Biological Effects Of Aspartame Consumption

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.

Who uses the sweetener or consume diet drinks may have heard of the controversy surrounding aspartame. The product has been linked with diseases or disorders such as migraine, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer, cancer, lymphomas, and brain tumors, among others. This association is mainly caused by the fact metabolized in the human body-releasing methanol, a chemical compound that has toxic and accumulative effect on the nervous system. Despite being naturally present in small amounts in chicken in the meat, the beans and skim milk when ingested in large quantities methanol can cause blindness, among other problems. This fact has been known since the approval of aspartame in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However,

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)

Obesity and its subsequent ailments are regarded as the leading cause(s) of death in the United States and many other parts of the world. As such, much deserved attention and controversy has been brought worldwide. Many people place blame for this relatively recent epidemic on the shoulders of high-fructose corn syrup, an artificial sweetener whose use has increased for many years alongside the rates of childhood and adult obesity. While they are not entirely incorrect in assuming a widespread increase in added sugars would result in more calories per product, more calories consumed, and therefore more calories stored in bodily tissue, high-fructose corn syrup alone is not solely to blame for this phenomenon.

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).

Title: Neurobehavioral Effects of Aspartame Consumption. This title did not give the readers any clues as to whether the authors believe aspartame causes neurobehavioral side effects. However, it does let the audience know the effects will be reviewed in this article.

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

In addition to aspartame in diet soda contributing to cancer, it also causes memory loss. Carbonated beverages began containing aspartame in 1983, after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved it (Gold, 1995). Aspartame contains 40% aspartic acid, which is an amino acid that increases the level of aspartate and glutamate in blood plasma, according to Gold (1995). This increase of aspartate, as explained by Gold (1995), causes over stimulation of the nerves by acting within the brain as neurotransmitters, which aid in sending and receiving information between neurons. Aspartate increases the possibility of destroying the cell surface’s membrane on the opposite side of the area between nerve cells (where transmission of nerve impulses occur) in the brain (Humphries, Prestorius, & Naude, 2008). As a result, excessive aspartate or glutamate can slowly destroy neurons in the brain contributed by an influx of calcium contained in the cells, thus causing memory loss.

With public advertising glorifying diet soda and artificial sweeteners, people are led to believe that Aspartame is safer and healthier than regular sugar, but that could not be further from the truth. Aspartame accounts for 75% of adverse reactions to food additives reported to the FDA. The most commonly reported are headaches and migraines; however, many reactions are a lot more serious including seizures as well as death. Chronic exposure to this sweetener can bring about or worsen serious conditions such as: asthma, lymphomas and leukaemia, brain tumors and brain cancer, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, and epilepsy.(Lindseth, “Neurobehavioral Effects of Aspartame Consumption”) The excitotoxins found in Aspartame have been found to promote cancer growth. An experiment conducted by the Brigham and Women's Hospital of Harvard University studied a 22 year long human experiment relating to the effects of Aspartame.

Aspartame is a toxicin to the people who consume it. At least that’s what the critics say. Zero calorie artificial sweeteners reputation has been degraded due to people criticizing all of the “dangers” that can come from the consuming of these products. These allegations come from people who, more than often, lack any credibility or proof of these dangers involved with artificial sweeteners. The truth is artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame, are not as dangerous but are just as good as natural sugars. Aspartame is actually the most researched sweetener to date and has been scientifically proven that it has no negative effect towards depression, cancer, and people with a “sensitivity” to aspartame.

The primary literature article is titled, Dose–response study of caffeine effects on cerebral functional activity with a specific focus on dependence. This article consists of many parts including an abstract, introduction, materials and methods, and results. The articles aim is to explain the physiological functions of caffeine and how it affects the brain. The language used in this article is very specific and scientific. It consists of very precise word choice and both quantitative and qualitative information. In the introduction, this article mentions that the average daily caffeine consumption for all adult consumers and from all sources reaches 2.4–4.0 mg/kg for a 60–70 kg subject in the United States, UK and Canada (Nehlig and Boyet, 2000). This excerpt from the

This research study focuses on how aspartame affects the human body, particularly the brain. It includes the different classes of sweetener, their characteristics and their difference from aspartame. It also explains why multi-national corporations prefer to use aspartame as sugar substitute over the other varieties of sweeteners. Lastly, it details the compatibility of aspartame to beverages and the standard amount of sweeteners in instant goods set by the World Government. However, this study does not cover the possible sources of treatment to the problems caused by aspartame. This research is limited to explaining the overall concept of aspartame as a sweetener.

Phenylketonuria is a disorder that is present at birth and results in the body not being able to break down phenylalanine. Since Phenylalanine is an agent in aspartame, it is critically important that those who have phenylketonuria limit their intake foods or beverages that contain aspartame. “Wurtman proposed that when aspartame-containing beverages are consumed along with dietary carbohydrates, the

Back when I was young, my dad would always buy copious amounts of soda, gum and candy for my sister and I to thoroughly enjoy. Day after day, we would bask in what seemed to be heaven as my dad continually supplied us with such tasty, sugary food. Nevertheless, this food excursion was only endorsed while my mom was away for work, clueless as to how my dad was feeding her beloved children. One day however, my dad blew his cover by buying some flavored water – sweetened with aspartame – while he was out shopping with my mom. To my sister’s and my watchful eyes, she exploded at him ranting about how anything sweetened with aspartame should never be allowed in our house, let alone fed to the kids. Ever since then, my dad hasn’t dared to buy anything containing the fabricated sweetener, and with all honesty, I haven’t either. But until now, I didn’t know why my mom wanted it to be avoided at all costs. I have heard it is bad for your health, but to what extent?

Since discovered in 1965, Aspartame has generated more than 200 types of scientific studies to ensure that is it safe for the human body. Aspartame plays a large role in todays society/health/enviroment by being a product included in many of the foods and beverages seeking a low and reduced- calorie count. A popular product of Aspartame is the form