Aspartame... is it really that bad?

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  • MariaMariaM
    MariaMariaM Posts: 1,322 Member
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    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.
  • myak623
    myak623 Posts: 616 Member
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    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 always wear a hat to workout. I usually weigh myself once a week before a workout. I noticed on the days that I wear a blue hat I dropped pounds. Some of the time I would wear a red hat. A few times, when I weighed wearing the red hat, I didn't lose any weight. I concluded that the red hat was hindering my weight loss and I threw it away.
  • brenteesha
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    There are many threads that discuss aspartame, splenda, and other artificial sweeteners. You an also google it and find the many reasons artificial sweeteners are not good for you.

    Whatever I type here will be attacked by all of those who don't agree with my statement and I don't feel like going back and forth on the subject. I have read many threads discussing similar issues and whoever doesn't agree with the majority gets hammered, specially if the person believes in natural / organic way of life.

    Finally, I believe that an autoinmune disease I have is linked to diet sodas I drank in the past. Never had them before coming to the United States and then got hooked on diet coke. A few years later, I got a rare autoinmune disease that doctors don't know much about. I was told that I would have to let it progress and there wasn't much that could be done. I went online and started looking for answers and reading. I decided to clean up my act, eliminate processed foods, eliminate diet coke and eat just natural/organic. Disease stopped progressing and it is dormant. Drs have no idea why but told me to continue doing whatever I am doing.

    I can mention many names that explain the reasons but those names are hated in this message board.


    The OP asked if it is really that bad for you and I answered: Yes, it is bad for you.

    This is all I would say about this.

    Ahh, it's bad for YOU. Doesn't mean it's bad for me. In fact, it's not bad for me. I drink 6-8 cans of diet coke a day and have for 20 years at least. I'm 50 years old, weight 165 pounds and am very healthy. I have a bad shoulder and some lower back pain from injuries. I never get sick except an occasional cold. Haven't had flu in at least 25 years. Haven't taken 2 days off in a row from work for sickness since I can't remember. Clearly, aspartame is not bad for ME.

    So, let's stick to reality. Aspartame is bad for people who have sensitivity to it. As nuts are to my niece. so, nuts are bad for everybody? no, bad for her. not bad for me.
    Just because you haven't had any negative side effects doesn't mean it is healthy. It also doesn't invalidate her opinion and experience. I appreciate your reply and how you examined the flip side of the argument... but you seem rather combative with this person and I don't really feel that is necessary.
  • MariaMariaM
    MariaMariaM Posts: 1,322 Member
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    Yes, it is bad for you.

    Splenda is not that great either.
    Thanks for your reply. I'm sure that Splenda isn't great either, I'm leery of most artificial sweeteners... but that same article that scared me about aspartame suggested that Splenda isn't quite as bad.

    As far as your claim of being bad for you, can you elaborate? Why do you think it is bad for you?

    I will post some links when I get home but as I said earlier, I am sure the post will be ridiculed and attacked. After you read them, you can decide for yourself on whether it is good or bad for you.
    I understand your concern about the drama that occurs in the message boards... I have seen it many times myself. Rest assured that I won't ridicule or harrass you, even if I don't agree with you. Thank you for offering to send the links, I would like to read up more on it. And, thanks for replying to my post!

    I was editing my post to include what I have right now. Here is one of the links I was referring to.

    http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/11/06/aspartame-most-dangerous-substance-added-to-food.aspx
    http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2000/12/03/sucralose-dangers.aspx
  • hollyberry2012
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    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.
  • JayByrd107
    JayByrd107 Posts: 282 Member
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    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.
  • rjt1000
    rjt1000 Posts: 700 Member
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    There are many threads that discuss aspartame, splenda, and other artificial sweeteners. You an also google it and find the many reasons artificial sweeteners are not good for you.

    Whatever I type here will be attacked by all of those who don't agree with my statement and I don't feel like going back and forth on the subject. I have read many threads discussing similar issues and whoever doesn't agree with the majority gets hammered, specially if the person believes in natural / organic way of life.

    Finally, I believe that an autoinmune disease I have is linked to diet sodas I drank in the past. Never had them before coming to the United States and then got hooked on diet coke. A few years later, I got a rare autoinmune disease that doctors don't know much about. I was told that I would have to let it progress and there wasn't much that could be done. I went online and started looking for answers and reading. I decided to clean up my act, eliminate processed foods, eliminate diet coke and eat just natural/organic. Disease stopped progressing and it is dormant. Drs have no idea why but told me to continue doing whatever I am doing.

    I can mention many names that explain the reasons but those names are hated in this message board.


    The OP asked if it is really that bad for you and I answered: Yes, it is bad for you.

    This is all I would say about this.

    Ahh, it's bad for YOU. Doesn't mean it's bad for me. In fact, it's not bad for me. I drink 6-8 cans of diet coke a day and have for 20 years at least. I'm 50 years old, weight 165 pounds and am very healthy. I have a bad shoulder and some lower back pain from injuries. I never get sick except an occasional cold. Haven't had flu in at least 25 years. Haven't taken 2 days off in a row from work for sickness since I can't remember. Clearly, aspartame is not bad for ME.

    So, let's stick to reality. Aspartame is bad for people who have sensitivity to it. As nuts are to my niece. so, nuts are bad for everybody? no, bad for her. not bad for me.
    Just because you haven't had any negative side effects doesn't mean it is healthy. It also doesn't invalidate her opinion and experience. I appreciate your reply and how you examined the flip side of the argument... but you seem rather combative with this person and I don't really feel that is necessary.

    I'm combative of people who post "it's bad for you" across the board. I never said it was HEALTHY. There's a huge difference between something being healthy or not healthy and it being bad for you. Ice cream is not healthy but it's not bad for you. Unless you have a sensitivity to lactose or eat too much of it. If people want to give anecdotal evidence of their experience with something like aspartame, take it for what it is, anecdotal evidence, not data driven info.

    That's why so many people have been posting about wearing hats whent they work out and water and mustard being bad for you, etc. Because using correlations between things as if they are cause and effect and using singular anecdotal info is next to useless.

    My own experience offsets her experience if we go with single user info. So, net zero. The links she posted have been discredited by many research studies over the past 30 or 40 years.

    Same thread, different day......
  • alysson
    alysson Posts: 3 Member
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    I try to keep my sugar levels down because diabetes runs in my family. I try to use natural sweeteners (honey, etc.) or non-calorie sweetener. I don't like the taste of aspartame, so I used Splenda. Once I looked into comparing the different sweeteners, I wasn't too happy with the ingredients in Splenda, & have moved to Stevia based sweeteners. I currently use TrueVia due to taste, ingredients & price. I try to keep up to date on what I consume to make sure it is best for me. Everyone is different. Be informed so you can make the decisions that are best for you.
  • MariaMariaM
    MariaMariaM Posts: 1,322 Member
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    Oh, and just be ready for people to start calling Dr Mercola, Dr quack or whatever people that want to ignore what he says call him.

    I think here is where your own research and judgment comes in. You read all the available information you have, you started with the study you referred to, and then start looking for more affirmations/denials. After all the research you did, you then decide what you want to believe in.
    I will say that I don't agree with everything Dr. Mercola or Dr. Oz say but I believe in the lifestyle they push for. I read the information presented and then decide what is good for me. I think that I could never go wrong choosing natural over artificial but that is just me.
  • rjt1000
    rjt1000 Posts: 700 Member
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    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.
  • txsgirlK
    txsgirlK Posts: 171 Member
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    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
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    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
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    *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
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    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
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    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
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    *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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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..