Aspartame, High Fructose Corn, Raw Cane Sugar...

[Valleygolfer]

Aspartame's been heavily studied for a quarter century and, by overwhelming consensus, it's been found to be completely safe. So say the FDA and its international and European counterparts. The sheer amount of people ingesting aspartame in heavy quantities for a few decades would make one think there would be some causal link that would have become apparent over that time frame. As for people with issues metabolizing phenylalanine like those with PKU, sure, if you have a 1 in 20,000 prevalence disease, you should probably stay away, but that seems self-evident. With respect to the second link, the lady attached to the site is a PhD named Janet Starr Hull. Putting that into Google, the first two suggested results were "Janet Starr Hull Aspartame" and "Janet Starr Hull Quack." So, yeah, she seems like a one trick pony version of Dr. Oz more than anything.

[quote name="dkolo" url="/t/82865/aspartame-high-fructose-corn-raw-cane-sugar/0_20#post_1161535"]Aspartame. It's completely safe and has zero calories. Yes, please. [/quote] I couldn't disagree more with you. But hey enjoy your mustard gas.

[Golfingdad]

I couldn't disagree more with you. But hey enjoy your mustard gas.

Do you have any indo to counter dkolo's statements and logic? As an interested and under informed observer, id like to hear something more than just "mustard gas." Pretty sure you can do better.

[Lihu]

I prefer Agave.

[Valleygolfer]

Do you have any indo to counter dkolo's statements and logic? As an interested and under informed observer, id like to hear something more than just "mustard gas." Pretty sure you can do better.

I could but some of these things are like religion. When I get back to a computer I can elaborate, it is too much to type over the phone. I was being swarmy with the mustard gas comment.

[Infamous 273]

Organic raw honey if I need to sweeten anything.

[SavvySwede]

If my Dad chews sugar free gum he gets a headache within minutes. I avoid artificial sweeteners as much as possible.

[Mr. Desmond]

I'm with avoiding the unnatural, except when it comes to Holly Sonders sweetness, avoid aspartame, and just settle for lesser amounts of the real thing - sugar - in a recipe, but not in a drink.

[Valleygolfer]

Aspartame's been heavily studied for a quarter century and, by overwhelming consensus, it's been found to be completely safe. So say the FDA and its international and European counterparts. The sheer amount of people ingesting aspartame in heavy quantities for a few decades would make one think there would be some causal link that would have become apparent over that time frame.

As for people with issues metabolizing phenylalanine like those with PKU, sure, if you have a 1 in 20,000 prevalence disease, you should probably stay away, but that seems self-evident.

With respect to the second link, the lady attached to the site is a PhD named Janet Starr Hull. Putting that into Google, the first two suggested results were "Janet Starr Hull Aspartame" and "Janet Starr Hull Quack." So, yeah, she seems like a one trick pony version of Dr. Oz more than anything.

From the  FDA: http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dailys/03/jan03/012203/02p-0317_emc-000199.txt

Frequently, aspartame toxicity is misdiagnosed as a specific disease.

This has yet to be reported in the scientific literature, yet it has

been reported countless times to independent organizations and

scientists (Mission Possible 1994, Stoddard 1995). In other cases,

it has been reported that chronic aspartame ingestion has triggered

or worsened certain chronic illnesses. Nearly 100% of the time, the

patient and physician assume that these worsening conditions are

simply a normal progression of the illness. Sometimes that may be

the case, but many times it is chronic aspartame poisoning.

According to researchers and physicians studying the adverse

effects of aspartame, the following list contains a selection

of chronic illnesses which may be caused or worsened by the chronic,

long-term ingestion of aspartame. (Mission Possible 1994, Stoddard

1995)*:

Brain tumors Multiple sclerosis

Epilepsy Chronic faigue syndrome

Parkinson's Disease Alzheimer's

Mental retardation Lymphoma

Birth defects Fibromyalgia

Diabetes Arthritis (including Rheumatoid)

Chemical Sensitivities Attention Deficit Disorder

*Note: In some cases such as MS, the severe symptoms

mimic the illness or exacerbate the illness,

but do not cause the disease.

Also, please note that this is an incomplete list. Clearly,

ingestion of a very slow poison (as discussed in other FAQs) is not

beneficial to anyone who has a chronic illness.

I'll pass on the poison if you please...

[dkolo]

From the  FDA: http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dailys/03/jan03/012203/02p-0317_emc-000199.txt

I'll pass on the poison if you please...

It's not from the FDA. It's from an email to the FDA as part of a public comment by a guy named Mark Gold at the "Aspartame Toxicity Information Center" in New Hampshire from 2003.

This is what the FDA actually has to say on the matter:

Aspartame
Aspartame is approved for use in food as a nutritive sweetener. Aspartame brand names include Nutrasweet®, Equal®, and Sugar Twin®. It does contain calories, but because it is about 200 times sweeter than table sugar, consumers are likely to use much less of it.

FDA approved aspartame in 1981 (46 FR 38283) for uses, under certain conditions, as a tabletop sweetener, in chewing gum, cold breakfast cereals, and dry bases for certain foods (i.e., beverages, instant coffee and tea, gelatins, puddings, and fillings, and dairy products and toppings). In 1983 (48 FR 31376), FDA approved the use of aspartame in carbonated beverages and carbonated beverage syrup bases, and in 1996 , FDA approved it for use as a "general purpose sweetener."  It is not heat stable and loses its sweetness when heated, so it typically isn’t used in baked goods.

Aspartame is one of the most exhaustively studied substances in the human food supply, with more than 100 studies supporting its safety.

FDA scientists have reviewed scientific data regarding the safety of aspartame in food and concluded that it is safe for the general population under certain conditions. However, people with a rare hereditary disease known as phenylketonuria (PKU) have a difficult time metabolizing phenylalanine, a component of aspartame, and should control their intake of phenylalanine from all sources, including aspartame. Labels of aspartame-containing foods and beverages must include a statement that informs individuals with PKU that the product contains phenylalanine.

http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/FoodAdditivesIngredients/ucm397725.htm#Aspartame

[dkolo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valleygolfer

From the  FDA: http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dailys/03/jan03/012203/02p-0317_emc-000199.txt

I'll pass on the poison if you please...

And just to be very clear, this evidence Mark Gold is citing is completely recursive: the two things in your cited excerpt are Mission Possible and Stoddard.

Mission Possible is the Mission Possible World Health Initiative.

Here's their website. It's basically made on Geocities.

Quote:

"Welcome to the home page of Mission Possible World Health International. Mission Possible World Health International was founded by Dr. Betty Martini, D.Hum and is headquartered in Duluth, Georgia.

On our site you will find lots of information about the substance known as aspartame and the effects it has on you, others, and the environment. If you have any questions or concerns about this deadly substance please contact us and we'll be glad to help you."

http://www.mpwhi.com/main.htm

Here's Dr. Betty Martini:

Quote:

"Dr. Martini has been awarded an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree for the work she has done and continues to do in alerting the world to the dangers of aspartame and other unhealthy chemicals and additives."

http://www.mpwhi.com/our_founder.htm

You gotta be friggen kidding me.

Stoddard is Mary Nash Stoddard of the Aspartame Safety Consumer Network

Quote:

"Responsible for taking the anti-aspartame campaign international in 1987, following the brain tumor death in 1985 of her forty two year old husband. Stoddard went on to expose the massive hidden epidemic of aspartame related  disease and government cover-up, using her skills as a former broadcast journalist and member of the Texas Radio Hall of Fame. Thousands of serious adverse reactions fill her organizations database files. She gave testimony at the Senate Hearing on Aspartame Safety, November, 1987. Stoddard initiated a worldwide Pilot's Hotline for reporting adverse reactions to aspartame, after being asked by an F-16 pilot to address the issue of flying safety and aspartame ingestion. Hundreds of calls have now been registered on behalf of the international flying community. Stoddard edits the underground best seller: Deadly Deception - Story of Aspartame . Stoddard receives standing ovations on her multi-national lecture tours.   One national televised interview generated over 60,000 calls to the television network switchboard. In the course of her career as a successful consumer advocate, she has appeared in print and on hundreds of international newscasts and talk shows."

http://www.aspartamesafety.com/mary_nash_stoddard.htm

These sources are basically just line items to cite to and it's exactly the same misinformation campaign that vaccine truthers use to lend an air of science to their claims when in reality they're just engaging in an incestuous scheme of cross-citing one another to come up with a reference list. Seriously, why are we treating someone from the "Texas Radio Hall of Fame" as a source of scientific data on this when we have actual science that's telling us this is nonsense?

[Valleygolfer]

To be honest @dkolo I don't care if you eat aspartame or if people want to ingest chemically synthesized food items, I however will pass. It has been a while since I did all the research, say roughly 2000 or 2001 and I didn't like what I saw. You are right, the FDA deems it safe, so are  other items in the list widely known to contribute to cancer.

[dkolo]

To be honest @dkolo I don't care if you eat aspartame or if people want to ingest chemically synthesized food items, I however will pass. It has been a while since I did all the research, say roughly 2000 or 2001 and I didn't like what I saw. You are right, the FDA deems it safe, so are a lot of other items in the list widely known to contribute to cancer.

Look, you're similarly welcome to eat what you wish, but you're fooling yourself if you maintain that there's sound scientific basis to support a claim that aspartame isn't safe. It's simply not true. The claims against aspartame are firmly in the conspiracy theory zone. It's certainly not carcinogenic in humans, and it's a disservice to yourself and others to suggest otherwise.

[Valleygolfer]

Look, you're similarly welcome to eat what you wish, but you're fooling yourself if you maintain that there's sound scientific basis to support a claim that aspartame isn't safe. It's simply not true. The claims against aspartame are firmly in the conspiracy theory zone. It's certainly not carcinogenic in humans, and it's a disservice to yourself and others to suggest otherwise.

I'll agree that there are no studies that have confirmed cancer other than a coincidental cancer with intake over many years. My personal experience of people I know that were having issues with  aspartame sweetened products were headaches and long standing intestinal issues. The intestinal issues resolved after eliminating the product but there was more than just aspartame in them. Headaches were pretty much aspartame, the individual tried caffeine free soda but it wasn't until stopping it all together got rid of the headaches. Original studies I read linked tumors and headaches to aspartame use. Plus I lack the belief that our gov is looking out for what is best for us...

[GolfLug]

FWIW, the 100 people study in UK (I heard on radio) in which 50 were given Aspartame and 50 were given natural sugar, suggested that Aspartame induced headache type reactions in some, so certainly some validity of short term effects on some. But yes, after that I tried to research long term studies and nothing definitive (against) Aspartame.

But, it is not natural and I do not absolutely let my kids eat/drink anything with artificial sweeteners just to on the safe side.

[No Mulligans]

I think the natural is good, unnatural is bad, is just faulty logic.  There are plenty of natural things that are bad for you.  Sugar for example.

[iacas]

I think the natural is good, unnatural is bad, is just faulty logic.  There are plenty of natural things that are bad for you.  Sugar for example.

And some mushrooms. Some types of fish. Some berries. Snakes, spiders, tarantulas, etc. :)

Everything in moderation, and avoid the very obviously very bad things about as much as possible.

[mvmac]

I'll also echo the "all in moderation" mantra. Stick to real stuff when you can but also understand that some cheats or artificial foods won't kill you. I eat some "bad "foods everyday, I just budget it into my calorie count.

Well, I think I eat in moderation in general but that is my problem. Don't eat donuts or chips much half a bowl of ice cream (4-5 oz) 3-4 times a week and it just keeps blowing my calorie allowance (1,400/day). Also, 5-6 beers a week (man's gotta live a bit, right?). I do have a small frame, a mostly desk job and poor metabolism, I think.

How did you figure out 1,400 a day? That seems low.

For ice cream, check out Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches, they're legit, 150 calories and taste great.

[saevel25]

For ice cream, check out Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches, they're legit, 150 calories and taste great.

Bad thing is, I usually eat way too many of those in one sitting