Is Aspartame really THAT bad?

Options
12357

Replies

  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Options
    That documentary was made by Cori Brackett, who has a very large anti-aspartame slant. If you think objective studies are wrong because they are funded by aspartame supporters, why would you think a documentary written by someone who is anti-aspartame to be any more true? Also, neither person involved in the documentary have any kind of scientific background that I can see. They are both television personalities. Plus they are immediately wrong in just their description on the documentary in the intro. Methanol is NOT an ingredient in making aspartame. Aspartame, when hydrolyzed, can make methanol in the body, but there is no methanol used in the creation of aspartame. If they can't even get that basic fact right, why should I believe anything else in the documentary?
  • i_love_vinegar
    i_love_vinegar Posts: 2,092 Member
    Options
    our body supposedly converts aspartame into embalming fluid in our bodies...

    that along with the weird after taste keeps me away.

    I think it is our own choice what we do, although I think it is always smart to try and do your own research -- I have learned this through experience.

    There are things which are banned in the U.S., but not in other countries and vice-versa. Sometimes this depends on research, sometimes it even depends on companies trying to cut competition...
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
    Options
    Yes it can be (living proof)

    living proof? what do u mean?
    I am livng proof that it can be that bad. I suffered with headaches that would last for wks on end before doc's narowwed down my symptoms to food related. Cut out the aspartame and my heachache stopped within 72 hours. Not saying I wont have a crystal light now and again but no diet soft drinks, yogurt.... wherever it replaces sugar on a regular basis.

    Me too. I was getting so many headaches from the yogurts I was eating with the artificial sweetners in them. I stopped eating them and started eating the real thing and the headaches stopped

    Aspartame gives me horrendous headaches. I don't have to consume very much of it either and the headaches start. If the headaches don't stop me from consuming it the stomachaches will. I actually try and avoid pretty much ALL artificial sweeteners, but seem to do okay with Splenda in small doses.

    Sugar isn't much better for you - but at least I don't have horrible headaches and stomachaches from it.
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
    Options
    That documentary was made by Cori Brackett, who has a very large anti-aspartame slant. If you think objective studies are wrong because they are funded by aspartame supporters, why would you think a documentary written by someone who is anti-aspartame to be any more true? Also, neither person involved in the documentary have any kind of scientific background that I can see. They are both television personalities. Plus they are immediately wrong in just their description on the documentary in the intro. Methanol is NOT an ingredient in making aspartame. Aspartame, when hydrolyzed, can make methanol in the body, but there is no methanol used in the creation of aspartame. If they can't even get that basic fact right, why should I believe anything else in the documentary?

    THANK YOU!
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
    Options
    I don't want to cause a huge issue... but you might want to brush up on your chemistry or read the scientific data NOT funded by the people pushing for the sweetener to pass. I suggest you watch the documentary that is linked in above posts. It's very informative and explains how aspartame is NOT broken down inertly, but actually causes brain tumors and seizures (without question).


    EDIT: oops, sorry, the quote didn't stick. I'm too lazy to find who I was chastising

    There are several people in here who have/are getting degrees in the field. I don't think we really need much 'brushing up.'
  • Rilke
    Rilke Posts: 1,201 Member
    Options
    The problem with eating clean is you either have to grow and raise your own, or you have to know and trust the people where you get your food. Otherwise, you're just taking strangers words for it. That said, our world is filled with chemicals these days and it's simply not possible to get away from residual effects. I'm not saying it's impossible, but I'm saying it would be a damned near impossible to manage it even close to 100 percent.

    I don't really see that as a "problem". I make most of my food at home and get almost everything from one of two sources:
    - local farmers, bakers and companies (produce, meats, breads, eggs, milk, ice cream, novelties)
    - Trader Joe's (nearly everything else)

    I only use other groceries for purchases of things I can't get from either above source.

    The first source is obviously ideal; TJ's is indeed "taking strangers' words for it", but I know people who have worked for TJ's (both in-store and corporate) and they say the company's claims are pretty trustworthy. For other sources, I do research into companies before purchasing anything.

    Trusting my health and wellness to chemicals and chemical companies (and the FDA) would be a much bigger problem.
  • lapamperedchef
    lapamperedchef Posts: 61
    Options
    If it has more then one ingredient in its list i don't touch it. And I prefer raw honey when it comes to sweetening.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Options
    I prefer Agave syrup to honey. I have this thing against eating spit. :laugh:
  • bprague
    bprague Posts: 564 Member
    Options
    That documentary was made by Cori Brackett, who has a very large anti-aspartame slant. If you think objective studies are wrong because they are funded by aspartame supporters, why would you think a documentary written by someone who is anti-aspartame to be any more true? Also, neither person involved in the documentary have any kind of scientific background that I can see. They are both television personalities. Plus they are immediately wrong in just their description on the documentary in the intro. Methanol is NOT an ingredient in making aspartame. Aspartame, when hydrolyzed, can make methanol in the body, but there is no methanol used in the creation of aspartame. If they can't even get that basic fact right, why should I believe anything else in the documentary?

    Was I hearing something different from you? I think they explained pretty clearly that when broken down, aspartame breaks into it's separate chemical components.

    AND while you may not believe the documentary, you might want to look at "First experimental Demonstration of the multipotential Carcinogenic Effects of Aspartame Adminstered in the feed to Sprague-Dawley Rats". Google it. Just in case you're rusty on statistics, it only takes a p value of .05 and UNDER to make something significant. The incidence of tumors in rats fed aspartame was p less than or equal to .01. Soo.... you don't need to believe the documentary... but you might want to consider the experimental findings of a research institution.
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
    Options
    I prefer Agave syrup to honey. I have this thing against eating spit. :laugh:

    What, you don't want any bug vomit? They work so hard to make it! But how nice of you to save it for the babies. :bigsmile:
  • JeremiahStone
    JeremiahStone Posts: 682 Member
    Options
    It promotes bladder cancer and it's often used in the embalming of dead people. O_o
  • JeremiahStone
    JeremiahStone Posts: 682 Member
    Options
    I prefer Agave syrup to honey. I have this thing against eating spit. :laugh:

    What, you don't want any bug vomit? They work so hard to make it! But how nice of you to save it for the babies. :bigsmile:
    Lmbo
  • aapye78
    aapye78 Posts: 24
    Options
    Yes it is horrible stuff. There are numerous countries that ban the use of it, The FDA is way behind on that one.
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
    Options
    Yes it is horrible stuff. There are numerous countries that ban the use of it, The FDA is way behind on that one.

    No....they DID ban it. The ADA lobbied hard for it to be put back on shelves. It was, with a warning label, which has since been removed.
  • kirianna55
    kirianna55 Posts: 459 Member
    Options
    I read an article from the food and heath study from one of the colleges that found a trend related to fake sugar. They found that people who used fake sugar rather than real sugar were more likely to be heavy and have heart problems/ strokes. This is because many people get into the habit of thinking "oh, its diet, I can eat twice as much." The study suggests using natural sugars.

    I personally am allergic to fake sugars. I have to read every food label to make sure there is no fake sugar in it. I cant even chew gum because most of it is sugar free. I use agave, honey, or organic cane sugar in moderation.
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
    Options
    That documentary was made by Cori Brackett, who has a very large anti-aspartame slant. If you think objective studies are wrong because they are funded by aspartame supporters, why would you think a documentary written by someone who is anti-aspartame to be any more true? Also, neither person involved in the documentary have any kind of scientific background that I can see. They are both television personalities. Plus they are immediately wrong in just their description on the documentary in the intro. Methanol is NOT an ingredient in making aspartame. Aspartame, when hydrolyzed, can make methanol in the body, but there is no methanol used in the creation of aspartame. If they can't even get that basic fact right, why should I believe anything else in the documentary?

    Was I hearing something different from you? I think they explained pretty clearly that when broken down, aspartame breaks into it's separate chemical components.

    AND while you may not believe the documentary, you might want to look at "First experimental Demonstration of the multipotential Carcinogenic Effects of Aspartame Adminstered in the feed to Sprague-Dawley Rats". Google it. Just in case you're rusty on statistics, it only takes a p value of .05 and UNDER to make something significant. The incidence of tumors in rats fed aspartame was p less than or equal to .01. Soo.... you don't need to believe the documentary... but you might want to consider the experimental findings of a research institution.

    That was an interesting paper. Some things were misleading...a significant 'trend' is not the same thing as significance. That just means it's really close to significant, but it's not. Also, you can set P at whatever you want. It's just a measure of chance, not causation. I've seen P's at .10. P<.05 just means there's less than a 5% chance of seeing that happen randomly.

    The only problem is the lack of a physiologically relevant dose. The beginning of the paper states that the average intake is 2-5mg/kg/day. The ADI is up to 20mg/kg/day. They never address the dosing of 100,000ppm in the food and water of the rats. You have no way of knowing how many mg/kg of aspartame the rats are being fed, which is the fundamental problem with these studies.
  • texasfrog1021
    texasfrog1021 Posts: 19
    Options
    :laugh: I won't eat or drink anything that has aspartame in it. I used to drink Diet Coke and chew sugar free gum and eat only sugar free things, thinking I could lose weight that way. Instead I had unexplained dizziness and near fainting spells. After visiting almost every doctor from head to foot, I was told that I was just dizzy and to be careful. Seriously?!?!? :noway: I did my own research, completely stopped having anything with aspartame and have been fine ever since. Every now and then I'll have a diet drink but it's rare. It may be my own opinion, but I think that stuff is from the devil! :laugh:
  • rankailie
    rankailie Posts: 144
    Options
    Whether its good or not there are better ways to sweeten up things then to use an additional simple sugar sweetener.

    I tend to use fruit myself, frozen fruit in tea or carbonated water, fruit in yogurt (whole fruit, not just juice). Completely removes the need to load things up with simple sugars, whether you body digests them or not.
  • Rilke
    Rilke Posts: 1,201 Member
    Options
    I'd also like to point out that aspartame is manufactured by none other than MONSANTO -- the company that has spent billions of dollars to convince everyone that their other products were/are safe too. Their impressive lineup also includes DDT, rBGH, PCBs (research that one for some nice reading), RoundUp, and the particularly dioxin-soaked Agent Orange.
  • Aloxander
    Aloxander Posts: 121 Member
    Options
    I should also add that it CAN be dangerous if you have phenylketonuria, and shouldn't be used in baking as heat will denature the two amino acids that make up the aspartame compound. Phenylketonuria is an allergy to phenyalanine, one of the amino acids in aspartame. All infants are now tested for this disease and must avoid not only aspartame, but most foods containing protein. Hope that helps!

    I'm confused about the "most foods containing protein" what do you mean.?

Categories