Aspartame... How much is safe??

**safeorigin** · December 4th, 2012 08:27 PM

Aspartame per se isn't bad. It's the metabolite(stuff that is broken down by the liver) that is bad about it. Problems should only arise on long term intake when it accumulates in the body.

Further reading:

Peer Reviewed PRO-aspartame studies
Peer Reviewed ANTI-aspartame studies

**alakdan168** · December 4th, 2012 08:30 PM

Originally Posted by ghosthunter

So its the choice of looking slim and dying of some cancer early or getting a bit fat and living longer?

Good if YOU made the choice.

But when these powdered aspartame drinks come in the form of natural fruit drink (like buko juice, melon, mango) and is being peddled in side street or malls or tiangges or worse school canteens, are you making a choice here?

**alakdan168** · December 4th, 2012 08:37 PM

Originally Posted by niky

Meh. Those warnings about aspartame are mostly myths. But truthfully, you shouldn't drink too much aspartame, anyway... and you should always be conscious of the "Best before" date on the label of anything containing it.

Also be warned that you cannot cook it, because that breaks down the aspartame into something pretty nasty.

Yes, a year or two back, the stories behind the aspartame were just myth. But more and more new researches are opening the so called Pandora's box.

Actually at my age, (not that Im old), I wouldn't be concerned too much on the long term effects of these laboratory grown sweeteners. What concerns me is that these drinks are actually being consumed by kids without anybody knowing except by the aspartame company.

**lowslowbenz** · December 4th, 2012 08:42 PM

Aspartame is killing the Philippine sugar industry ...... it should be banned!

**alakdan168** · December 4th, 2012 08:52 PM

What is alarming is actually this:

When I go to the grocery to buy a powdered drink (like ice tea), I would know that it contains aspartame (1x50 grams sachet = 1 liter).

But when I buy a drink outside like malls or canteen, how will I know (and hence monitor) my aspartame intake when the melon, or gulaman, or pineapple, or buko juice or even milk tea, that i drink contains aspartame - when these drinks are readily available in powdered form in sidewalks for every enterprising juan de la cruz.

**alakdan168** · December 4th, 2012 09:23 PM

Originally Posted by lowslowbenz

Aspartame is killing the Philippine sugar industry ...... it should be banned!

Actually, it should be TAXED...HEAVILY... just like the cigarettes and alcohols... to cover for the losses in the Phillippine sugar industry, and to cover for the health problems that come with its consumption.

**lowslowbenz** · December 4th, 2012 09:45 PM

AFAIK Coca Cola is using aspartame in its beverages already.

See here: Sugar groups firm on boycott vs Coca-Cola | Inquirer News

and here: DAILY STAR: Top Stories

"Pre-mix" sounds and reads like something artificially sweet.

**niky** · December 4th, 2012 10:37 PM

Coke indeed does use Aspartame. In Coke Zero.

Aspartame, honestly, is not hard to detect. The aftertaste is very distinctive. And regular Coke doesn't have it. Why the hell would you turn off your customers by using an expensive, yucky sugar replacement for cheap high-fructose corn syrup?

Hell, I'm starting to get sick of Coke Zero because they've reformulated it with too much aspartame. Ugh.

Originally Posted by alakdan168

Yes, a year or two back, the stories behind the aspartame were just myth. But more and more new researches are opening the so called Pandora's box.

Actually at my age, (not that Im old), I wouldn't be concerned too much on the long term effects of these laboratory grown sweeteners. What concerns me is that these drinks are actually being consumed by kids without anybody knowing except by the aspartame company.

Aspartame will be banned if and when it is proven to be unequivocally dangerous. As it is, too many "studies" stretch to find a causative link instead of controlling for co-factors.

And that's the problem. If you don't control all the other factors, then a study merely becomes a lifestyle study that finds that "X" is simply part of a very unhealthy lifestyle.

Like the "study" that positively linked diet soft drinks to heart disease... where the control group did not eat red meat, whereas the soda drinkers did.

-

I know what you mean about those mixed drinks. And it's very obvious with some. Personally, I don't buy any drinks at cantinas or fast foods if possible. I bring my own or buy bottled water.

Then again, most eateries won't tell you there's MSG in the food, either. And MSG is proven to be harmful (allergenic) to some.

-

No "conspiracy" can keep Aspartame on the shelves if it truly is carcinogenic or disease causing. Hell, they banned saccharine.

Then they changed their minds when it turned out that humans and rats are not 100% identical in their response to possible carcinogens. Whoops.

Aspartame is one of those favorite whipping dogs of the nature-nuts, for no special reason other than it being "artificial". There are worse sweeteners out there. Including those that make you crap out weird colors. Amongst a lot of nasty stuff, Aspartame is relatively harmless.