Aspartame is broken down into phenylalanine and aspartate, both of these are readily metabolised, and truthfully if either killed you, you would not be born. Phenylalanine is a concern to those that have PKU but other than that it is no greater risk than pureaz.
buzzy110,
Jan 15, 12:04am
Not too sure I know the posters you mean elli. Most of the hardcore low carbers in here actually recommend that you give up your taste for sweet things altogether rather than try and continue eating the sweet things by using substitutes sweeteners.
I for one, have advocated not to eat sugar full stop. But if you absolutely must have a sweet treat then make it with sugar and limit the amount you eat. We all know what sugar is. It is 50% glucose and 50% fructose. Both these substances are found in most of the plant matter we eat and are often found in combination, though not quite in that exact mix - more likely 95% glucose and 5% fructose. Or similar.
buzzy110,
Jan 15, 12:13am
x1
I think I have the same publication as fastlanenz and here is what it says about phenylalanine an aspartame in brief:
"Phenylalanine is a hidden danger to anyone consuming aspartame. Most people don't know that too much phenylalanine is a neurotoxin and can excite the neurons in the brain to the point of cellular death. DD, ADHD and emotional and behavioural disorders can also be triggered by too much phenylalanine in the daily diet. And if you are one in 10,000 person who is phenylketonuric - unable to break down the essential amino acid phenylalanine - or carry that gene, phenylalanine can cause irreversible brain damage and death, especially when used in high quantities or during pregnancy. Phenylalanine is 50% of aspartame, and to the degree humans consume diet products, its levels are reaching a dangerous peak.
It is important to learn about the ingredients in your foods, especially when it comes to isolated amino acids like phenylalanine. They only occur in combination in nature for a reason - they don't belong in any isolated form in a healthy human diet."
buzzy110,
Jan 15, 12:20am
x1
Here two more interesting tidbits about phenylalanine in the same article.
"In 1976 Groliers Encyclopedia stated that cancer cannot live without phenylalanine, which makes up 50% of aspartame.
In 1976 Alexander Schmidt wrote a letter to Senator Ted Kennedy expressing concern of the 'questionable integrity of the basic safety data submitted for aspartame safety'. FDA chief counsel, Richard Merrill, believed that a grand jury should investigate G Searle and Company for lying about the safety of aspartame in its reports and for concealing evidence proving the chemical was unsafe for human consumption.
Yet despite the mass of evidence collected over the years showing that aspartame is a dangerous toxin, it has remained on the global market...."
buzzy110,
Jan 15, 12:26am
x1
There is quite a lot more in the article but the upshot is, I think that we should all have the ability to be able to correctly identify it, know with absolute certainty when it is present in manufactured foods, not be confused about what it is called, and be able to exercise our discretion in deciding whether or not we want to become part of the great, real world, human guinea pig experiment to discover whether it is actually safe or not.
Some posters in here have not had any problems that they could absolutely say were caused by aspartame and a few, have had some horrendous side effects and have taken the time to warn others.
fastlanenz should not be denigrated for making an attempt to, once again, bring this controversial matter to our attention, because sometimes, some things require constant vigilance.
feris04,
Jan 15, 1:12am
Buzzy, phenylalanine is an essential amino acid, you would find that without it you would die, as I said if you are not a phenylketonuric (PKU) you have little to worry about when it comes to phenylalanine.
Without phenylalanine you would not be able to make any of the proteins needed for life, hence the finding of that paper that is 40 years old, it is now know and widely accepted that without phenylalanine you would die.
heres the thing have you ever eaten meat, plants, eggs, milk, tofu? all of these contain phenylalanine. So I am pretty safe to say that the "human guinea pig" experiment you are talking about is pretty much finished given humans have eaten this amino acid for over a million years, we are still here.
This is not coming from a website or wikipedia but having taken biochemistry, chemistry, cell growth and metabolism, and genetics.
lythande1,
Jan 15, 1:46am
Of course. Someone wrote it, it must be true. I've seen a few books on aliens stealing people away from earth to do strange medical experiments on too - oh wait, is that a saucer shaped object I see in the sky? Where's my tin hat?
buzzy110,
Jan 15, 4:02am
x1
Read the post. We all, well we should, all know that phenylalanine is an amino acid/protein found in protein based animal foods, and if you say so, tofu. However, when we consume it as part of a whole food it comes with all its metabolic partners - partners that work in unison to create a healthy whole. The phenylalanine in aspartme has been isolated from its metabolic partners and so is freed from the checks and balances of those same partners.
Just because a piece of research is 40 years old, it doesn't render the authors' findings any less relevant.
My problem now, is not with research or any other information that pertains to aspartame but to my right to ensure I do not unwittingly consume something that I do not wish to consume, due to confusion arising from the name of the product.
Admittedly, that is highly unlikely in my case because, as dazzler says, "don't eat anything with an ingredients label" and I long ago gave up eating anything that reads like a chemistry experiment anyway.
We should not be constantly having to relearn new names for products that have not proven their total safety for human consumption over the long term.
buzzy110,
Jan 15, 4:08am
x1
I am sure feris, that if you didn't want to consume something - let's use for instance, wheat flour because you had coeliac disease.
Just how fair would it be to you to be continually having to 'rediscover' that your chosen no-no food was inproducts you chose to eat because someone had decided to rebrand it 'sun health' or some other such name.
Would you like me to come in and answer your cries of woe by saying, "well there is no reason for you to worry, we have been eating wheat for 10,000 years and we are still around and that the research you are basing your refusal to eat wheat on are well over 40 years old and so cannot possibly be relevant now."
I doubt it. You would think me rather ignorant AND arrogant.
feris04,
Jan 15, 4:37am
I wouldn't find you ignorant, I would realise that I was carrying a genetic mutation which stops me from metabolising the gluten in the wheat flour, just because it is bad for one group of people does not mean it is bad for every other group.
As for the phenylalanine being seperated from its 'metabolic partners' a knowledge of metabolism would tell you that as soon as any protein you eat enters your blood stream (from stomach/intestines) that it has been seperated from its 'metabolic partners' as with all other amino acids/fats/sugars they are digested individually not in groups.
and it is an essential amino acid so yes it is found in every protein in every organism.
buzzy110,
Jan 15, 5:24am
And so they are. That is the way of digestion. First the foods are broken down into compounds that can easily pass through the intestinal walls and then 'stuff' happens to them.
The point is, that even though every compound is first separated from every other compound, they are still all present and available to work in conjunction with each other. On the other hand, the phenylalanine in aspartame comes free of the co-workings of other nutrients which, more or less, makes it a free agent, minus the checks and balances of its metabolic partners.
I understand that you do not see a problem with that, but why are you trying to convince me that I can eat aspartame because YOU don't have any 'educated' problem with free agents.
Will you now tell me that a lot of flavour enhancers and colours are derived from perfectly natural sources and therefore I shouldn't be concerned about eating them either?
One last thought for you to dwell on. These chemicals, that make up aspartame and are added to other foods, are, as I have stated before, dead, denatured and completely artificial to the human system and if I chose not to eat them I won't and I couldn't give a rats what someone with a background in genetics has to say.
I get along nicely on fresh meat, fish, eggs, dairy fats, olive oils and plant matter that is still living when I purchase it, if only barely.
And don't argue the pesticides, etc because those things I can do nothing about. I grow as many vege as my limited knowledge allows me, I only eat fruit growing from my own trees or gathered wild, and I suck up the rest because that is the best I can do.
Just because I have to eat minute quantities of pesticides and herbicides, along with lectins, anit-nutrients and enzyme inhibitors, doesn't mean I have to add insult to injury by throwing caution to the winds and eating stuff I can do something about. My diet is, in no way enhanced by aspartame and food additives so I can afford to choose not to eat them.
So pray tell. What IS your problem with that?
elliehen,
Jan 15, 5:27am
Worth repeating...
lucky082,
Jan 15, 5:29am
And if ingested in excessive amounts, (i.e. in greater quantities than the body needs), then it is safely transaminated (a metabolic reaction that transforms surplus amino acids into other amino acids)to other amino acids that may be lacking, in order to contribute to protein synthesis.
lucky082,
Jan 15, 5:34am
I believe the problem stems form the lack of awareness of some people that aspartame is comprised of components found in many 'natural' foods, one of which is an essential amino acid that is necessary for good health, rather than your personal choice with regard to your diet.
feris04,
Jan 15, 5:39am
My problem with that is in you lack of understanding of the digestion of amino acids, you still don't seem to understand that everything is a free agent when it is being digested.
I am trying to get it across to you that your understanding of this molecule is very poor. When the 'stuff' happens it is not affected to any great level by the other nutrients so you idea there is wrong.
They are only as dead as any other food you eat, I couldn't really care if you value my knowledge on the subject, all I have tried to point out is that the scare mongering is unjustified and unnecessary.
You could eat fugu for all I care, My problem is with the mis-information you are spouting, most of which is so far from true it is painful.
Oh and phenylalanine is metabolised by the liver which will remove 80-90% of it from the body pool of amino acids before it gets to the body, given that all nutrients from the digestive tract passes through the liver first.
buzzy110,
Jan 15, 5:54am
OK. However, the article I quoted from is not my own work. It is from an author who has read whatever research he has deemed relevant.
You continue to eat aspartame and I'll continue to avoid it. Others, who think like you will find the article, as I quoted it risible and be perfectly happy to eat aspartame. For those who have had some horrendous side effects, well I'm sure they will comfort themselves with the knowledge that you said it was completely safe. And for those who don't want to eat, no matter how safe the pundits say it is because of their 'knowledge' of the human condition, well they will choose not to eat it.
Do you see where I'm coming from here?
We have a choice and we are allowed to freely exercise it. I had a choice to replicate, in part the article that I found most helpful to explaining what I know about aspartame, and you have quoted your knowledge on how things act, in isolation, from their metabolic partners.
Of course the quantities of phenylalanine taken in by conventional means is miniscule in comparison to the amount consumed daily by people who choose to eat dead, denatured and artificial foods so the liver is not dealing with tiny amounts any more, but with much more than it once had to.
That may not make much headway with you, but for me, and others, that is a very important point.
Read the labels of the foods you eat and be prepared to be amazed at just how many of them have the number 951 in them.
drsr,
Jan 15, 7:20pm
It isn't a "rebranding". It's a new brand name for a competing aspartame product made by a different manufacturer. Aspartame sold as NutraSweet is still on the market. Where does that leave your theory?
visionspring,
Jan 15, 9:06pm
Good thing about artificial sweeteners is that they are so easy to avoid if you eat real food :)
buzzy110,
Jan 15, 9:13pm
Absolutely.
guest,
Jan 15, 11:57pm
Aspartame is 50% phenylalanine, an excessively high concentration in contrast to the amount that can be found in natural foods we eat. It is 40% aspartic acid and 10% methanol (wood alcohol), a known neuro-toxin. It also turns into formaldehyde (another known poison used to embalm the dead) as it reaches temperatures higher than 86 degrees, distrubing when you remember the human body is 98.6. Aspartame can be harmful to anyone, and it has been (92 different adverse effects have been reported to the FDA) which is why they are changing its name to try to fool people into believing that these amino acids are just safe proteins found in natural food. What they don't tell you is that whenever they are found in natural foods they are bonded with nutrients that block any adverse effects. Also, the concentrations of the substences are much lower in those compounds. (Those with PKU would still be affected by these lower concentrations of phenylalanine) In isolation and in higher concentrations, these substances can harm the human body. The combination of the chemicals mentioned form a combo that the human body is simply not equipped to handle. Don't be fooled. Just because a substance is in natural foods we eat, does not mean that in every condition it is never harmful to us. They are changing their name to "AminoSweet" because more and more people are realizing the real danger of aspartame--it's just a marketing ploy.
When it comes down to it, people are just going to believe whatever they want to believe. If you want to believe aspartame is safe, nothing I or anyone else says will ever change your mind. However, consider yourself warned.
fastlanenz,
Feb 5, 9:45am
Lythande, what I like about this thread, and the others I contribute too, is that the tone is polite.Of course people disagree on subjects, but surely argument can be made without getting personal?There is a difference between reading 4 x Dr Suess books and 4 by authors with respected credentials in a pertinent field.
But ultimately, it's a decision we make for ourselves, based on our own research, or whether we want to go along with society's norm.Much as the majority of the adult population used to smoke tobacco, or I remember when I was the only kid in school who had brown bread sandwiches, and asked Mum why everyone else was eating white bread ... and she was the only one at parties who didn't smoke.Didn't make her a killjoy, she just thought about things and made decisions based on her own conclusions.
Some people live to 90 and still smoke, like a chimney! You can use statistics or research (or living legends LOL) to prove or disprove stuff.Debate is healthy, and I don't see myself as the one running round saying "the sky is falling"!I'm happy to stand up and say this is MY decision, and to share the rebranding info.I'm not going to trade insults or get into a debate with people who come onto TM who niggle for fun. (not saying you are, I'm not on here enough to know)That's not what I consider fun in my life, and life is too short to waste my time like that!
I'm happy that I've let others know that Amino Sweet = Aspartame.
Off now to consider how to give up sugar, a day of housework, work on one of our rentals and paperwork should give me time to mull it over ... I totally agree with you Bedazzled, my thoughts have always been to reduce sugar intake, not replace it artificially.Like smokers giving up, I think I need to 'be ready in my own mind'.... LOL why was I blessed with a sweet tooth????!!
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