NNS Aspartame Sweeteners

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.

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).

Karen Congro, the director of the Wellness for Life Club program at the Brooklyn Hospital Center and nutritionist stated that long-term effects of aspartame in humans have not been studied . So from a marketing standpoint Pepsi’s switch away from aspartame may benefit their falling rates. In contrast, Diet Coke still only uses aspartame in their diet soda product. Though their advertising does not consistently, directly address the aspartame in their products, Diet Coke in 2013 defended their use of aspartame by stating in an ad that studies over the last 40 years has not discovered negative effects of aspartame . Interesting, today in 2015, 61 percent of Americans rely on online, websites or social media apps: Twitter, Snapchat, etc.—media reports—for their news . While 38 percent of Americans receive their news from offline sources, like newspapers, journals, etc. . Therefore, individuals should be wary that both journals and media reports, particularly the latter, may be withholding significant details or exaggerating scientific results in order to persuade the

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.

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

Unfortunately, the results expected for sucralose did not correspond to the experimental values. Indeed, the control, sucrose, was chosen due to the fact that the synthesis of sucralose begins with sucrose as its starting material and so was expected to behave in a similar fashion. Instead, it behaved alike to stevia, with a very similar minimum concentration (based off of experimental results), but with a range varying from 10-60 % inhibition versus 10-20 % inhibition for stevia. Yet again, the true comparison is difficult. In order to correct this mistake and so obtain comparable data, the initial concentrations of both sweeteners and that of sucrose should be the same, whereas in this particular experiment the concentration of sucrose was neglected. This explains the % inhibition being over 100% as can be observed in Figure 3. The stock solution, as well as the concentrations of the inhibitors, could have been increased to correspond with serving size (approximately 2-3g). These changes could have lead to more suitable data that will be analyzed based on real-life

RESEARCH: ELIMINATING ADDED SUGARS 2Research: Added Sugars, Obesity, Diabetes, and Heart Disease The ideology behind the intake of added sugars to one’s diet can cause the effect of increased risk for obesity, diabetes, and heart disease is a controversial topic. While there is extensive research and theories by many researchers in the scientific community to support the adverse effects of added sugars to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, at the same time, there are not many randomized, controlled trials to prove the researchers’ theories

What exactly is aspartame? Aspartame is one of the most common artificial sweeteners on the market these days. It was actually accidentally created by chemist, James Schlatter in 1965. Aspartame is formed by joining together the amino acids aspartic acid and phenylalanine. Aspartame first entered the market in the 1980’s. It was first sold under the name NutraSweet and is said to be two hundred times sweeter than regular sugar, because of this you can use a lot less of it to sweeten things, which means there will be less calories per serving. Aspartame is now used in several table top sweeteners, as well in prepared low sugar content foods, diet sodas, and sometimes they use it to alter the flavor of medicines.

In 1982 Equal was one of the first aspartame sweeteners to be displayed for sale to the public. It is and artificial sweetener which people use in there (tea, coffee, pop, cereal, cakes, cookies, gum and candy). Equal contains the following ingredients (dextrose, maltodextrin, aspartame and acesulfame potassium). Equal also known as Egal was discovered by Dr. James Schlatter who was a scientist for G.D. Searle and Company and ran testing on the aspartame sweetener product and by 1981 Equal was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Equal chemical make-up aspartame is 200 times sweeter than regular sugar and is sold not just as known name Equal but also under the brand name NutraSweet.

The debate between naturally derived sugars and low-calorie artificial sweeteners has been going on for years now. As our population’s obesity rate grows every year and health concerns related to weight-control grows along with it, natural sugar is scrutinized and we are told to keep away from it as it is our enemy. Over the last couple of decades, we have been introduced to more and more varieties of artificial sweeteners promising to deliver the same sweetness or even more sweetness than natural sugar (some offer as much as 200 times more sweetness than sugar) but with a much lower calorie content, or some even no calories at all. Artificial sweeteners such as Splenda, Sweet n’ Low, NutraSweet, and Equal have become popular as “better alternatives” to table sugar, promising to help battle weight gain and actually assist in losing weight. However, does this make it the healthier option? As with all things, both natural sugar and artificial sugar have their pros and cons, but in order to find the best option in regards to our health and futures, it’s important to weigh them according to scientific findings and research.

Sucralose is an artificial sweetener and is also used as a sugar substitute; it is calorie free and is derived from sucrose. Sucralose is up to 600 times sweeter than sugar. Sucralose has been a numerous amount of studies, and it has clearly demonstrated it is safe for consumers. One of the main benefits is that Sucralose does not interact with other ingredients in food. “Specific studies have confirmed that it is unlikely to undergo interactions with commonly used food ingredients such as preservatives and added nutrients” (Goldsmith & Merkel 2011)