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Why Aspartame Isn't Scary

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Replies

  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    LCt99 wrote: »
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    Here is the Sci American article

    http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/artificial-sweeteners-may-change-our-gut-bacteria-in-dangerous-ways/

    I put it here because it was referenced but I do wish to add the caveat that scientific american is a magazine with journalists who write stories, it is not a scientific publication.

    The sci american article does not reference the study directly with a citation but they mention it was last year, that it was an Israeli group and that the author was Segal. With that info it seems like the study is likely the one from the scientific journal Nature that I linked above which has Segal as one of its authors.

    As someone in research who regularly reviews journal articles (albeit in a different topic area) and attempts to validate the results, I've found a lot of ripped off articles, forged results and padded results. I've seen duplicate articles in the same journal with a whole separate list of authors lol. I don't trust journal articles as far as I can throw them. Today, there are too many journals publishing and too many grad students required to publish work that many times isn't original or validated. Obviously, some journals are better than others for that and are ranked accordingly. I'm not arguing for or against anything here. I'm merely noting that a "journal" doesn't sway me any more or less than a "magazine" these days.

    Hey I'm not saying don't read critically anything that you read, but if it is published in a journal presumably they at least have to cite their sources and provide their data which is something an opinion piece does not have to do and most likely wont.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited June 2015
    mathjulz wrote: »
    Nerdycurls wrote: »
    This review of data may have already been mentioned, too:

    http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/3496.htm

    The facts are in-- aspartame won't rot anyone's brain. My personal issue with aspartame is the sweetness factor. It's hundreds of times sweeter than regular sugar, and my concern is people become accustomed to such a high sweetness level. It's kind of like salty food. Once people are accustomed to it, it can be very difficult to scale back-- which has the potential to lead to unhealthy habits (and have your dentist chew you out for legitimate reasons).

    But the fact of its sweetness factor is WHY it is used as a low (nearly 0) calorie sweetener.

    It's a protein. So it has 4 calories per gram. A can of soda contains about 200mg or so of aspartame. It's "comparable" in sweetness to a can of regular soda containing around 40 g of sugar. So it has 1/200th the amount but the same sweetness, hence 200x sweeter. (Side question, how does one measure sweetness?)

    I am guessing here as I don't have time at the moment to look it up but my assumption would be that sweetness (like all flavors) is the result of binding of a small molecule to a receptor on your tongue and therefore "sweetness" can be quantitated as how strongly a molecule binds that receptor. A molecule with a picomolar Kd for the receptor will be much sweeter than a molecule with a micromolar Kd for example.

    A molecule that is "sweeter" is therefore one that binds the receptor more strongly and therefore requires less of that molecule to be present before the receptor is bound and activated.

    I'm guessing at the moment though, thats just what makes sense to me if it is truly quantitative.
  • FitForL1fe
    FitForL1fe Posts: 1,872 Member
    cool story bro
  • mikeski52
    mikeski52 Posts: 59 Member
    Are there any studies about the effects of aspartame (and other sweeteners I guess) on dental hygiene?

    Also, I've heard that artificial sweeteners can increase insulin production unnecessarily; are there studies of such things, and if so do you know of any you can point out to those of us that are curious?
  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
    As a physical chemist whose graduate work was in the field of carbohydrate metabolism I thoroughly endorse this post. Thank you for taking the time not only to wrote a clear description of aspartame and its physiological destination, but also replying to people with questions.
  • mrshollamby2015
    mrshollamby2015 Posts: 1 Member
    Aspartame almost killed me I ended up with blood poisoning and it's because of this! I went into anaphylactic shock I don't care what anyone says it's dangerous
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
    Yeah, no.
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    edited September 2015
    mrshollamby2015 wrote: »
    Aspartame almost killed me I ended up with blood poisoning and it's because of this! I went into anaphylactic shock I don't care what anyone says it's dangerous

    Strong first post, with a thread bump to do so!

    Thanks for bumping this terrific and always timely thread, though. :)
  • bendyourkneekatie
    bendyourkneekatie Posts: 696 Member
    I just listen to my body and all I know is even the tiniest bit can send me to the hospital near death, throat closing over, in agony. I've been pumped full of adrenaline, unable to breathe... It's evil and toxic and should be banned everywhere.

    Oh wait, we're not talking about peanuts? No one's on board my ban peanuts train? Paid shills for Big Peana the lot of you!

    Ok, what about chickpeas? Latex? Anyone?
  • booksandchocolate12
    booksandchocolate12 Posts: 1,741 Member
    mrshollamby2015 wrote: »
    Aspartame almost killed me I ended up with blood poisoning and it's because of this! I went into anaphylactic shock I don't care what anyone says it's dangerous

    There must be something wrong with me because this post made me laugh out loud.

  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,887 Member
    emmoen wrote: »
    There has been a study done that shows artificial sweeteners affect the bacteria in your gut. Which in turns may result in an increase absorption and resulting in weight gains and decreased production of a hormone that suppresses appetite
    One study also show HCG worked. Several other studies that tried to replicate it, showed that it didn't.
    Can't just base a conclusion on one study.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,887 Member
    mikeski52 wrote: »
    Are there any studies about the effects of aspartame (and other sweeteners I guess) on dental hygiene?
    Sugar is FAR worse for dental hygiene than aspartame. Dental hygiene is based on how a person takes care of their teeth, not necessarily what they eat or drink (with the exceptions of those that "dye" your teeth, EX: coffee)
    Also, I've heard that artificial sweeteners can increase insulin production unnecessarily; are there studies of such things, and if so do you know of any you can point out to those of us that are curious?
    If that were true, then the American Diabetes Association wouldn't recommend it as an alternative drink:

    What Can I Drink?

    Food often takes center stage when it comes to diabetes. But don't forget that the beverages you drink can also have an effect on your weight and blood glucose!

    We recommend choosing zero-calorie or very low-calorie drinks. This includes:

    Water
    Unsweetened teas
    Coffee
    Diet soda
    Other low-calorie drinks and drink mixes

    You can also try flavoring your water with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice for a light, refreshing drink with some flavor. All of these drinks provide minimal calories and carbohydrate.
    - See more at: http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/what-can-i-eat/making-healthy-food-choices/what-can-i-drink.html?loc=ff-slabnav#sthash.5vwbG3Yf.dpuf



    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • booksandchocolate12
    booksandchocolate12 Posts: 1,741 Member
    UltimateRBF wrote: »
    mrshollamby2015 wrote: »
    Aspartame almost killed me I ended up with blood poisoning and it's because of this! I went into anaphylactic shock I don't care what anyone says it's dangerous

    That just means it's dangerous to you.

    Exactly. My daughter's friend has a peanut allergy. Consuming peanuts might result in anaphylactic shock for her.

    So, I guess that means that peanuts are dangerous and should be avoided by everyone?

  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    booksandchocolate12 wrote: »
    UltimateRBF wrote: »
    mrshollamby2015 wrote: »
    Aspartame almost killed me I ended up with blood poisoning and it's because of this! I went into anaphylactic shock I don't care what anyone says it's dangerous

    That just means it's dangerous to you.

    Exactly. My daughter's friend has a peanut allergy. Consuming peanuts might result in anaphylactic shock for her.

    So, I guess that means that peanuts are dangerous and should be avoided by everyone?

    Of course! Much easier than expecting the allergic person to simply avoid their allergen or carry an Epi-Pen.

    I'm allergic to wasps. Yes, deathly allergic. I carry an Epi-Pen, but I would happily have wasps eradicated off the planet because I've never found a good or irreplaceable need for them in nature's food chain anyway. :)
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    This post could use a bump for visibility.
  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
    Peanuts. Soy. Latex. Lanolin. Goldenrod. Eucalyptus. Some random spice in Hunts' Ketchup. Formaldehyde (triggers respiratory distress & migraines). meta-xylene (same, plus hives! .. the things you learn when you're a chemist and work with purified substances). Polyester (wtf who's allergic to polyester?).

    I'm a freaking walking allergy factory. So I'm not going to pooh-pooh that someone might have a sensitivity/allergic reaction to aspartame, no matter how improbable I find this as a chemist. Because they're simple amino acids and I'm personally REALLY shocked you aren't in a state of constant anaphylaxis over protein digestion or manufacture. But hey, there's a lot I don't know, so maybe its possible.
  • eDonatti
    eDonatti Posts: 49 Member
    Thank you for this post. I love Diet Coke and like many I find it even tastier than regular one. I needed to reduce the number of cans I had but that's due to the fact that it has high GI which was making me wanting more of the stuff... However it's good to know that I don't need to worry too much about foods that contain aspartame.
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
    tomteboda wrote: »
    Peanuts. Soy. Latex. Lanolin. Goldenrod. Eucalyptus. Some random spice in Hunts' Ketchup. Formaldehyde (triggers respiratory distress & migraines). meta-xylene (same, plus hives! .. the things you learn when you're a chemist and work with purified substances). Polyester (wtf who's allergic to polyester?).

    I'm a freaking walking allergy factory. So I'm not going to pooh-pooh that someone might have a sensitivity/allergic reaction to aspartame, no matter how improbable I find this as a chemist. Because they're simple amino acids and I'm personally REALLY shocked you aren't in a state of constant anaphylaxis over protein digestion or manufacture. But hey, there's a lot I don't know, so maybe its possible.

    If someone is allergic to something, no problem obviously.
    The problems arise when someone who has (or think they have) a problem with it make it out to be some kind of toxic substance responsible for all kinds of maladies.
    Imagine if someone allergic to peanuts went around saying peanuts cause lung cancer or whatever. Ridiculous, right? Exactly that kind of stuff is happening with aspartame.
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
    Horse-pucky.
  • frankiesgirlie
    frankiesgirlie Posts: 669 Member
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    In case it is relevant my background is a Ph.D. in molecular biology with a focus on protein biochemistry. 9 years of research experience with 5 years of infectious disease drug development research part of which is performing toxicology assays on potential drugs. In my opinion there is no evidence or reason to suspect mechanistically that aspartame is toxic or carcinogenic.

    I do NOT think that expertise or background is proof that someone is correct so I invite anyone and everyone who is interested to look into this yourself. I just mention it because I know I will likely be asked.



    Oh yeah, your background is relevant. I've spent the last 2 months reading everything I can regarding nutrition and especially aspartame, since I ingest it daily.
    I will be reading your post multiple times (since I'm not nearly as smart as you) and will be reading it to my husband tonight. Your post explains aspartame's makeup better than anything I've read, and I will now have to make up my own mind.
    Thank you so much for this.
    You are now my favorite nerd.
    Respectfully--

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