Aspartame Research Paper

Numerous neurological and behavioral side effects have been linked with consuming aspartame at well below the approved safe limits set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Aspartame is an artificial sweetener that has been ingested in the United States for over three decades. Even though there are several studies showing the harmful effects of its consumption. When aspartame is digested several toxic chemicals are produced, most notability formic acid & glutamate. Both of these chemicals cause the body to mimic the side effects of multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer. Even the passing of aspartame to be allowed in food was controversial. Just as the studies on it, continue to be today.

The use of artificial sweeteners in beverages and food has been on a steady rise since 1969, the year it was authorized in the United States of America. The popularity of artificial sweeteners has been on a rise because of the benefit that it is a zero calorie sweetener .Even though artificial sweeteners have some great benefits many scientists believe that it causes adverse effects such as cancer, weight gain and depression. I strongly believe that consumers are not aware of the side effects of artificial sweeteners hence the increase in consumption since 1969.

Aspartame is composed of aspartic acid (40%), phenylalanine (50%) and methanol (10%), the substance is present in sweetening but is also used by the food industry because of the lack of calories (recommended to persons who are dieting) and the fact of not being sugar, sweeten but 200 times more (recommended for diabetics). In the opinion of the director of Abran (2005), "considering that table sugar is caries (tooth decay), unlike aspartame, and that obesity is a worldwide epidemic, sweeteners can help combat excess calories in the diet." according to ANVISA, only people who are born with the problem of difficulty to metabolize phenylalanine (a condition called PKU) should avoid aspartame and foods containing phenylalanine (fish, chicken, beans, milk, etc). If industrial products, such as soft drinks, there is usually a warning on the label or packaging on the presence of phenylalanine.

ban", ("Tufts University Health",2015). The food and drug administration is a federal part of the United states human and health services and they continuously promote the use of aspartame and have stated that there is “no new credible scientific evidence to change the agency’s position that the zero-calorie sweetener is safe for the general population", ("Tufts University Health",2015). Even a study stated in the article by the American cancer society “found no link between intake of diet sodas (most commonly sweetened by aspartame)

To first formulate the major arguments that about Aspartame, we first must understand what Aspartame is, and how it is digested in our bodies.Aspartame is an artificial sweetener often used as a substitute for sugar in beverages,foods,gums, and other uses, it is often denoted as E951.It was approved for use in 1980. Shown right is the chemical structure of aspartame (wikipedia). Aspartames is a dipeptide which is a protein made of two amino acids, phenylalanine and aspartic acid, what makes it sweet is a hydro carbon that is attached to the phenylalanine (authoritynutrition).

Aspartame is found in over 6000 products that are on our supermarket shelves, it goes by the brand names of Equal, and Nutra Sweet. First one would have to look at why aspartame came to be in over 6000 products world wide. In today 's society everybody is looking for that short cut, that way eating anything they want and staying thin and healthy. So instead of skipping the cookies we now reach for "sugar-free" cookies, and Diet soda so we can still eat what we want without all the calories. In a society where obesity is on the rise, there is a huge market for products like aspartame. Aspartame gives you all the sweetness you want without all the calories you don’t want. So if it says "sugar-free" or a diet product chances are aspartame is in it. This paper intends to look into how aspartame was discovered, the steps the company took to seek the approved to use in dry goods and eventually in soft drinks, and the controversy surrounding its approval, as well as the side effects of using aspartame along with how consumers are being affected by it and what companies are doing as a result of how consumers are reacting to it.

The studies on this ingredient have been numerous, but conflict with each other in almost every aspect. This artificial sweetener has been torn apart by every “health organization,” health fanatic, and doctor trying to prove their data holds water. Looking at a doctor’s informational website a wide variety of side effects could emerge from the consumption of aspartame, “A few of the 90 different documented symptoms listed in the report as part of aspartame dangers are: headaches/migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, tachycardia, insomnia, vision problems, hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus, vertigo, memory loss, and joint pain, ” (Mercola.com). From this study it would appear that aspartame was developed by the hands of satan. While this information may be true, a journal article from a study performed by over seven doctors begs to differ, “Controlled and thorough scientific studies confirm aspartame’s safety and find no credible link between consumption of aspartame at levels found in the human diet and conditions related to the nervous system and behaviour, nor any other symptom or illness,” (Magnusun, pg. 702). A seemingly extensive study shows the absolute safety of this sweetener, but

This extended essay is trying to answer the question “How much does people’s knowledge of the affects of aspartame reflect the scientific facts?”. The essay starts with a brief introduction to the topic, explaining thoroughly what food additives are in general and furthermore what kind of substance Aspartame is. Before continuing to consider and discuss the dangers of food additives and aspartame, information about other sweeteners are researched and some examples of these are stated.

In diet pops, aspartame is used as a substitute for real sugar, and it can over time be very harmful to our bodies. It has been linked to almost a hundred different health problems including seizures, multiple sclerosis, brain tumors, diabetes, and

Aspartame is the most common and one of three alternative sweeteners in the United States which can be found in more than 6,000 products and is consumed by more than 200 million people around the world (Calorie Control, 2015). You will find these man-made sweeteners in many reduced calorie foods; such as, jams and jellies, powdered soft drinks, maple syrups, chewing gum, juice blends, frozen desserts, cereals, hard candy and the most popular of products being sodas. Aspartame is also seen in little pink packets of Sweet & Low on restaurant tables. Besides being found in vitamins its important use is in many low-calorie and sugar-free beverages and

that states aspartame has undergone numerous testing and with the exception of a few slight side effects, aspartame seems to be rather safe. The article indicated that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) evaluated more than 500 reports on the problems associated with aspartame. The reports showed that two-thirds of the people suffered neurological problems while one-quarter of the people suffered gastrointestinal problems. The neurological symptoms included headaches, mood alterations, insomnia, dizziness, and fatigue. Abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting were the gastrointestinal symptoms that people experienced. The CDC concluded that the side effects that people reported were mild and are common in the overall public. I disagree with the conclusion that aspartame is safe. If aspartame was truly safe there would have been no reason for people to make reports concerning the side effects they experienced from consuming aspartame. Yes, it’s true that nothing is considered 100 percent safe, but after 500 reports were received on the consumption of aspartame it’s easy to concluded that aspartame is not safe. As with any report or study you read the material is only as accurate as the data that backs it up. If you search the internet you will find numerous reports, studies, and articles listing the side effects of aspartame. I can’t imagine that all of the articles are not

Ever wonder what the rarest element in Earth could be? Could it be Platinum, Gold, or maybe Rhodium? I’ll give you a clue, it’s radioactive and it’s in period six. Have you figured out what element I’m talking about? Well with that information I wouldn’t have either haha. The element I chose to write about is Astatine. I chose to write about Astatine because it is just like me. Astatine is that one element that you just don’t always remember in your head. You only really think about it when someone else mentions it. For example, if you are taking a quiz and a question asks about Astatine; you are going to be like “what the heck is an Astatine”? That is why I chose it because not many people know me and people only really find out about me when someone else mentions my name. In this essay, I will talk about the element Astatine and explore its wild nature.

In 1965, James M. Schlatter, a chemist, accidentally discovered aspartame as he was originally working on an anti-ulcer drug. Aspartame resulted from Schlatter's mix of asparatic acid and phenylalanine. For some reason, Schlatter decided to taste the mixture and as he dipped his finger and licked it, he saw that it tasted good. This gave birth to the artifical sweetener aspartame but in its rather unstable form. As years went by, numerous scientists reproduced aspartame until eventually, it was cleared for use in the market, and it became exactly like the aspartame we have today.

NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, and Equal-Measure are all brand names for aspartame, a low calorie sugar substitute used in more than 90 countries to sweeten foods and beverages. Aspartame is a synthetic chemical that is created through the combination of the amino acids phenylalanine and aspartic acid, and a small amount of methanol. Aspartame can be found in several products, such as soft drinks, over-the counter drugs, vitamin and herb supplements, instant breakfasts, candy, breath mints, cereals, sugar-free chewing gum, coffee, juice, and tea beverages, tabletop sweeteners, and gelatin desserts. This product may have seemed like a dream come true when it was first invented in 1981

Aspartame is an artificial sweetener that was found in the mid-1983, it was considered as a low-calorie sweeteners that could substitute sugars. Ralph G. Walton, Robert Hudak, and Ruth J. Green-Waite (1993) performed a study to find out whether patients with mood disorders are vulnerable to negative reactions of aspartame in “Adverse Reactions to Aspartame: Double-Blind Challenge in Patients from a Vulnerable Population”. Initially they recruited 40 participant for the study which included patients with a depression history and also people without any of psychiatric history, but the study ended up with only collecting results from 13 people because the study was stopped by the Institutional Review Board regarding some severe reactions including eye problems and conjunctival bleeding. The study divided the trial into two sections for 20 days, each subject is double-blindly tested with both aspartame and placebo randomly in the first week or the second week to find out the effect of aspartame on the