How Does Aspartame Affect The Human Body

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.

Thesis: Overall, recent studies have shown that sugar substitutes isn’t and can cause potential health problems.

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)

My belief is that aspartame is not safe to use. The reason I believe aspartame is not safe is because it accounts for over 75 percent of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the FDA. Many of these reactions are very serious, including seizures and death. Another reason I think the use of aspartame is unsafe is that diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, and brain tumors are a few chronic illnesses that can be triggered or worsened by ingesting of aspartame. This hits home for me because my son is a diabetic. Everyone knows the less sugar you include in your diet, the better. But replacing sugar with aspartame is not the solution, and in fact is likely to be even worse for your health. I believe regardless

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 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 article Leading Scientists Around the World Confirm Safety of Aspartame has several problems with their reasons that aspartame is safe. The expert team concluded through controlled scientific studies that aspartame is safe. The study also states, “Aspartame is a well-characterized, thoroughly studied, high intensity sweetener that has a long history of safe use in the food supply and can help reduce the caloric content of a wide variety of foods” (Leading Scientists). If aspartame is safe than why have complaints been made to the FDA regarding the side effects of aspartame use? The side effects included hallucinations, diarrhea, seizures, depression, migraine, fatigue and insomnia. The experts found that there was no scientific indication

1) Aspartame is an organic chemical created by combining aspartic acid with phenylalanine. Under the brand names of Equal, NutraSweet, and Spoonful, the chemical is used as an artificial sweetener in numerous food products and beverages. The advantage of ingesting aspartame is that it avoids the weight gain. It is approximately 200 times sweeter than regular sugar; therefore, the less amount of aspartame can be used to give the same level of sweetness compared to the amount of sugar. This, in turns, lowers the calories in food and beverage. It is also an option for those with diabetes to enjoy sweet taste with less carbohydrates. On the other hand, the disadvantages of consuming aspartame includes increased hunger and possible side effects.

Aspartame was created by accident. In 1965, James Schlatter was trying to test an anti-ulcer drug. Schlatter testing his experiment spilt APM on himself. He decided that he wasn’t going to waste his time researching if it was toxic or not. So, Schlatter continued his experiment. When he was ready to lift weighing paper, he licked his fingers and found that the substance on them tasted sweet. This lead to multiple tests trying to reach the same taste. Although after multiple tests, they found the verdict that no other substances could achieve the same taste as the original. The original substance had a sweeter taste, excellent stability, and low toxic levels than any other possible mixtures.

Since aspartame consists of phenylalanine and aspartic acid, it could be easily exposed to the brain. Fetal phenylalanine has the potential to reach levels that kills cells in tissue culture. Experimentally, it has been determined that infants are four times more sensitive to excitotoxins than adults. Plasticity of the brain is important in the learning process. Even when the baby is in the womb, the brain of the infant is being stimulated by sounds, touch, and even light causing changes in the brain's structure in important ways. All of this stimulation causes the pathways in the brain to change and develop. This process of molding the brain continues throughout life, but the majority of growth takes place within the first seven years of life. During these critical years, if unborn and young children are fed drinks or food containing aspartame, over-stimulation can occur. The overall consumption of aspartame by pregnant women and young children can be harmful to the function of the brain.

Aspartame is a widely used artificial sweetener that is approximately 180-200 times sweeter than sucrose, natural sugar. Because of this, it is typically used in foods and beverages branded as “diet” (Humphries, Pretorius, and Naudé, 2008). As time passes, more and more studies are being conducted on the harmful effects of this food additive on astrocytes and neurons. When ingested, aspartame is metabolized into phenylalanine (50%), aspartic acid (40%), and methanol (10%), which each affect neuronal cells differently (Ashok, Sheeladevi, and Wankhar, 2014). According to Rycerz and Elżbieta Jaworska-Adamu (2013), the excess phenylalanine blocks the transport of amino acids, glutamine, histidine, methionine, serine, threonine, tyrosine and tryptophan,

Aspartame, the controversial sweetener that is deemed safe for human consumption by over 100 regulatory agencies in their respective countries, is one of the sweeteners named in the study.

Many researchers believe that artificial sweeteners and low calorie sweeteners can aid in weight management, however not all researchers agree. Some researchers believe that these sweeteners not only have no effect on weight management, but can also cause weight gain. There is a tremendous amount of evidence suggesting that artificial sweeteners aid in weight management. For example, the study conducted by Blackburn et al. (1997) determined that the addition of the high-intensity artificial sweetener aspartame to a multidisciplinary weight-control program would improve weight loss and aid in the