cause headaches and slurring of speech so I cut out diet sodas completely. Within 24 hours the slurred speech stopped and has never occurred again.
I am certainly not qualified to comment on the study linked above but have seen many studies that document the hazards of aspartame and I also know my personal experience. I am absolutely convinced that aspartame is toxic to the human body and at best is a diversion from proven weight loss techniques.
I too experience slurred speech after consuming diet soda... not sure if its the rum or diet coke that is the problem though!0 -
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beemerphile1 wrote: »beemerphile1 wrote: »stevencloser wrote: »beemerphile1 wrote: »My personal experience from about five years ago;
Before I ever heard of MFP I switched to diet sodas in an attempt to lose weight. I drank two to three diet 12 ounce sodas daily. Normally I carried two in my lunch and had them at work in the early afternoon.
I began to experience slurring of my speech during the day after consuming the diet soda. The condition became worse and occurred more often over time.
I read that aspartame could cause headaches and slurring of speech so I cut out diet sodas completely. Within 24 hours the slurred speech stopped and has never occurred again.
I am certainly not qualified to comment on the study linked above but have seen many studies that document the hazards of aspartame and I also know my personal experience. I am absolutely convinced that aspartame is toxic to the human body and at best is a diversion from proven weight loss techniques.
Do you mind linking those studies you've seen?
Not worth my time, you can easily find them yourself.
I have nothing to prove but was only sharing my personal experience. If someone tolerates aspartame, then drink away, it won't hurt my feelings.
You claim to have seen the studies proving the hazards, studies we have all looked for and haven't been able to find conclusive evidence but you won't show it to us? It isn't worth your time to show us how you based your conclusion so everyone should just believe it? Basically it would be safe to see that your opinion can just be disregarded by everyone due to lack of substance.
That is right, not worth my time. I know your type, nothing can be correct if it differs from your opinion. Even if I provide links to the studies you will find fault.
I only share my personal experience and opinion. Aspartame is one of the most researched and debated food additives, there are plenty of studies and even full books written on the topic.
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beemerphile1 wrote: »
I am certainly not qualified to comment on the study linked above but have seen many studies that document the hazards of aspartame and I also know my personal experience. I am absolutely convinced that aspartame is toxic to the human body and at best is a diversion from proven weight loss techniques.
While I'm all for sharing, there are a few things to keep in mind. I think most everything is toxic. No really. That's the point of toxicity; dosage. Second, let's not overstate the overall value in knowing someone else's personal experiences with a substance.
I'm led to believe that there are lots of people who don't have a problem drinking a glass of milk. It would not be pleasant if I did. I would not suggest that other people avoid milk.
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Logic 101, the person making the claim has the burden to prove it; it is not the job of the skeptic to prove them wrong. So all anecdotal experiences can be taken with a dose of salt.
Yup, skeptics are a "type". A strong society needs a healthy dose of skeptic types.
As an aside, years ago I worked in the pesticide chemicals branch of a government department. The complaints file was always an interesting read. Memorable was the complaint letter from a woman wondering if the mosquito spraying of her local pond caused her perm to fall out. Weep for the civil servants tasked to respond to these sorts of concerns.0 -
beemerphile1 wrote: »
I am certainly not qualified to comment on the study linked above but have seen many studies that document the hazards of aspartame and I also know my personal experience. I am absolutely convinced that aspartame is toxic to the human body and at best is a diversion from proven weight loss techniques.
While I'm all for sharing, there are a few things to keep in mind. I think most everything is toxic. No really. That's the point of toxicity; dosage. Second, let's not overstate the overall value in knowing someone else's personal experiences with a substance.
I'm led to believe that there are lots of people who don't have a problem drinking a glass of milk. It would not be pleasant if I did. I would not suggest that other people avoid milk.
Yup. Even water can be toxic if drank too much at once.0 -
beemerphile1 wrote: »stevencloser wrote: »beemerphile1 wrote: »My personal experience from about five years ago;
Before I ever heard of MFP I switched to diet sodas in an attempt to lose weight. I drank two to three diet 12 ounce sodas daily. Normally I carried two in my lunch and had them at work in the early afternoon.
I began to experience slurring of my speech during the day after consuming the diet soda. The condition became worse and occurred more often over time.
I read that aspartame could cause headaches and slurring of speech so I cut out diet sodas completely. Within 24 hours the slurred speech stopped and has never occurred again.
I am certainly not qualified to comment on the study linked above but have seen many studies that document the hazards of aspartame and I also know my personal experience. I am absolutely convinced that aspartame is toxic to the human body and at best is a diversion from proven weight loss techniques.
Do you mind linking those studies you've seen?
Not worth my time, you can easily find them yourself.
I have nothing to prove but was only sharing my personal experience. If someone tolerates aspartame, then drink away, it won't hurt my feelings.
Burden of proof is on you, since you make the claim.
(Hint, those studies either don't exist or they have been debunked)
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dieselbyte wrote: »beemerphile1 wrote: »My personal experience from about five years ago;
Before I ever heard of MFP I switched to diet sodas in an attempt to lose weight. I drank two to three diet 12 ounce sodas daily. Normally I carried two in my lunch and had them at work in the early afternoon.
I began to experience slurring of my speech during the day after consuming the diet soda. The condition became worse and occurred more often over time.
I read that aspartame could cause headaches and slurring of speech so I cut out diet sodas completely. Within 24 hours the slurred speech stopped and has never occurred again.
I am certainly not qualified to comment on the study linked above but have seen many studies that document the hazards of aspartame and I also know my personal experience. I am absolutely convinced that aspartame is toxic to the human body and at best is a diversion from proven weight loss techniques.
I too experience slurred speech after consuming diet soda... not sure if its the rum or diet coke that is the problem though!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ NOW THAT IS FUNNY!!!!! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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Is aspartame considered a carcinogenic? Has this been proved or disproved as a myth yet? (genuine question).0
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slideaway1 wrote: »Is aspartame considered a carcinogenic? Has this been proved or disproved as a myth yet? (genuine question).
It is just a couple of amino acids that have been cleverly put together. The same exact ones you would get in massively higher quantities in a single chicken breast.
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One glaring error on the publication (or the abridged synopsis) would be that HDL-C could not be as high as the Triglycerides. That would take a miracle if the whole patient population had HDL levels as high as they stated. The mmol/L converted to mg/dL (more commonly seen in US) would mean both study groups had "good" cholesterol in the triple digits...[scratching my head], I think not.
However, this is just the abstract and a synopsis, the actual data could be correct. I'm somewhat skeptical though.0 -
slideaway1 wrote: »Is aspartame considered a carcinogenic? Has this been proved or disproved as a myth yet? (genuine question).
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1308408/why-aspartame-isnt-scary0
This discussion has been closed.
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