Friday's Urban Legend: FALSEThe idea that aspartame is poison is widespread—much more common than most rational people would care to admit. You can hear people whispering about the dangers of aspartame in the coffee shops and on the commuter trains. If you believe what they're saying then aspartame is one of the most poisonous products that has ever been foisted on the public by unscrupulous international corporations. It's part of a vast conspiracy to murder innocent citizens in the name of corporate profit. This sort of thing is just a small part of a growing belief in all kinds of irrational, superstitious nonsense that threatens to make a mockery of science.
Here's a typical claim from a site called "Ethical Investing" (sic).
The artificial sweetener aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal, NatraTaste, Canderel) is without question the most toxic and health-destroying "food" sold to consumers. The number of people who have recognized toxicity reactions or damage from chronic aspartame ingestion is well over one million people in the U.S. (based on the reported toxicity reactions divided by the estimated reporting rate). While many people's health has already been destroyed by this product, the more serious concern is the long-term nervous system damage, immune system damage, and irreversible genetic damage known to be caused by aspartame's metabolite, formaldehyde. Formaldehyde can cause severe health problems at exceptionally low levels of exposure.
Here's another, from a website called "The Light Party."Diet Coke is poison. And it's addictive, some victims drink several liters a day and keep it on their nightstands. If Coke changes the formula to remove aspartame the world will heal and the surge of hatred and vengeance by the disabled and bereaved shall certainly destroy Coca Cola.This is all nonsense. The false claims are countered by dozens of scientific studies that show no adverse effects of aspartame. Snopes.com has a summary at Kiss My Aspartame.
The poison in Diet Coke is aspartame. As a member of the National Soft Drink Association Coke opposed FDA approval of aspartame for beverages. their objections, running to several pages published in the Congressional Record of 5/7/85, said aspartame is uniquely and inherently unstable and breaks down in the can. It decomposes into formaldehyde, methyl alcohol, formic acid, diketopiperazine and other toxins. In a study on 7 monkeys 5 had grand mal seizures and one died, a casualty rate of 86%.
[In a sop to the superstitious, you can also buy Diet Coke sweetened with SPLENDA®]
Larry, isn't Aspartame a problem for people with phenylketonuria (inability to metabolize phenylalanine)? Not the litany of horrors the woo-woos attribute to it, of course, but still worth mentioning.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, is PKU a matter of poison? Or is it a genetic conditin?
ReplyDeletehttp://gregladen.com/wordpress/?p=395
Eamon, that's why every package is prominently labeled (in the US at least): "Phenylketonurics: contains phenylalanine".
ReplyDeleteI have these vague memories that some studies found indications of cancer, some not, a few years back. As so often one need to see several good studies, especially if there are contradictions, because some studies will yield false positives purely by chance, aggravated by the wish to see effects. But I haven't seen any new reports making it into the papers for a while.
ReplyDeleteThat said, since artificial sweeteners are said to activate some of the same problems as sweet (fooling around with the reward system), one should not think a diet coke is exactly like water either.
But who doesn't consume dangerous products at times? As an individual I'm not prone to aches (or freezing) when I'm active, but when I need painkillers salicylates doesn't quite make it. The best of the unprescribed stuff is for some reason paracetamol for me - so I have to remember not to take too many.
And when we have stuff like yummy rhubarb (oxalic acid and anthraquinones), tasty champignon (agaritine), and why not fun alcohol. And, oh yes, drinking too much refreshing water will kill you. Poisonous stuff.
I've been drinking aspartame drinks for a very long time, maybe over 20 years. In fact, that's about all I drink, except for beer. No ill effects yet, but I do crave them if I haven't had them for a while.
ReplyDelete....every package is prominently labeled (in the US at least): "Phenylketonurics: contains phenylalanine".
ReplyDeleteAh, I wouldn't have seen that as I never use them -- partly because there used to be reported health concerns, partly because to me none of the artificial sweeteners taste good, and partly because by (partially trained) habit I don't consume much sugar anyways (prefer unsweetened tea to most sweetened beverages, dark bitter chocolate to milk chocolate, etc. "Normally" sweet things now taste cloying to me).
Few years back, researching on artificial sweetners, I came across this study as well, that Aspartame causes cancer in mice!!!
ReplyDeletesince then, i developed such a concern about it, that now i can taste difference between sugar and aspartame with my eyes closed!
The fact of the matter is that we don't know anything about the long - term effects of ASPARTAME. A "scientific study" is what you make it, and it usually says what the person paying for it wants it to say. As for the addictive effects, I can positively confirm this. Some of my colleagues drink amounts that I would never ever wish to, not even ordinary Coke... do we KNOW what causes Alzheimer's, Cancer and Depressions etc.? Of course not.
ReplyDeleteJohn M. Voss
Conexx,
ReplyDeleteThe fact of the matter is that we don't know anything about the long - term effects of ASPARTAME.
You could say the same thing about hundreds of other consumables. You can't become a prisoner of your over-active imagination. It's not logical to spread rumors about the danger of something unless you have some indication that the danger is real.
The onus is not on scientists to prove that something is NOT going to have an effect on human health. We all know that's an impossible task because at some level everything is a potential problem. Plants contain all kinds of bad chemicals, for example.
The onus is on those who claim there's a danger. There has to be some evidence to back up that claim.
Besides, it's not true that we don't know anything about the long-term effects of aspartame. We know for a fact that several decades of regular consumption doesn't cause any problems that regularly show up in the medical literature. In other words, if there's a problem it's going to take detailed statistical detective work to find it.
Aspartame is junk. It's a cheap sweetener that messes up a body's natural digestive and restorative processes. Look for naturally sweetened things using stevia (a leaf) or agave syrup. DO NOT CONSUME ASPARTAME (It's poisonous). You should leave your job if you are in the aspartame industry, and if you support aspartame... you are committing a great evil.
ReplyDeleteFor you to say that this is false is a great DISSERVICE to the world. You are not thinking independently. Yiou are ONLY repeating the "party" line. Did you know that the FDA had problems with Aspartame while it was in discovery - before the Coca Cola company amd Donald Rumsfeld FORCED FDA to approve aspartame?
ReplyDeleteSorry, but it is MY choice to not drink any pop - diet or otherwise. I drink pure WATER - the only liquid the body REALLY needs and wants. I've lost weight as well now that I no longer drink the soda. Nothing will get me back to coca cola and I am making very sure that my kids never drink it either.
Historia says,
ReplyDeleteSorry, but it is MY choice to not drink any pop - diet or otherwise. I drink pure WATER - the only liquid the body REALLY needs and wants. I've lost weight as well now that I no longer drink the soda. Nothing will get me back to coca cola and I am making very sure that my kids never drink it either.
I'm happy that you're happy.
I'm not so happy that your reasons are wrong. And I'm certainly not happy that you are forcing your choice on others.
I completely disagree with this blog. It is the products without aspartame that are hurting us. Look: consuming101.com
ReplyDeleteAspartame is known to cause illness and toxic reactions in the body. It is very harmful. It is present in artificial sweeteners. You need to reduce the consumption of artificial sweeteners. Aspartame contains Phenylalanine which is one form of amino acids which is quite dangerous. It is better to drink water than these sweet beverages. People consuming aspartame might have the following disorders like multiple sclerosis, dizziness, headaches etc.
ReplyDeleteNormally I remove trash comments like the one above. Anyone who hides a website link in their profile (name) is not playing by the rules.
ReplyDeleteHowever, in this case the comment is so ridiculous that I'm letting it stand in order to demonstrate how stupid these people really are.
But there are amino acids in snake venom, so aspartame must be dangerous too...
ReplyDeleteSorry, your comments on its safeness only adds to by belief that it is indeed harmful. I have read enough, and talked to doctors who DO NOT recommend it to their patients because it is harmful, to come to my own conclusions that I will not use it. At church they have now thrown it out as well.
ReplyDeletelarry - you are lying over this - why dont you do six cans of diet coke a day - use yourself as an experiment and then see if you can work after six months
ReplyDeleteI've been drinking four cans a day pretty regularly for over thirty years. Will that do?
DeleteBTW, you can be banned for calling me a liar unless you have proof. This is your first warning.