Why Aspartame Isn't Scary

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  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,395 MFP Moderator
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    Just going to pop in here some more science behind not just aspartame but other nutritional sweeteners

    https://youtu.be/FKciZz3hfVc
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited May 2018
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    psuLemon wrote: »
    Just going to pop in here some more science behind not just aspartame but other nutritional sweeteners

    https://youtu.be/FKciZz3hfVc

    I watched the video up through the aspartame part and it is pretty spot on in my opinion.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,395 MFP Moderator
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    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    psuLemon wrote: »
    Just going to pop in here some more science behind not just aspartame but other nutritional sweeteners

    https://youtu.be/FKciZz3hfVc

    I watched the video up through the aspartame part and it is pretty spot on in my opinion.

    The synopsis of the others.. if you eat within the ADI standards, then there is no evidence to suggest it will cause any harm. And the only animals models that demonstrated otherwises were insane dosage... About the equivalent of 40 cans of soda a day.
  • Crafty_camper123
    Crafty_camper123 Posts: 1,440 Member
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    Well, he was tested for it as a baby and it came up positive. He's been told to avoid aspartame his whole life, and if he consumes it, it makes him feel like crap. What I've read about PKU is that there are less severe forms of it where the body has retained some ability to process phenylalanine. So unless the testing for it in the US is faulty and comes up with false negatives, yes. I am sure he has it. He Just not the form where he can't consume any protein containing phenylalanine without getting sick. I'm not sure when testing babies for PKU became a requirement/ in the US. So that's why I was thinking the guy mentioned above could have maybe had a mild form of it without realizing it. Therefor it could have possibly slowly built up in his body at a faster rate then his body had the ability to processes out. Or it was something completely unrelated to his diet soda consumption (more likely), which is why my friends comment irked be about my occasional diet soda.
  • Crafty_camper123
    Crafty_camper123 Posts: 1,440 Member
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    I got curious and did some googling. Because, When I look up PKU I often wonder why we're told the doctor's said he tested positive, yet he can eat any protein with no ill effect. It's just aspartame that makes him feel bad.
    I found an interesting article about the history of testing for it. I'm not sure how it was done in the late 80's. Maybe he did have a false posative, or a higher then normal, but not definativly PKU reading? Or they got crap advice from the doc that tested for it, and he should have been avoiding protien this whole time? He and all his siblings have been diagnosed with some type of mood disorder with varying severities (mild to moderate) at some point in thier lives. Could it be PKU related? (as it is genetic) Or just a coincidence? I'm kind of perplexed now. Maybe someone a little more knowlegeble then I may come to the rescue and offer some insight, lol.

    https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/guthrie-test-early-diagnosis-phenylketonuria
  • Crafty_camper123
    Crafty_camper123 Posts: 1,440 Member
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    @pinuplove I tend to agree on that one. Anyways pretty much anything in excess cannot be good for you. Or so I believe. It seems (key word here) to be that so many anecdotal claims of X Y or Z being "toxic" tends to be related to consuming the product in question in excessive amounts. I'm not saying that about aspartame, or anything really. It's just when I read one of those mommy blogs about things like that, I like to look into it. I then find the case they are making their whole fear mongering blog out of , and find that the person/ case in question consumed or used that product regularly, and in excess for decades. The one that comes to mind is the case against Johnson & Johnson for their baby powder causing cancer. The woman used baby powder on her genitals daily for decades. To my knowledge they have studied normal use (powdering a few baby bums, or occasional adult use) and can not find a correlation to cancer.
  • solieco1
    solieco1 Posts: 1,559 Member
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    Now I feel sorry for Sprague-Dawley rats...
  • Crafty_camper123
    Crafty_camper123 Posts: 1,440 Member
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    Interesting... I'm still perplexed as to why my hubby got told he was PKU... and why he does not react negatively to eating protein. Because what you posted supports what I've read about it. A piece of chicken has way more phenylalanine in it then a can of diet coke. I'm guessing he must have had a positive test for it, but no follow up testing? That kind of boggles my mind a bit. If it is such a serious disease (of which I'm not questioning), then I wonder why no one followed up with it, or even informed my MIL what being PKU entails? Supposedly she was told she had it too. She was presenting with a series of symptoms at the time (including mood and mental type symptoms) that I believe brought about the PKU diagnosis. She was told to quit drinking diet drinks, and she quit them cold turkey. She has likened the experience to coming off of drugs and claims to have actually been addicted, and went through withdrawals coming off of diet soda. Like mood swings, body pains, feeling sick, the whole bit. All the while probably eating plenty of meat along the way.

    Please don't woo me on this, this is just the story I've been told, and I realize it's purely anecdotal. I'm still of the belief that there is no reason to avoid it unless you have a negative reaction to it. (Like with any food really). Instead of a woo, please tell me why you disagree with my POV. I really try not to spread misinformation or pass anecdotal claims as facts. But I do like the opportunity to learn more from different points of view.

    I'm just confused about why on earth would doctors say "Ma'am, you and your baby have tested positive for a potentially life threatening disease that will alter the way you eat for the rest of your life." And was not given any other information other then to "avoid aspartame". Then again they could have had a quack with old or poor information. My hubby and his family have a history of getting some of the quackiest health care professionals I have ever heard of. OR Maybe they could have misinterpreted what they were told too.. I don't know...