Aspartame... is it really that bad?

245

Replies

  • txsgirlK
    txsgirlK Posts: 171 Member
    No, aspartame is not bad just for me. It is bad for human beings regardless of sensitivity.

    I posted links that I have on hand right now. Believe what you want. And here is the back and forth I didn't want to get into.


    Aspartame is bad for me too....when I quit drinking diet/zero sodas my tension headaches/migraines went away.
  • JayByrd107
    JayByrd107 Posts: 282 Member
    It seems to be one of those things like MSG where medically and scientifically there is no harmful evidence, but anecdotal "evidence" abounds.
  • LabRat529
    LabRat529 Posts: 1,323 Member
    *SIGH*

    No, it's not 'really that bad'. Please don't believe the fear-mongering and the ridiculous websites people love to post. If you believe google, one swallow will make you grow two heads. But if you go to pubmed and read, you'll notice that most articles come to the same conclusion- at biological concentrations, aspartame has no ill effects.

    Concentration matters. Concentration matters. Concentration matters. (Do you think if I say it enough times, people will actually get it? Probably not. *ANOTHER BIG SIGH*). As others have already said, aspartame gets metabolized into methanol, aspartic acid, and phenylalanine. The methanol gets further metabolized into formaldehyde and.. I forget... something else. All of these substances are found in "natural" foods, even methanol. At HIGH concentrations, they can be toxic. At the concentrations you'd consume in a diet coke? Perfectly harmless.

    Splenda is not harmful either.

    Enjoy the beverage of your choice.
  • brenteesha
    brenteesha Posts: 49
    No, aspartame is not bad just for me. It is bad for human beings regardless of sensitivity.

    I posted links that I have on hand right now. Believe what you want. And here is the back and forth I didn't want to get into.
    Thank you again for replying! I appreciate you taking the time to send me the links. I will check them out when I get home. And as for the back and forth... it's inevitable, unfortunately. Thank you for sharing even though you knew it was coming! At the very least, I am grateful and appreciative. (:
  • MariaMariaM
    MariaMariaM Posts: 1,322 Member
    If you cut out other things at the same time that you cut out diet Coke, you can't positively pin your problems on the Coke. It could have been any of the processed foods you took out of your diet as well.

    Most of the processed food I eliminated had aspartame in it. I also went to Mayo Clinic for this and the doctors I saw told me off the record that other people that had heavy consumption on aspartame in their diets also had various forms of what I have. He could not say that is was one of the causes because there is no way to tell. Research I did online let me on the same path. Oh, and it is not just what I have but many other unrelated things. That is how I came to that conclusion, in addition to everything else I believe in today.
  • brenteesha
    brenteesha Posts: 49
    *SIGH*

    No, it's not 'really that bad'. Please don't believe the fear-mongering and the ridiculous websites people love to post. If you believe google, one swallow will make you grow two heads. But if you go to pubmed and read, you'll notice that most articles come to the same conclusion- at biological concentrations, aspartame has no ill effects.

    Concentration matters. Concentration matters. Concentration matters. (Do you think if I say it enough times, people will actually get it? Probably not. *ANOTHER BIG SIGH*). As others have already said, aspartame gets metabolized into methanol, aspartic acid, and phenylalanine. The methanol gets further metabolized into formaldehyde and.. I forget... something else. All of these substances are found in "natural" foods, even methanol. At HIGH concentrations, they can be toxic. At the concentrations you'd consume in a diet coke? Perfectly harmless.

    Splenda is not harmful either.

    Enjoy the beverage of your choice.
    I love the way you presented the information. Very informative and easy to read.
  • hollyberry2012
    hollyberry2012 Posts: 239 Member
    it might not be bad for you, but it's bad for me.

    it doesn't mix well with Paxil and makes me dizzy. Like I took too much Paxil.

    EXCELLENT- Thank you. And I don't mean excellent that it's bad for you but for being specific, it's bad for you. Doesn't mean it's bad for anybody else in specific. I really do like the reasonable posts like this.

    Thanks...if you live long enough, you learn a lot about how you don't know that much. So it's better to keep it simple and not look like a goofball. LOL
  • whasara
    whasara Posts: 10
    Depends on your body. Some people have a reaction to it and others do not. Have you ever had problems with it? If so, don't consume it. If not, then it is fine for you. I would consume in moderation no matter what it is though.
  • MariaMariaM
    MariaMariaM Posts: 1,322 Member
    No, aspartame is not bad just for me. It is bad for human beings regardless of sensitivity.

    I posted links that I have on hand right now. Believe what you want. And here is the back and forth I didn't want to get into.
    Thank you again for replying! I appreciate you taking the time to send me the links. I will check them out when I get home. And as for the back and forth... it's inevitable, unfortunately. Thank you for sharing even though you knew it was coming! At the very least, I am grateful and appreciative. (:

    No problem. We also have people that rolls their eyes at us in our circle of friends and eat all the junk they want. We don't preach to people on GMO, MSG, Artificial everything, you name it. My husband usually mentions it once because when people come to our house know what type of food to expect and the jokes are always there. We believe in "whatever floats you boat approach".
    Even my dog's nutrition is holistic and free of artificial ingredients, etc.
  • jordanmcgue
    jordanmcgue Posts: 1
    Aspartame as it breaks down turns into formaldehyde.. That being said, if formaldehyde is a preserver, it's probably preserving fat cells.. Not to mention is causes headaches & is known as a cancer causing agent. If you're looking for something without any calories to sweeten drinks or food, just don't use it. It might take a minute for your taste buds to adjust to it, but you have to adjust to any diet. If you want something that's NOT bad for your body, go with all natural raw sugar. Yeah, there are calories sure, but if it's natural and you use it moderately, you're body will break it down..
  • vltaylor3
    vltaylor3 Posts: 1 Member
    all i know is i used spelnda daily for years with no advrese effects.... when i stopped using it however i had nausea, cramping an diaherrea fior 4 days..... withdrawal that acute shows me it can't be good for me
  • PamiB
    PamiB Posts: 1
    It causes brain tumors! Enough said for me!

    I'm and X addict to Diet Cokes... Love them! I had migraine headaches, but no more since I've stopped!
  • capnwo85
    capnwo85 Posts: 1,103 Member
    I heard it causes this....

    01520020624.jpg
  • Therdigh
    Therdigh Posts: 28 Member
    I personally get migraines if I have anything with aspartame in it. I found this out a few years ago when I decided to drink crystal light instead of soda, sucks for me cause crystal light is delicious. Some people have no issue with it so I guess its a personal preference, but it seems like a pretty scary chemical, I even think that it is outlawed in Canada, but don't quote me on that one.
  • hollyberry2012
    hollyberry2012 Posts: 239 Member
    at first I thought that was one major outie....but then I realized he was turned around backwards.

    You know a machete could lop that off for ya.
  • Picola1984
    Picola1984 Posts: 1,133
    If I want my head to feel like it got a pneumatic drill inside it, then yeah its amazing
  • almonds1
    almonds1 Posts: 642 Member
    Yes its awful for you. anything 0 calories besides celery is bad for you! and when i cut out diet coke and splenda I lost 10 pounds a few years back

    I started eating ice cream a few years back and lost 10 lbs. Thus, ice cream is essential to weight loss.

    weird, I had an entire pizza sunday and lost 2 lbs...I vote ice cream and Pizza = weight loss
  • gaby3061
    gaby3061 Posts: 1
    One needs to avoid chemically made aspartame as your body cannot process it. If you are looking for a natural sweetener try xylitol which is made from the beech tree and it doesn't taste like a sweetener. New on the market is stevia which is also naturally made with less calories than xylihol but it does have a sweetener after taste.
  • almonds1
    almonds1 Posts: 642 Member
    If I have a tylonal I am fine..no issues... If I have 30, I have a problem!!!

    Thats how I feel about it... Thus, I drink coke zero
  • Picola1984
    Picola1984 Posts: 1,133
    I heard it causes this....

    01520020624.jpg

    EURGH! *scared*
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    I really think to each their on.. I am and will continue to drink my 2-3 24 oz. bottles of diet pepsi everyday.... 32 months ago I was knocking on deaths door literally.... At 560 lbs. and unable to walk much from room to room, I decided to change my lifestyle but have been a big diet pop drinker since I was a kid so I decided to keep this one vise...... It hasn't hindered my weightloss (well I don't think it has), it doesn't effect my type 2 diabetes, It doesn't make me crave sweets, etc, etc..... So I will keep enjoying my diet pepsi and everyone else can make up there on mind if they want it or not..... Just my 2 cents.......
  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
    Yes its awful for you. anything 0 calories besides celery is bad for you! and when i cut out diet coke and splenda I lost 10 pounds a few years back

    I started eating ice cream a few years back and lost 10 lbs. Thus, ice cream is essential to weight loss.

    weird, I had an entire pizza sunday and lost 2 lbs...I vote ice cream and Pizza = weight loss

    I second that!
  • Espressocycle
    Espressocycle Posts: 2,245 Member
    Stick with saccharin, although inot very many sodas use it anymore, I think it's the best.
  • capricorn0120
    capricorn0120 Posts: 109 Member
    Here are two links:

    http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/addit/sweeten-edulcor/aspartame-eng.php

    http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/2006/ucm108650.htm
  • Health_Gal
    Health_Gal Posts: 715 Member
    I am not sure exactly how bad it is, but I drink very little soda these days, and when I sweeten my coffee or tea, I use Stevia if it's available, or sugar if it is not.
  • dme1977
    dme1977 Posts: 537 Member
    I was wondering about this too... I use 2 packets of sweet n low for EVERY mug of coffee ( I usually drink 3 mugs=6 packets)

    plus, I drink crystal light and when i make home made lemonade I also use sweet n low,
    plus, my BF is diabetic so we use ALL non suger products in our house anyways.... (splenda, truvia, equal, etc..)

    So on any given day im using lets say 10-15 packets...give or take a few... so far I havent had any side effects, and have lost 10 pounds. :drinker:
  • RonSwanson66
    RonSwanson66 Posts: 1,150 Member
    Oh, and just be ready for people to start calling Dr Mercola, Dr quack

    If the shoe fits.

    "Mercola.com is a horrible chimera of tabloid journalism, late-night infomercials, and amateur pre-scientific medicine, and is the primary web presence of Joseph Mercola. "

    http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/9-reasons-to-completely-ignore-joseph-mercola-and-natural-news/

    http://www.quackwatch.com/11Ind/mercola.html

    http://www.skepdic.com/mercola.html

    http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/joe-mercola-quackery-pays/




    Re: Aspartame

    Aspartame: a safety evaluation based on current use levels, regulations, and toxicological and epidemiological studies.
    Magnuson BA, Burdock GA, Doull J, Kroes RM, Marsh GM, Pariza MW, Spencer PS, Waddell WJ, Walker R, Williams GM.
    Source

    Burdock Group, Washington, DC, USA. bmagnuso@umd.edu
    Abstract

    Aspartame is a methyl ester of a dipeptide used as a synthetic nonnutritive sweetener in over 90 countries worldwide in over 6000 products. The purpose of this investigation was to review the scientific literature on the absorption and metabolism, the current consumption levels worldwide, the toxicology, and recent epidemiological studies on aspartame. Current use levels of aspartame, even by high users in special subgroups, remains well below the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European Food Safety Authority established acceptable daily intake levels of 50 and 40 mg/kg bw/day, respectively. Consumption of large doses of aspartame in a single bolus dose will have an effect on some biochemical parameters, including plasma amino acid levels and brain neurotransmitter levels. The rise in plasma levels of phenylalanine and aspartic acid following administration of aspartame at doses less than or equal to 50 mg/kg bw do not exceed those observed postprandially. Acute, subacute and chronic toxicity studies with aspartame, and its decomposition products, conducted in mice, rats, hamsters and dogs have consistently found no adverse effect of aspartame with doses up to at least 4000 mg/kg bw/day. Critical review of all carcinogenicity studies conducted on aspartame found no credible evidence that aspartame is carcinogenic. The data from the extensive investigations into the possibility of neurotoxic effects of aspartame, in general, do not support the hypothesis that aspartame in the human diet will affect nervous system function, learning or behavior. Epidemiological studies on aspartame include several case-control studies and one well-conducted prospective epidemiological study with a large cohort, in which the consumption of aspartame was measured. The studies provide no evidence to support an association between aspartame and cancer in any tissue. The weight of existing evidence is that aspartame is safe at current levels of consumption as a nonnutritive sweetener.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17828671


    From the full-text

    aspartamesafetylabd.jpg
  • capnwo85
    capnwo85 Posts: 1,103 Member
    Oh, and just be ready for people to start calling Dr Mercola, Dr quack

    If the shoe fits.

    "Mercola.com is a horrible chimera of tabloid journalism, late-night infomercials, and amateur pre-scientific medicine, and is the primary web presence of Joseph Mercola. "

    http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/9-reasons-to-completely-ignore-joseph-mercola-and-natural-news/

    http://www.quackwatch.com/11Ind/mercola.html

    http://www.skepdic.com/mercola.html

    http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/joe-mercola-quackery-pays/




    Re: Aspartame

    Aspartame: a safety evaluation based on current use levels, regulations, and toxicological and epidemiological studies.
    Magnuson BA, Burdock GA, Doull J, Kroes RM, Marsh GM, Pariza MW, Spencer PS, Waddell WJ, Walker R, Williams GM.
    Source

    Burdock Group, Washington, DC, USA. bmagnuso@umd.edu
    Abstract

    Aspartame is a methyl ester of a dipeptide used as a synthetic nonnutritive sweetener in over 90 countries worldwide in over 6000 products. The purpose of this investigation was to review the scientific literature on the absorption and metabolism, the current consumption levels worldwide, the toxicology, and recent epidemiological studies on aspartame. Current use levels of aspartame, even by high users in special subgroups, remains well below the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European Food Safety Authority established acceptable daily intake levels of 50 and 40 mg/kg bw/day, respectively. Consumption of large doses of aspartame in a single bolus dose will have an effect on some biochemical parameters, including plasma amino acid levels and brain neurotransmitter levels. The rise in plasma levels of phenylalanine and aspartic acid following administration of aspartame at doses less than or equal to 50 mg/kg bw do not exceed those observed postprandially. Acute, subacute and chronic toxicity studies with aspartame, and its decomposition products, conducted in mice, rats, hamsters and dogs have consistently found no adverse effect of aspartame with doses up to at least 4000 mg/kg bw/day. Critical review of all carcinogenicity studies conducted on aspartame found no credible evidence that aspartame is carcinogenic. The data from the extensive investigations into the possibility of neurotoxic effects of aspartame, in general, do not support the hypothesis that aspartame in the human diet will affect nervous system function, learning or behavior. Epidemiological studies on aspartame include several case-control studies and one well-conducted prospective epidemiological study with a large cohort, in which the consumption of aspartame was measured. The studies provide no evidence to support an association between aspartame and cancer in any tissue. The weight of existing evidence is that aspartame is safe at current levels of consumption as a nonnutritive sweetener.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17828671


    From the full-text

    aspartamesafetylabd.jpg

    lol-didn-t-read-o.gif
  • rjt1000
    rjt1000 Posts: 700 Member
    Like I said before, I drink 6-8 cans of diet coke a day and have for 20 years minimum. I'm in good health, have reached my maintenance weight, have never been severely overweight, have no migraines or headaches, no stomach upset, etc. Can I claim that aspartame has improved my health as I am healthier (by FAR) than the average 50 year old male?

    somebody posted earlier that just because I haven't had any problems YET doesn't mean I wont. OK, after 20 years of large amounts of aspartame daily and at age 50, when are these supposed problems going to come up? And what problems should I be expecting?
  • RonSwanson66
    RonSwanson66 Posts: 1,150 Member


    lol-didn-t-read-o.gif


    So you're saying that you have a short attention span.


    And you're proud of this?
This discussion has been closed.

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