Why Aspartame Isn't Scary
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are these reports hokum? I fully get the "causality" statements made in some reports as its true we dont know if people are consuming these diet sodas while gobling down their fast food meals (I suspect many are) and I also get the whole moderation part of the argument as well, but I know many people in my life whom consume several diet sodas a day and they always say "well its 0 calories". I dont view soda (diet or regular) as a healthy choice at all to drink. To have one occasionally fine but to make it your staple choice of beverage I say boo. I guess I am biased as I haven't had a soda in years ...I guess i am just like a person who quit cigarettes.
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/32/4/688.full
https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=56&ContentID=198912 -
it may not be scary but to me tastes like *kitten*.3
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Well, yes that may be so - but nearly everyone has something they think tastes *kitten* - it doesn't really have any relevance to other people though.
I personally quite dislike watermelon and cucumber - but I don't think that has any relevance to other people and whether they consume it or not.3 -
My bariatric doc prohibits the use of Aspartame or Splenda, but they give you Phenylalanine as a craving deterrent. Go figure. I don't think Aspartame is to be feared, but it tastes like poison to me, so I don't use it. Splenda tastes bad to me too. Stevia isn't that great either. I think I will stick to small amounts of real sugar. Artificial sweeteners also seem to fuel my hunger. I see a lot of people drinking Diet Coke doing no better than those drinking Coke.3
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are these reports hokum? I fully get the "causality" statements made in some reports as its true we dont know if people are consuming these diet sodas while gobling down their fast food meals (I suspect many are) and I also get the whole moderation part of the argument as well, but I know many people in my life whom consume several diet sodas a day and they always say "well its 0 calories". I dont view soda (diet or regular) as a healthy choice at all to drink. To have one occasionally fine but to make it your staple choice of beverage I say boo. I guess I am biased as I haven't had a soda in years ...I guess i am just like a person who quit cigarettes.
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/32/4/688.full
https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=56&ContentID=19891
For many of us, diet soda has been a main reason for our success to become healthier. For me, it helped me cut out 600 calories + of regular soda, and allowed me to eat more food for a much more sustainable diet. With that, i have lost 50 lbs and improved all health markers across the board. And since it's mostly water, I would struggle to see how it would be unhealthy.
IRT the bold, it's the same questions the study is asking: "First, it has been hypothesized that artificial sweeteners may increase hedonistic desires for sweetness and more energy-dense foods (10–12). Second, overconsumption of other foods/beverages may also occur in conjunction with diet beverage consumption owing to overestimation of the number of calories saved by substituting diet beverages for sugar-sweetened beverages (4). Third, the association between diet beverages and weight gain may be biased by early awareness of energy imbalance, i.e., diet beverage consumption may serve as a proxy for early (failed) attempts to maintain weight."
The bigger question is, would these results be repeatable in a controlled study (not self reported recall study). I ask this because we know how difficult it is to recall the amount of calories consumed and even trained professionals under report results.2 -
Funny though that the ADA recommends diet soda as something diabetics should drink.are these reports hokum? I fully get the "causality" statements made in some reports as its true we dont know if people are consuming these diet sodas while gobling down their fast food meals (I suspect many are) and I also get the whole moderation part of the argument as well, but I know many people in my life whom consume several diet sodas a day and they always say "well its 0 calories". I dont view soda (diet or regular) as a healthy choice at all to drink. To have one occasionally fine but to make it your staple choice of beverage I say boo. I guess I am biased as I haven't had a soda in years ...I guess i am just like a person who quit cigarettes.
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/32/4/688.full
Correlation doesn't equal causation. In fact the article couldn't tell why it was correlated.
I quit cigarettes because even though I knew they were bad, having a kid committed me to quitting. There really are no pros to smoking to keep your health up.
But diet sodas in moderation haven't been shown to be dangerous at all (with the exception of PKU). With aspartame being one of the most studied additives EVER, you'd think there would be conclusive evidence that it leads to health demise.
Personally I've drank diet soda for over 25+ years now on daily basis. I have good oral hygiene, so no teeth problems, I drink it with my occasional McDonald's, Taco Bell or KFC but stay with calories, and sometimes I just drink it by itself because I like it. If the health issues purported by naysayers should have happened to me, it should have at least shown something (even the smallest inkling) by now. I tend to believe what peer reviewed clinical studies have shown and the overwhelming majority show no issues with moderation intake.
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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Funny though that the ADA recommends diet soda as something diabetics should drink.are these reports hokum? I fully get the "causality" statements made in some reports as its true we dont know if people are consuming these diet sodas while gobling down their fast food meals (I suspect many are) and I also get the whole moderation part of the argument as well, but I know many people in my life whom consume several diet sodas a day and they always say "well its 0 calories". I dont view soda (diet or regular) as a healthy choice at all to drink. To have one occasionally fine but to make it your staple choice of beverage I say boo. I guess I am biased as I haven't had a soda in years ...I guess i am just like a person who quit cigarettes.
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/32/4/688.full
Correlation doesn't equal causation. In fact the article couldn't tell why it was correlated.
I quit cigarettes because even though I knew they were bad, having a kid committed me to quitting. There really are no pros to smoking to keep your health up.
But diet sodas in moderation haven't been shown to be dangerous at all (with the exception of PKU). With aspartame being one of the most studied additives EVER, you'd think there would be conclusive evidence that it leads to health demise.
Personally I've drank diet soda for over 25+ years now on daily basis. I have good oral hygiene, so no teeth problems, I drink it with my occasional McDonald's, Taco Bell or KFC but stay with calories, and sometimes I just drink it by itself because I like it. If the health issues purported by naysayers should have happened to me, it should have at least shown something (even the smallest inkling) by now. I tend to believe what peer reviewed clinical studies have shown and the overwhelming majority show no issues with moderation intake.
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
Ditto for me. I started drinking Tab in high school in the early 1980s. When Diet Coke came out I switched to that. There has never been a period longer than about 2 months in the last 35 years where I wasn't drinking at least one diet soda per day, and many days more than one or two.
The 2 month period was a few years ago when one of my sisters was nagging me about it and claiming that it might be causing some of my minor health problems. Just to humor her, and because I was genuinely interested in the results, I gave up all artificial sweeteners for those 2 months and it made zero difference.... Well, it did make a difference in my mood because I was cranky about giving up drinking diet soda and finding something besides plain water to drink but there was no other difference to my health or anything else.
If there really were some negative health effects to aspartame or sucralose I'm sure I would have succumbed to them before now.0 -
redversustheblue wrote: »I wish these kinds of articles would not get posted. Neither pro nor con.
I have never had problems with artificial sweeteners, but largely avoid them ( as I do most sugar ) because I don't like sweet stuff very much. So I am fine. A friend of mine gets awful migraines ( the have to stay in a dark room kind ) and another one gets impaired vision.....
That is why I don't like those generalized articles, because any food item ( natural or artificial ) is fine for most people while health and even life threatening for others. Blanket statements do not help....
What article?
This is an honest question, I'm actually curious. Maybe someone could explain, like the people who know the science, why aspartame would cause impaired vision as a side effect or something. To me, this sounds like someone just blaming this on aspartame without actually knowing that's what's caused it. Any insight?
Yup, it's just anecdotal bs0 -
FireOpalCO wrote: »I just want to know why it gives me migraines. I'm not normally prone to them, but accidental ingestion of aspartame? Just kill me now. It won't be hard, I won't be moving from this spot.
I want to know this too, since both my sister and mother also get migraines from it. I don't like the taste, personally. (I don't like the taste of Splenda either). I just avoid artificial sweeteners because they taste bad to me and they're not in the house to accidentally ingest to protect my family from extreme headaches.3 -
mispost, posted on the wrong thread1
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FireOpalCO wrote: »I just want to know why it gives me migraines. I'm not normally prone to them, but accidental ingestion of aspartame? Just kill me now. It won't be hard, I won't be moving from this spot.
I want to know this too, since both my sister and mother also get migraines from it. I don't like the taste, personally. (I don't like the taste of Splenda either). I just avoid artificial sweeteners because they taste bad to me and they're not in the house to accidentally ingest to protect my family from extreme headaches.
Migraine triggers are one of those things everyone just has to sort of shrug about. If you do X and it causes you a migraine I agree you shouldn't do X. That doesn't mean X causes brain damage. I know you didn't make that claim, just saying.
And if you don't like the taste that is a perfectly good reason to avoid it.2 -
That the OP posted such complete information and this thread still went to 36 pages (thus far) is instructive as to just how badly the world is failing with STEM education.6
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I know for a fact that aspartame is bad. I was drinking diet cokes/pepsi (~ 1 ltr a day or so) and as soon as I had some, not long after would get aching in back of my knees and down in my calves. Stopped the diet sodas...and it went away completely after a couple weeks. Started back after a month or two off it, and that day, maybe an hour later, started getting legs aches again.
You can say what you want about the science...but obviously there are some people that have adverse reactions to it (1). And FYI....there are plenty of drugs approved by the FDA with sound research behind them that were later found to be bad for humans (2).
(1) Ciappuccini R, et al. Aspartame-induced fibromyalgia, an unusual but curable cause of chronic pain. Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology 2010;28(63):S131-133
(2) http://prescriptiondrugs.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=0055281 -
That some people have adverse reactions doesn't mean something is unhealthy for humans.
For example, penicillin got me sent to the hospital. Yet for many people (far more), it keeps them out.
My sister has stomach pain associated with avocados and melon (foods she used to love). Yet I eat them all the time, no bad reactions, and same with many.
I have no issues with dairy; many do. So on.4 -
Try as I may, I can't eat walnuts. My mouth gets all sorts of itchy. Don't eat walnuts! LOL7
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I know for a fact that aspartame is bad. I was drinking diet cokes/pepsi (~ 1 ltr a day or so) and as soon as I had some, not long after would get aching in back of my knees and down in my calves. Stopped the diet sodas...and it went away completely after a couple weeks. Started back after a month or two off it, and that day, maybe an hour later, started getting legs aches again.
You can say what you want about the science...but obviously there are some people that have adverse reactions to it (1). And FYI....there are plenty of drugs approved by the FDA with sound research behind them that were later found to be bad for humans.
(1) Ciappuccini R, et al. Aspartame-induced fibromyalgia, an unusual but curable cause of chronic pain. Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology 2010;28(63):S131-133
A fact....Ok...is it bad or bad for you?4 -
I have been drinking diet pop since the days of Tab back in the early 80's. Not sure why my blood work is still great.1
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I know for a fact that aspartame is bad. I was drinking diet cokes/pepsi (~ 1 ltr a day or so) and as soon as I had some, not long after would get aching in back of my knees and down in my calves. Stopped the diet sodas...and it went away completely after a couple weeks. Started back after a month or two off it, and that day, maybe an hour later, started getting legs aches again.
You can say what you want about the science...but obviously there are some people that have adverse reactions to it (1). And FYI....there are plenty of drugs approved by the FDA with sound research behind them that were later found to be bad for humans.
(1) Ciappuccini R, et al. Aspartame-induced fibromyalgia, an unusual but curable cause of chronic pain. Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology 2010;28(63):S131-133
I drink almost a 2L a day without any issue. So its kind of a bad argument. My wife cant have gluten due to a medical issue. But that doesn't make it bad for all of us?0 -
I know for a fact that aspartame is bad. I was drinking diet cokes/pepsi (~ 1 ltr a day or so) and as soon as I had some, not long after would get aching in back of my knees and down in my calves. Stopped the diet sodas...and it went away completely after a couple weeks. Started back after a month or two off it, and that day, maybe an hour later, started getting legs aches again.
You can say what you want about the science...but obviously there are some people that have adverse reactions to it (1). And FYI....there are plenty of drugs approved by the FDA with sound research behind them that were later found to be bad for humans.
(1) Ciappuccini R, et al. Aspartame-induced fibromyalgia, an unusual but curable cause of chronic pain. Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology 2010;28(63):S131-133
That just means it's bad for you. In the 2+ years I've been drinking diet soda I've never had any adverse effects.2
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