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Why Aspartame Isn't Scary
Replies
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GaleHawkins wrote: »
Keep in mind what is in the 20 cans of soda does not help prevent a premature death but what is in the 100 grams of chicken breast does.
Pretty sure If all I had was diet soda and chicken breasts, I'd die earlier only eating the chicken than only drinking the soda.7 -
GaleHawkins wrote: »
Keep in mind what is in the 20 cans of soda does not help prevent a premature death but what is in the 100 grams of chicken breast does.
I'm having chicken breast for lunch with a Coke Zero Sugar. Maybe I should wash my chicken down with more chicken instead of the fluids.
When I'm at the gym later today, maybe instead of hitting the water fountain in between sets I should take a bite of chicken. I mean, if chicken is a logical replacement for fluids...10 -
GaleHawkins wrote: »
Keep in mind what is in the 20 cans of soda does not help prevent a premature death but what is in the 100 grams of chicken breast does.
Also, please show me research that indicates that anything in chicken prevents premature death.
And I'm pretty sure water (compromises 99% of diet soda) prevents premature death due to dehydration...8 -
stevencloser wrote: »
Pretty sure If all I had was diet soda and chicken breasts, I'd die earlier only eating the chicken than only drinking the soda.
And you'd live longer consuming both than with only one or the other.2 -
stevencloser wrote: »
Pretty sure If all I had was diet soda and chicken breasts, I'd die earlier only eating the chicken than only drinking the soda.Carlos_421 wrote: »
Also, please show me research that indicates that anything in chicken prevents premature death.
And I'm pretty sure water (compromises 99% of diet soda) prevents premature death due to dehydration...
Beat me to it.2 -
Lawyers seem to find Aspartame good for business.
nypost.com/2017/10/18/these-diet-sodas-are-actually-making-people-fat-suit/
"The companies’ diet drinks contain aspertame, a sugar substitute, which some recent studies have shown can cause cardiovascular disease and diabetes, as well as lead to weight gain, the suits claim."
"“Our case is focused on aspertame, but all artificial sweetners” behave the same in your body, said Derek Smith, whose eponymous law firm is lead counsel in all three soda cases."15 -
GaleHawkins wrote: »Lawyers seem to find Aspartame good for business.
nypost.com/2017/10/18/these-diet-sodas-are-actually-making-people-fat-suit/
"The companies’ diet drinks contain aspertame, a sugar substitute, which some recent studies have shown can cause cardiovascular disease and diabetes, as well as lead to weight gain, the suits claim."
"“Our case is focused on aspertame, but all artificial sweetners” behave the same in your body, said Derek Smith, whose eponymous law firm is lead counsel in all three soda cases."
Lawyers sue over all kinds of ridiculous stuff. If you avoided everything associated with lawsuits, you'd have a very constrained life.8 -
GaleHawkins wrote: »Lawyers seem to find Aspartame good for business.
nypost.com/2017/10/18/these-diet-sodas-are-actually-making-people-fat-suit/
"The companies’ diet drinks contain aspertame, a sugar substitute, which some recent studies have shown can cause cardiovascular disease and diabetes, as well as lead to weight gain, the suits claim."
"“Our case is focused on aspertame, but all artificial sweetners” behave the same in your body, said Derek Smith, whose eponymous law firm is lead counsel in all three soda cases."
As soon as they find proof, I'm sure their case will win them bajillions.6 -
GaleHawkins wrote: »Lawyers seem to find Aspartame good for business.
nypost.com/2017/10/18/these-diet-sodas-are-actually-making-people-fat-suit/
"The companies’ diet drinks contain aspertame, a sugar substitute, which some recent studies have shown can cause cardiovascular disease and diabetes, as well as lead to weight gain, the suits claim."
"“Our case is focused on aspertame, but all artificial sweetners” behave the same in your body, said Derek Smith, whose eponymous law firm is lead counsel in all three soda cases."
Well if a legal case is involved, it must be legit!
This isn't even grasping at straws.5 -
GaleHawkins wrote: »Lawyers seem to find Aspartame good for business.
nypost.com/2017/10/18/these-diet-sodas-are-actually-making-people-fat-suit/
"The companies’ diet drinks contain aspertame, a sugar substitute, which some recent studies have shown can cause cardiovascular disease and diabetes, as well as lead to weight gain, the suits claim."
"“Our case is focused on aspertame, but all artificial sweetners” behave the same in your body, said Derek Smith, whose eponymous law firm is lead counsel in all three soda cases."
this belongs in the "why lawyers are scary" thread, not the "why aspartame isn't scary" one.10 -
well personally i am sensitive to phenylalanine. lucky i am a vegetarian. my mom has been guzzling diet coke and diet iced tea lately. just yesterday she was showing signs of senility. it would be terrible if aspartame was the cause and my mom becomes demented. of course it could just be a coincidence, but we should be careful what we put i our bodies. a trace of poison can kill you. better safe than sorry and all of that.21
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alicebhsia wrote: »well personally i am sensitive to phenylalanine. lucky i am a vegetarian. my mom has been guzzling diet coke and diet iced tea lately. just yesterday she was showing signs of senility. it would be terrible if aspartame was the cause and my mom becomes demented. of course it could just be a coincidence, but we should be careful what we put i our bodies. a trace of poison can kill you. better safe than sorry and all of that.
You do realize that plants contain proteins right? Again having higher concentrations and amounts of phenylalanine than that contained in diet sodas. You cannot survive without ingesting protein. Phenylalanine is an essential amino acid, you cannot survive without it in your diet. The RDA for phenylalanine in ones diet is 33 mg/kg per day (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenylalanine see dietary recommendations section).
There is about 70 mg of phenylalanine in a can of diet soda. If you hit your RDA for phenylalanine and you weigh something like 65 kg it would be the equivalent of drinking 30 cans of diet soda.
Diet soda is not a significant source of phenylalanine. The amount contained in a can of soda is probably the equivalent of that contained in a couple of beans. It is hard to conceive of any substantive meal that would not contain considerably more phenyalanine than that found in a can of diet coke. Keep in mind that aspartame is a dipeptide, it is basically protein, and there is less that one calorie of it in a can of diet soda.11 -
GaleHawkins wrote: »Lawyers seem to find Aspartame good for business.
nypost.com/2017/10/18/these-diet-sodas-are-actually-making-people-fat-suit/
"The companies’ diet drinks contain aspertame, a sugar substitute, which some recent studies have shown can cause cardiovascular disease and diabetes, as well as lead to weight gain, the suits claim."
"“Our case is focused on aspertame, but all artificial sweetners” behave the same in your body, said Derek Smith, whose eponymous law firm is lead counsel in all three soda cases."
You have a history of quoting some highly questionable sources but quoting a lawyer's claim that aspartame is unhealthy is a new low...10 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »
You do realize that plants contain proteins right? Again having higher concentrations and amounts of phenylalanine than that contained in diet sodas. You cannot survive without ingesting protein. Phenylalanine is an essential amino acid, you cannot survive without it in your diet. The RDA for phenylalanine in ones diet is 33 mg/kg per day (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenylalanine see dietary recommendations section).
There is about 70 mg of phenylalanine in a soda. If you hit your RDA for phenylalanine and you weigh something like 65 kg it would be the equivalent of drinking 30 cans of diet soda.
Diet soda is not a significant source of phenylalanine.Aaron_K123 wrote: »
You do realize that plants contain proteins right? Again having higher concentrations and amounts of phenylalanine than that contained in diet sodas. You cannot survive without ingesting protein. Phenylalanine is an essential amino acid, you cannot survive without it in your diet.
well, apparently they contain l-phenylalaline, not phenylalaline so to say that phenylalaline is found in proteins would not be accurate. i mean, why do you want people to not think aspartame is scary when the studies are showing that they could be damaging to the health?18 -
alicebhsia wrote: »
well, apparently they contain l-phenylalaline, not phenylalaline so to say that phenylalaline is found in proteins would not be accurate. i mean, why do you want people to not think aspartame is scary when the studies are showing that they could be damaging to the health?
What studies are you referring to?3 -
GaleHawkins wrote: »Lawyers seem to find Aspartame good for business.
nypost.com/2017/10/18/these-diet-sodas-are-actually-making-people-fat-suit/
"The companies’ diet drinks contain aspertame, a sugar substitute, which some recent studies have shown can cause cardiovascular disease and diabetes, as well as lead to weight gain, the suits claim."
"“Our case is focused on aspertame, but all artificial sweetners” behave the same in your body, said Derek Smith, whose eponymous law firm is lead counsel in all three soda cases."
Didn't the phrase "all artificial sweeteners behave the same in your body" strike you as even slightly suspect bearing in mind how completely different sweeteners are from each other?7 -
alicebhsia wrote: »
well, apparently they contain l-phenylalaline, not phenylalaline so to say that phenylalaline is found in proteins would not be accurate. i mean, why do you want people to not think aspartame is scary when the studies are showing that they could be damaging to the health?
l-phenylalanine is phenylalanine. It is the same thing. Yes to say phenylalanine is found in protein is 100% accurate.
There are two forms of phenylalanine as it is a chiral molecule. There is l-phenylalanine and d-phenylalanine. The form in protein and the form in aspartame are the same, they are l-phenylalanine. As l-phenylalanine is the most common form it is just called phenylalanine to save time.
The phenylalnine you'd get from metabolising aspartame is 100% identical to the phenylalanine you'd get metabolising protein from any source, including plants.16 -
janejellyroll wrote: »What studies are you referring to?
try googling it. there are many. i'm not saying i won't occasionally have something with aspartame in it. as to my understanding it's only in high concentrations that it's harmful. even vitamins can be harmful in too high a concentration. but still, our brains are sensitive machines, why sell them out and our health along with it for the sake of convenience or what is easy? (to go along with whatever these money-making companies are pushing on us.) why aspartame isn't scary to me? because i take it in extreme moderation and avoid it whenever possible.
21 -
alicebhsia wrote: »
try googling it. there are many. i'm not saying i won't occasionally have something with aspartame in it. as to my understanding it's only in high concentrations that it's harmful. even vitamins can be harmful in too high a concentration. but still, our brains are sensitive machines, why sell them out and our health along with it for the sake of convenience or what is easy? (to go along with whatever these money-making companies are pushing on us.) why aspartame isn't scary to me? because i take in extreme moderation and avoid it whenever possible.
Many of us have googled. Many of us have read the studies. In 49 pages here, many of the studies have been brought up and discussed. We're curious which ones specifically you feel are relevant here. Have you had a chance to check out the last 49 pages?8 -
alicebhsia wrote: »
try googling it. there are many. i'm not saying i won't occasionally have something with aspartame in it. as to my understanding it's only in high concentrations that it's harmful. even vitamins can be harmful in too high a concentration. but still, our brains are sensitive machines, why sell them out and our health along with it for the sake of convenience or what is easy? (to go along with whatever these money-making companies are pushing on us.) why aspartame isn't scary to me? because i take it in extreme moderation and avoid it whenever possible.
It is not harmful at all. No aspartame reaches your brain, it is metabolized in your stomach and intestine. The peptide bond between the aspartate and phenylalanine residues is metabolized by peptidases and the methyl group is hydrolized into methanol. Zero aspartame ends up in your blood and zero ends up in your brain. What you are saying is simply false. Yes, everything has some level where you hit a toxic dose even water but for aspartame we are talking the same toxic dose you would get from protein or something like table sugar. It is about as dangerous as brocolli.
12 -
alicebhsia wrote: »
try googling it. there are many. i'm not saying i won't occasionally have something with aspartame in it. as to my understanding it's only in high concentrations that it's harmful. even vitamins can be harmful in too high a concentration. but still, our brains are sensitive machines, why sell them out and our health along with it for the sake of convenience or what is easy? (to go along with whatever these money-making companies are pushing on us.) why aspartame isn't scary to me? because i take it in extreme moderation and avoid it whenever possible.
You take it in extreme moderation and avoid it whenever possible because you are afraid of it. I'm just not sure why or on what basis you have decided it poses some danger to you. Apparently because you "googled" it? Was there something specific that made you feel like it was dangerous?4 -
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/03/24/aspartame-affects-brain-health.aspx random study just looked up - i am assuming mercola is a credible source. (not pushing stevia on anyone as i think it tastes even worse than aspartame) this page disagrees with you @Aaron_K123 "The amino acids in aspartame literally attack your cells, even crossing the blood-brain barrier to attack your brain cells, creating a toxic cellular overstimulation, called excitotoxicity"20
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alicebhsia wrote: »https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/03/24/aspartame-affects-brain-health.aspx random study just looked up - i am assuming mercola is a credible source. (not pushing stevia on anyone as i think it tastes even worse than aspartame) this page disagrees with you @Aaron_K123 "The amino acids in aspartame literally attack your cells, even crossing the blood-brain barrier to attack your brain cells, creating a toxic cellular overstimulation, called excitotoxicity"
Mercola. Bwahahahahaha.
*ahem* Sorry *snicker*4 -
alicebhsia wrote: »https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/03/24/aspartame-affects-brain-health.aspx random study just looked up - i am assuming mercola is a credible source. (not pushing stevia on anyone as i think it tastes even worse than aspartame) this page disagrees with you @Aaron_K123 "The amino acids in aspartame literally attack your cells, even crossing the blood-brain barrier to attack your brain cells, creating a toxic cellular overstimulation, called excitotoxicity"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_MercolaMercola has been criticized by business, regulatory, medical, and scientific communities. A 2006 BusinessWeek editorial stated his marketing practices relied on "slick promotion, clever use of information, and scare tactics."[3] In 2005, 2006, and 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned Mercola and his company to stop making illegal claims regarding his products' ability to detect, prevent, and treat disease.[6] The medical watchdog site Quackwatch has criticized Mercola for making "unsubstantiated claims [that] clash with those of leading medical and public health organizations and many unsubstantiated recommendations for dietary supplements."[6]8 -
Just because it is a teachable moment certain molecules, like all amino acids with the exception of glycine, are chiral. Chiral means there is a "handedness" to them. The idea is that they are mirror-symmetric but not the same, like your hands. You get chirality in biochemical molecules whenever you have a carbon atom that is bonded to four different groups. That introduces what is known as a chiral center.
The handedness of the molecule refers to in what way the groups are arranged around that center.
https://www.thoughtco.com/amino-acid-chirality-4009939
The D- and L- refer to the orientation of those centers with D- standing for dextrose (or right handed) and L- standing for laevus (or left handed) and refer to the direction that light bends when shown on a solution of them (chiral molecules twist light).
The vast majority of naturally formed amino acids occur in the L- configuration. This is because the enzymes used in their anabolic construction happen to position the atoms in that way. As a result the D- configuration is not recognized by those enzymes and cannot be metabolized.
The chiral orientation of the carbon in the phenylalanine in aspartame is the same, its L-phenylalanine. There is a good reason for that as well, the dipepetide in aspartame is a natural product. Aspartame is just that aspartyl-phenylalanine dipeptide (which is 100% natural) methylated at the carboxal terminus of the phenylalanine residue forming the methyl ester.
This is the structure of aspartame:
Note that the chiral center for the phenylalanine residue is the carbon between the amino and carboxyl groups connected to the phenyl ring. Basically if the carboxyl and phenyl groups are in a plane the amino group is coming out of the page (black triangle)
Here is the structure of L-phenylalanine
Note that the connection to that carbon atom is the same with the amino group coming out of the page (the black triangle). Basically if the carboxl and phenyl groups are in a plane the amino group is sticking up.
In comparison here is D-phenylalalnine
Here in that orientation the carbon is the same but the amino group is receeding back into the page (the dashed lines). Basically if the carboxyl and phenyl groups are in a plane, the amino group is sticking down.
7 -
@Aaron_K123 i'm sorry but chemistry is definitely not my thing. idk, i guess you just won't be able to convince me that aspartame isn't scary. i do do the pink packet in my coffee though. the safety of saccharin in moderation has been endorsed by Edgar Cayce so it is safer in my eyes and i haven't had any negative effects so far. too bad he's not around anymore to chime in on aspartame. i don't trust Splenda though. it seems to give me immediate memory problems.17
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GaleHawkins wrote: »Lawyers seem to find Aspartame good for business.
nypost.com/2017/10/18/these-diet-sodas-are-actually-making-people-fat-suit/
"The companies’ diet drinks contain aspertame, a sugar substitute, which some recent studies have shown can cause cardiovascular disease and diabetes, as well as lead to weight gain, the suits claim."
"“Our case is focused on aspertame, but all artificial sweetners” behave the same in your body, said Derek Smith, whose eponymous law firm is lead counsel in all three soda cases."
A lawyer who can't even spell the thing he's suing against...7 -
alicebhsia wrote: »@Aaron_K123 i'm sorry but chemistry is definitely not my thing. idk, i guess you just won't be able to convince me that aspartame isn't scary. i do do the pink packet in my coffee though. the safety of saccharin in moderation has been endorsed by Edgar Cayce so it is safer in my eyes and i haven't had any negative effects so far. too bad he's not around anymore to chime in on aspartame. i don't trust Splenda though. it seems to give me immediate memory problems.
So since you don't understand chemistry, the chemistry proving it is safe must be false and the quack spouting false claims about how it isn't safe, that you can grasp, must be the one telling the truth???12 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »
You do realize that plants contain proteins right? Again having higher concentrations and amounts of phenylalanine than that contained in diet sodas. You cannot survive without ingesting protein. Phenylalanine is an essential amino acid, you cannot survive without it in your diet. The RDA for phenylalanine in ones diet is 33 mg/kg per day (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenylalanine see dietary recommendations section).
There is about 70 mg of phenylalanine in a can of diet soda. If you hit your RDA for phenylalanine and you weigh something like 65 kg it would be the equivalent of drinking 30 cans of diet soda.
Diet soda is not a significant source of phenylalanine. The amount contained in a can of soda is probably the equivalent of that contained in a couple of beans. It is hard to conceive of any substantive meal that would not contain considerably more phenyalanine than that found in a can of diet coke. Keep in mind that aspartame is a dipeptide, it is basically protein, and there is less that one calorie of it in a can of diet soda.
100 grams of kidney beans = 3 cans of soda
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2324/24
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