Artificial Sweeteners

[SpunkySkunk347]

Lately I have been hearing a lot of unverified claims from people that Artificial Sweeteners (Aspartame in particular http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame) have caused unforseen psychoactive effects in certain individuals.
The artificial sweetener is used in many products (i.e. Diet Coke, and other Diet sodas)

The reaction could be considered "borderline allergic", and I have heard that there is currently being studies done as to why it produces it's psychoactive effects. Some conclusions are that it is metabolized into some pretty dangerous chemicals (methanol, formaldehyde). For some people having these chemicals in there system will give psychoactive results (at the cost of your health though of course).

The effects might be from a large endorphin release your body produces in response to the methanol/formaldehyde, or it might simply be killing your brain cells and giving you a high similar to inhalants. Whatever it is, this doesn't look good. And I have a feeling that we will be seeing Aspartame banned by the FDA very quickly.

From wikipedia:

Aspartame has been the subject of controversy regarding its safety and the circumstances of its approval by the American FDA and European FSA. Some studies have also recommended further investigation into possible connections between aspartame and negative effects such as headaches, brain tumors, brain lesions, and lymphoma.[14][15][16] These findings, combined with possible conflicts of interest involving CEO Donald Rumsfeld in the approval process, have engendered vocal activism regarding the possible risks of aspartame.[17][18]

If anyone has more info on this, please share.

Also another conclusion is that the chemicals it is metabolized into can induce your body's "fight or flight" response, meaning a release of adrenaline. This can be noticed by numbness in the extremeties and face, and most releases of epinephrine are also followed by a release of endorphins.

 

[Ubermeister1984]

We Know The Air Is Unfit To Breath, Our Food, Is Unfit To Eat

 

[otb01]

One of its metabolites (Aspartic acid) may stimulate the NMDA receptors.

 

[SpunkySkunk347]

One of its metabolites (Aspartic acid) may stimulate the NMDA receptors.

I was very un-aware of that. I'll look into that more.
Also, this could/should be moved into Drugs in the Media.

 

[otb01]

Btw, I think that some of the metabolites are not really good for you so eating a bunch of grams to get high may not be a good idea.

 

[sonic]

I hate artificial sweeteners. I've been avoiding them for years. I've never read anything definitive that proves they are bad for your health, but I figure not enough is known about them and taking them isn't worth the risk IMHO. The fact that they don't taste good makes it easier for me to avoid them. Who knows what they will find out about them years from now. The same could be said about many other foods/chemicals, but that doesn't mean you should just give up on trying to avoid potentially dangerous chemicals. It's pretty ignorant to have the attitude that everything is bad for you, so you shouldn't bother trying to watch what you eat/drink.

 

[SpunkySkunk347]

I hate artificial sweeteners. I've been avoiding them for years. I've never read anything definitive that proves they are bad for your health, but I figure not enough is known about them and taking them isn't worth the risk IMHO. The fact that they don't taste good makes it easier for me to avoid them. Who knows what they will find out about them years from now. The same could be said about many other foods/chemicals, but that doesn't mean you should just give up on trying to avoid potentially dangerous chemicals. It's pretty ignorant to have the attitude that everything is bad for you, so you shouldn't bother trying to watch what you eat/drink.

Sonic, I'm sorry to tell you but the first part of your post and the last part of your post contradicted each other.

Anyways, by no means am I going to avoid artificial sweeteners just because it might be bad for you. Besides, if any permenant bodily harm is caused by my consumption of Diet Coke, this is 'Merica, I'll sue the bastards!

Anyways I was first interested and looked into this whole "artificial sweetener" thing when I noticed that I was actually getting a bit of a mild buzz from Diet Coke. Even just one can. It's not caffeine because my caffeine tolerance is considerably high. For a while I was taking something like 1.5g of caffeine a day for several years (I can only imagine how much my heart and circulatory system will thank me for that in a couple of decades)

 

[Ubermeister1984]

"because it might be bad for you" !?

Its a known fact since the sixties that aspartame causes braintumor. A more recent research indicated that it also lowers serotonine.

Why take the risk, why not take normal cancerless sugar.

BESIDES, IT TASTES LIKE SHIT. Everything sweetened with aspartame tastes like aspartame. It sucks.

So this is the choice:

Drink light products and get cancer and depression

OR

Drink normal sugar and MAYBE gain a little weight

OR

Dont drink sugar at all.

 

[MDPVagrant]

I'm not avoiding aspartame either... I haven't seen any believable proof myself that it "causes" anything serious, and have never had any problems whatsoever personally. But maybe if I drank 4+ liters of diet coke per day, I might think harder about it LOL.

 

[ink907]

artificial sweeteners give me headaches, so i dont consume them. But this info will keep me even farther from them!

 

[monstanoodle]

aspartame is the devils sugar
infact, sugar in general is fairly bad i guess but...

can't get enough of yow love bayyyyb

 

[footclan]

I ate about 10 sucralose candies before and had the worst gas ever.

http://www.splendaexposed.com/

Just type splenda or sucralose into google.

 

[danthemann]

I have started drinking these flavored waters and I have noticed that I have dry mouth in the subsequent hours after I drink it and I also get headaches when I lean over (like to pick something up). I thought it was attributed to the god damn flavored water and I just looked and It has aspartame in it.

 

[Lola'sCola]

IME, aspartame is nothin' but poison. I was hooked on diet Coke for years, and was starting to feel extremely shitty... muscle aches without any apparent cause, mood swings, headaches, dizziness, tremor, etc. I was actually starting to worry that I might have some serious neurological illness. Decided to clean up my diet, cut out ALL aspartame, and after some serious withdrawal - I'm not kidding here, folks - I felt like my old self again. Got blood tests and others done at the doctor and I'm as fit as I could be.

Please don't fool yourself, guys, aspartame metabolizes into some pretty serious poison in the body, and it only builds up over time. I highly recommend to anyone having symptoms like I mentioned to cut out all diet products and see how they feel after a few weeks/months. It's a shady chemical, IMO.

 

[SpunkySkunk347]

Aspartame seems to have significant affinity for NMDA Receptors. Similar to NMDA receptor antagonists (PCP, Ketamine, DXM)

 

[ranunky]

IME, aspartame is nothin' but poison. I was hooked on diet Coke for years, and was starting to feel extremely shitty... muscle aches without any apparent cause, mood swings, headaches, dizziness, tremor, etc. I was actually starting to worry that I might have some serious neurological illness. Decided to clean up my diet, cut out ALL aspartame, and after some serious withdrawal - I'm not kidding here, folks - I felt like my old self again. Got blood tests and others done at the doctor and I'm as fit as I could be.

Please don't fool yourself, guys, aspartame metabolizes into some pretty serious poison in the body, and it only builds up over time. I highly recommend to anyone having symptoms like I mentioned to cut out all diet products and see how they feel after a few weeks/months. It's a shady chemical, IMO.

Caffeine.

 

[lyXw33d]

^LOL I second that. Unless, of course, you 'cleaned up your diet' as you wrote by switching over to regular caffeinated Coke.

 

[Ham-milton]

Unfortunately all evidence is contradictory at best.

Yes, with higher concentrations, it's a bad thing.

However, considering the potency, your body apparently never has enough aspartame or it's metabolites to cause any problems. Methanol really isn't a problem, you've got some in you all the time, but it's at such tiny levels that it's not a problem.

Formaldehyde is a bigger concern, but, again, it hasn't been shown to be produced at physiologically active, AFAIK.

As far as excitotoxicity, I don't know what to say.

It seems to come down to the same issue: concentrations.

I haven't seen anything indication that anything potentially excitotoxic is around at physiologically active levels.

It seems likely that it is somwhat responsible for the rise is brain tumor rates, but the climb has been minor at best.

If you're going to accept the weak evidence as causative, then you better start considering marijuana a promoter of mental illness, an immunotoxin and a spermicidal.

 

[SpunkySkunk347]

Unfortunately all evidence is contradictory at best.

Yes, with higher concentrations, it's a bad thing.

However, considering the potency, your body apparently never has enough aspartame or it's metabolites to cause any problems. Methanol really isn't a problem, you've got some in you all the time, but it's at such tiny levels that it's not a problem.

Formaldehyde is a bigger concern, but, again, it hasn't been shown to be produced at physiologically active, AFAIK.

As far as excitotoxicity, I don't know what to say.

It seems to come down to the same issue: concentrations.

I haven't seen anything indication that anything potentially excitotoxic is around at physiologically active levels.

It seems likely that it is somwhat responsible for the rise is brain tumor rates, but the climb has been minor at best.

If you're going to accept the weak evidence as causative, then you better start considering marijuana a promoter of mental illness, an immunotoxin and a spermicidal.

unfortunately it is a lot more serious then supposed placebo effects.
medind.nic.in/ibi/t03/i1/ibit03i1p37.pdf

anticoinceptive effects observed in mice through NMDA receptor stimulation

 

[redeemer]

I hate artificial sweeteners. I've been avoiding them for years. I've never read anything definitive that proves they are bad for your health, but I figure not enough is known about them and taking them isn't worth the risk IMHO. The fact that they don't taste good makes it easier for me to avoid them. Who knows what they will find out about them years from now. The same could be said about many other foods/chemicals, but that doesn't mean you should just give up on trying to avoid potentially dangerous chemicals. It's pretty ignorant to have the attitude that everything is bad for you, so you shouldn't bother trying to watch what you eat/drink.

Sonic, I'm sorry to tell you but the first part of your post and the last part of your post contradicted each other.

The first and last parts of his post are not contradictory, quite the opposite actually.

First part: Avoiding artificial sweeteners because they might be bad for you.
Last part: Not avoiding any additives, because they might all be bad for you.

I don't drink neither artificially sweetened soft drinks - because I don't think they taste good - nor do I drink soft drinks containing sugar because I like to maintain stable blood sugar levels.