Why Aspartame Isn't Scary
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nutmegoreo wrote: »Crafty_camper123 wrote: »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...
I have nothing to add to any of this conversation, but I wanted to just say... don't take the woo so personally. Some people seem to think it's a positive thing, others use it to show that they dislike a post (not necessarily the same as disagreement), others use it just because they don't like the poster (my woos have doubled in the last week and many on very innocuous posts, I assumed I angered someone somewhere), and some do it just because they are cowardly and don't have any interest in actual discourse, they just want to be disagreeable.
Thanks for that. I usually don't let it bother me, and just take it as a fact that I was disagreed with & move on. But I have noticed an uptick in the woo's this week as well. I was just hoping some woo-lurkers would come out of the woodwork (woowork?) and add to the conversation. I've been woo'd on really weird things lately is all, and if I am really talking out my *kitten* it would be good to know, lol.0 -
Crafty_camper123 wrote: »nutmegoreo wrote: »Crafty_camper123 wrote: »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...
I have nothing to add to any of this conversation, but I wanted to just say... don't take the woo so personally. Some people seem to think it's a positive thing, others use it to show that they dislike a post (not necessarily the same as disagreement), others use it just because they don't like the poster (my woos have doubled in the last week and many on very innocuous posts, I assumed I angered someone somewhere), and some do it just because they are cowardly and don't have any interest in actual discourse, they just want to be disagreeable.
Thanks for that. I usually don't let it bother me, and just take it as a fact that I was disagreed with & move on. But I have noticed an uptick in the woo's this week as well. I was just hoping some woo-lurkers would come out of the woodwork (woowork?) and add to the conversation. I've been woo'd on really weird things lately is all, and if I am really talking out my *kitten* it would be good to know, lol.
I haven't seen anything particularly wootastic from you, for what it's worth.
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nutmegoreo wrote: »Crafty_camper123 wrote: »nutmegoreo wrote: »Crafty_camper123 wrote: »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...
I have nothing to add to any of this conversation, but I wanted to just say... don't take the woo so personally. Some people seem to think it's a positive thing, others use it to show that they dislike a post (not necessarily the same as disagreement), others use it just because they don't like the poster (my woos have doubled in the last week and many on very innocuous posts, I assumed I angered someone somewhere), and some do it just because they are cowardly and don't have any interest in actual discourse, they just want to be disagreeable.
Thanks for that. I usually don't let it bother me, and just take it as a fact that I was disagreed with & move on. But I have noticed an uptick in the woo's this week as well. I was just hoping some woo-lurkers would come out of the woodwork (woowork?) and add to the conversation. I've been woo'd on really weird things lately is all, and if I am really talking out my *kitten* it would be good to know, lol.
I haven't seen anything particularly wootastic from you, for what it's worth.
Aww thanks.
Wootastic I like that. Although I wish we had an IRL woo button. When my aspartame hating friends got going on me about my dietary choice of drinking calorie free soda my woo-dar was screaming. Would it be in poor taste if I dork-stamped them, screamed WOO and ran off the next time they tell me I'm poisoning myself? 
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Crafty_camper123 wrote: »nutmegoreo wrote: »Crafty_camper123 wrote: »nutmegoreo wrote: »Crafty_camper123 wrote: »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...
I have nothing to add to any of this conversation, but I wanted to just say... don't take the woo so personally. Some people seem to think it's a positive thing, others use it to show that they dislike a post (not necessarily the same as disagreement), others use it just because they don't like the poster (my woos have doubled in the last week and many on very innocuous posts, I assumed I angered someone somewhere), and some do it just because they are cowardly and don't have any interest in actual discourse, they just want to be disagreeable.
Thanks for that. I usually don't let it bother me, and just take it as a fact that I was disagreed with & move on. But I have noticed an uptick in the woo's this week as well. I was just hoping some woo-lurkers would come out of the woodwork (woowork?) and add to the conversation. I've been woo'd on really weird things lately is all, and if I am really talking out my *kitten* it would be good to know, lol.
I haven't seen anything particularly wootastic from you, for what it's worth.
Aww thanks. Wootastic I like that. Although I wish we had an IRL woo button. When my aspartame hating friends got going on me about my dietary choice of drinking calorie free soda my woo-dar was screaming. Would it be in poor taste if I dork-stamped them, screamed WOO and ran off the next time they tell me I'm poisoning myself?
I like this idea! Either they'd never bring the subject up again, or they'd be mortified and think twice before they hang out with you again. Either way, I think you win!1 -
Crafty_camper123 wrote: »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...
Yes i am very perplexed by it too - people with PKU need to eat an EXTREMELY limited diet for life - not just avoid aspartame - as Aaron pointed out, diet drinks, while something to avoid if you have PKU ,are by no means the only thing or the highest risk thing.
and PKU is a specific genetic disease - either you have it or you dont. Nobody has it and doesn't know it.
And people with it are monitored closely for life - because ireparable brain damage results if they do not adhere to the diet and keep their levels low.
Cant speak for the US - but in Australia testing of newborns is standard practice and has been for at least 40 years. Would be very surprised if this is not similar in US
In the days before this, children suffered ireparable brain damage before they were diagnosed.
I am not wooing you - but just, as you asked, explaining why I disagree with your POV - I realise you posted it in good faith but it does not tally with actual diagnosis or treatment of PKU.
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Crafty_camper123 wrote: »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...
I will second the idea that it is unlikely someone would have PKU and just not know about it. It is debilitating and not in a "i have a headache or feel a bit queasy" sort of way but in a death, seizures or severe mental retardation sort of way. You have to strictly adhere to a minimalist low protein diet and I don't mean like an MFP low protein diet of 50 grams a day...the recommended daily protein intake for a person with PKU is only 5 grams. That is ridiculously low and not something you could ever accomplish with a normal diet.
https://www.disabilitybenefitscenter.org/disability-work/phenylketonuria
It also isn't something that you can have a mild case of. It also isn't something that gets diagnosed later in life, you either get diagnosed at birth or you are either going to be dead or brain damaged. So yeah, I'd question either the diagnosis or the interpretation of it if they aren't on an extremely strict and limited diet.5 -
Crafty_camper123 wrote: »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...
Was that a real doctor who gave that diagnosis or some sort of naturopath or similar? If you still have contact with them you could also ask directly why they'd give a diagnosis like that.1 -
Thanks for the feedback guys!. I'm going with the quack doctor route then. Because the story I've heard and actually looking up PKU has never made sense. I don't believe that doctor is still available. A) this was 30 years ago, and B ) it was likely a VA doctor on the Homestead Airforce Base in FL. Which was wiped off the map by hurricane Andrew. So likely there are no medical records to be able to pull out of curiosity. Somehow his family has managed to get the quackiest quacks of all the quacks. No Naturopaths, or homeopathic doctors. Just the ones they have to go to through the VA (Veterans Aid). There are more stories like this with diagnoses that don't make sense. Just recently my father in law was told that at age 60, there's no way he can develop new allergies to something. He's too old. Even though he most certainly developed a new allergy to something. Hence why he went in to the doctor! So I dunno.
The only logical thing I could think of is they were told he carries the gene that makes it possible. Or it was a false positive, and they never followed up. Which thank God it was false then! 0 -
When I have lots of aspartame, I have the symptoms of a mini stroke. When I was in college and started weight watchers and I switched to drinking several diet sodas instead of my regular. That day, I lost the ability to write what I wanted to write, talk how I wanted to talk, and I could barely stand or stay awake. I don't know why I didn't take those symptoms seriously at that time, but in retrospect, it really sounds like a mini stroke. Another time I unknowingly had a lot of aspartame. I instantly had to go to bed, even though it was the middle of the day. I had a dream and sort of woke up, but my dream was frozen in my brain and I was paralyzed and couldn't move. If I accidentally have a small amount of aspartame, I mentally get a little fuzzy and very tired. You won't be able to convince me that aspartame is a good thing.11
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ImpreciseSeamstress wrote: »When I have lots of aspartame, I have the symptoms of a mini stroke. When I was in college and started weight watchers and I switched to drinking several diet sodas instead of my regular. That day, I lost the ability to write what I wanted to write, talk how I wanted to talk, and I could barely stand or stay awake. I don't know why I didn't take those symptoms seriously at that time, but in retrospect, it really sounds like a mini stroke. Another time I unknowingly had a lot of aspartame. I instantly had to go to bed, even though it was the middle of the day. I had a dream and sort of woke up, but my dream was frozen in my brain and I was paralyzed and couldn't move. If I accidentally have a small amount of aspartame, I mentally get a little fuzzy and very tired. You won't be able to convince me that aspartame is a good thing.
It's not a good thing FOR YOU. That doesn't mean it is harmful for MOST PEOPLE.9 -
ImpreciseSeamstress wrote: »When I have lots of aspartame, I have the symptoms of a mini stroke. When I was in college and started weight watchers and I switched to drinking several diet sodas instead of my regular. That day, I lost the ability to write what I wanted to write, talk how I wanted to talk, and I could barely stand or stay awake. I don't know why I didn't take those symptoms seriously at that time, but in retrospect, it really sounds like a mini stroke. Another time I unknowingly had a lot of aspartame. I instantly had to go to bed, even though it was the middle of the day. I had a dream and sort of woke up, but my dream was frozen in my brain and I was paralyzed and couldn't move. If I accidentally have a small amount of aspartame, I mentally get a little fuzzy and very tired. You won't be able to convince me that aspartame is a good thing.
Probably be a good idea to get this checked out.
As mentioned, just eating some chicken has way more phenyl provided - so unless you've avoided meats, the issue isn't the PKU aspect of it.
It could be something else in the diet soda that could be found in other things you are unaware of yet. And may not like the surprise then.
Did you perhaps drink more of the diet than the regular, because it was 0 calories?
Of course, finding a Dr that doesn't just jump on the bandwagon of "sugar substitutes are bad for you" could make it harder to search it out.3 -
Probably be a good idea to get this checked out.
As mentioned, just eating some chicken has way more phenyl provided - so unless you've avoided meats, the issue isn't the PKU aspect of it.
It could be something else in the diet soda that could be found in other things you are unaware of yet. And may not like the surprise then.
Did you perhaps drink more of the diet than the regular, because it was 0 calories?
Of course, finding a Dr that doesn't just jump on the bandwagon of "sugar substitutes are bad for you" could make it harder to search it out.
I always drank lots of soda in college. I drank about six/day, so I thought I could just switch to diet. The second instance involved my friend daring me to try one of her coffee sugar pills to see what it tasted like. After my dream freeze episode, I checked the ingredients and literally the only ingredient to the coffee sweetener pill was aspartame. Lots of my genetic relatives react to aspartame. My birth mother gets headaches. When my son was a baby, he had an antibiotic sweetened with aspartame and he had episodes where he'd lose muscle tone in his neck and his head would drop. I had videos of it and his doctor switched the medicine and it stopped. My birth father had narcolepsy. I don't think that was the diet soda, but I noticed some of the things that happened with aspartame were related to narcolepsy like my son's cataplexy and my waking paralysis and excessive daytime sleepiness. I can't help but wonder if there's a connection. That's just a random theory of someone without any medical training, though. I did have an MRI a few years ago and they did find two spots on my brain that could've been mini strokes. There's nothing to really do about it, since I don't have any reason to want to be able to have aspartame. I know many people drink it with no symptoms, and that's great for people who need sugar free substitutes. My dad drinks several diet sodas a day with apparently no problems. But saying that it's completely safe doesn't sit well with me.
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I don't believe that anyone has said that aspartame is completely safe, just that it has been deemed to be safe and is not the boogeyman that so many people claim it to be.
And it is a well established fact that some people, such as yourself, have adverse reactions to aspartame, just like some people have adverse reactions to peanuts, gluten and a whole range of other things. That does not make the peanuts or gluten or 'insert item here' bad - it just makes those items bad for that subset of the population.
The point of the thread was to try and diffuse the notion that aspartame is the devil incarnate for the entire population of the planet and it should be banned from ever being used again in any product that might be consumed by humans.
There is nothing on this planet that can be deemed to be completely safe, not even things that everyone would consider 'safe' such as water and oxygen...7 -
I don't believe that anyone has said that aspartame is completely safe, just that it has been deemed to be safe and is not the boogeyman that so many people claim it to be.
And it is a well established fact that some people, such as yourself, have adverse reactions to aspartame, just like some people have adverse reactions to peanuts, gluten and a whole range of other things. That does not make the peanuts or gluten or 'insert item here' bad - it just makes those items bad for that subset of the population.
The point of the thread was to try and diffuse the notion that aspartame is the devil incarnate for the entire population of the planet and it should be banned from ever being used again in any product that might be consumed by humans.
There is nothing on this planet that can be deemed to be completely safe, not even things that everyone would consider 'safe' such as water and oxygen...
Indeed. This is why the concept of context and dosage are so important. Well said, by the way.5 -
Exactly. Like many things it's safe for most. Nothing is safe for all. Anyone can be allergic or intolerant to anything. Take gluten for example. It's well documented that some are either intolerant, allergic, or have celiac disease. Which makes their body attack itself when in the presence of gluten. Yet I have never told anyone I eat pasta and bread in some form almost daily and been told "Ya know that stuff will kill you right? My aunt's uncle's mom DIED from eating bread!" It's usually "Yeah I can't have bread because I'm celiac/ gluten makes me sick". Yet with aspartame, even though it has been tested and tested over and over and proven as safe for the majority of people, many seem to be on a crusade to save lives from the "dangers" of aspartame. Instead of just saying "Oh you drink diet? I cant have that stuff. It makes me sick." Although I do realize GF seems to be more popular and trendy then ever before, I do not see the same fear mongering that I see for aspartame.3
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ImpreciseSeamstress wrote: »
Probably be a good idea to get this checked out.
As mentioned, just eating some chicken has way more phenyl provided - so unless you've avoided meats, the issue isn't the PKU aspect of it.
It could be something else in the diet soda that could be found in other things you are unaware of yet. And may not like the surprise then.
Did you perhaps drink more of the diet than the regular, because it was 0 calories?
Of course, finding a Dr that doesn't just jump on the bandwagon of "sugar substitutes are bad for you" could make it harder to search it out.
I always drank lots of soda in college. I drank about six/day, so I thought I could just switch to diet. The second instance involved my friend daring me to try one of her coffee sugar pills to see what it tasted like. After my dream freeze episode, I checked the ingredients and literally the only ingredient to the coffee sweetener pill was aspartame. Lots of my genetic relatives react to aspartame. My birth mother gets headaches. When my son was a baby, he had an antibiotic sweetened with aspartame and he had episodes where he'd lose muscle tone in his neck and his head would drop. I had videos of it and his doctor switched the medicine and it stopped. My birth father had narcolepsy. I don't think that was the diet soda, but I noticed some of the things that happened with aspartame were related to narcolepsy like my son's cataplexy and my waking paralysis and excessive daytime sleepiness. I can't help but wonder if there's a connection. That's just a random theory of someone without any medical training, though. I did have an MRI a few years ago and they did find two spots on my brain that could've been mini strokes. There's nothing to really do about it, since I don't have any reason to want to be able to have aspartame. I know many people drink it with no symptoms, and that's great for people who need sugar free substitutes. My dad drinks several diet sodas a day with apparently no problems. But saying that it's completely safe doesn't sit well with me.
Honestly, knowing how Aspartame gets digested thanks to Aaron, I can't think of any way Aspartame would be biologically able to do any of that to you which things like a cup of orange juice wouldn't do hundreds of times stronger.10 -
stevencloser wrote: »
Honestly, knowing how Aspartame gets digested thanks to Aaron, I can't think of any way Aspartame would be biologically able to do any of that to you which things like a cup of orange juice wouldn't do hundreds of times stronger.
And yet, it did.
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ImpreciseSeamstress wrote: »stevencloser wrote: »
Honestly, knowing how Aspartame gets digested thanks to Aaron, I can't think of any way Aspartame would be biologically able to do any of that to you which things like a cup of orange juice wouldn't do hundreds of times stronger.
And yet, it did.
OR.... perhaps this was nothing but a coincidence, or at best, correlation.9 -
ImpreciseSeamstress wrote: »When I have lots of aspartame, I have the symptoms of a mini stroke. When I was in college and started weight watchers and I switched to drinking several diet sodas instead of my regular. That day, I lost the ability to write what I wanted to write, talk how I wanted to talk, and I could barely stand or stay awake. I don't know why I didn't take those symptoms seriously at that time, but in retrospect, it really sounds like a mini stroke. Another time I unknowingly had a lot of aspartame. I instantly had to go to bed, even though it was the middle of the day. I had a dream and sort of woke up, but my dream was frozen in my brain and I was paralyzed and couldn't move. If I accidentally have a small amount of aspartame, I mentally get a little fuzzy and very tired. You won't be able to convince me that aspartame is a good thing.
I have no interest in convincing you personally that aspartame is a good thing notr have I ever actually claimed at all that aspartame is a "good thing" for anyone. Aspartame is just a thing that seems to have become a popular scapegoat for whatever ails you. A fear reinforced by the armchair diagnosers and health blogger gurus of the internet but not actually backed up by any studies or plausible mechanistic explanations of why aspartate phenylalanine and methanol in those concentrations would be harmful coming from a soda but not from a bite of chicken and a sip of apple juice.
Fact is no actual scientific trial or test as shown any causal negative affect with aspartame and the metabolic breakdown products are relatively harmless or found in much greater concentrations and amounts in other common foods.
It isn't that I feel the need to convince everyone...if anything I just hope some come away realizing that ones own personal anecdote is not really a reason to claim something is somehow inherently dangerous or harmful not is it a good reason for the general public to fear something.10 -
ImpreciseSeamstress wrote: »
Probably be a good idea to get this checked out.
As mentioned, just eating some chicken has way more phenyl provided - so unless you've avoided meats, the issue isn't the PKU aspect of it.
It could be something else in the diet soda that could be found in other things you are unaware of yet. And may not like the surprise then.
Did you perhaps drink more of the diet than the regular, because it was 0 calories?
Of course, finding a Dr that doesn't just jump on the bandwagon of "sugar substitutes are bad for you" could make it harder to search it out.
I always drank lots of soda in college. I drank about six/day, so I thought I could just switch to diet. The second instance involved my friend daring me to try one of her coffee sugar pills to see what it tasted like. After my dream freeze episode, I checked the ingredients and literally the only ingredient to the coffee sweetener pill was aspartame. Lots of my genetic relatives react to aspartame. My birth mother gets headaches. When my son was a baby, he had an antibiotic sweetened with aspartame and he had episodes where he'd lose muscle tone in his neck and his head would drop. I had videos of it and his doctor switched the medicine and it stopped. My birth father had narcolepsy. I don't think that was the diet soda, but I noticed some of the things that happened with aspartame were related to narcolepsy like my son's cataplexy and my waking paralysis and excessive daytime sleepiness. I can't help but wonder if there's a connection. That's just a random theory of someone without any medical training, though. I did have an MRI a few years ago and they did find two spots on my brain that could've been mini strokes. There's nothing to really do about it, since I don't have any reason to want to be able to have aspartame. I know many people drink it with no symptoms, and that's great for people who need sugar free substitutes. My dad drinks several diet sodas a day with apparently no problems. But saying that it's completely safe doesn't sit well with me.
Would you object to someone saying peanuts are safe?3
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