N&PD Moderators: Skorpio
aspartame safety
mind
Bluelighter
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame
Above compounds are not very healthy, for example aspartic acid is an excitotoxin according to the wikipedia entry.
http://www.aspartame.org/aspartame_myths_common.html
above page claims that most of the products that seem a bit worrying, occur in a normal diet.
I would like to know your views about this subject...
Refluxer
Bluelighter
There are tons of reviews on the safety of aspartame. I'm not especially worried.
Go to Entrez PubMed and do some searching on aspartame. You would be wise to search on ordinary soft drinks, and benzoic acid as a preservative in soft drinks also.
I've had some nasty reactions with it and higher doses of selegiline.
<10mg and I just have a hard time sleeping.
>10mg and my bp starts getting high, really ampped and bye bye sleep.
Same thing happens regardless of dose method, oral, sublingual, transdermal.
The phenylanine ends up acting like an amphetimine when the body is unable to break it down.
I usally have to stop taking selegiline to sleep again after having a moderate amount of aspartame. (It's in damn near everything these days.)
Ubermeister1984
Bluelighter
Since its discovery in 1965, controversy has raged over the health risks associated with the sugar substitute. From laboratory testing of the chemical on rats, researchers have discovered that the drug induces brain tumors. On Sept 30, 1980 the Board of Inquiry of the FDA concurred and denied the petition for approval
In 1981, the newly appointed FDA Commissioner, Arthur Hull Hayes, ignored the negative ruling and approved aspartame for dry goods. As recorded in the Congressional Record of 1985, then CEO of Searle Laboratories Donald Rumsfeld said that he would "call in his markers" to get aspartame approved. Rumsfeld was on President Reagan's transition team and a day after taking office appointed Hayes. No FDA Commissioner in the previous sixteen years had allowed aspartame on the market
Fucking outrages. They are knowingly poisening us
MattPsy
Bluelighter
Yeah, but the amounts involved are really very small. Aspartic acid may well be an excitotoxin, but how well do you really think it will fare when it comes to passing the BBB?
I'm not at all concerned. The only reason i'll be staying away from aspartame is I actually don't like the sweet taste it provides.
If you really don't like the idea of these metabolites, perhaps try one of the newer derivatives. They're active at much lower doses, so correspondingly, the amounts of metabolites will be much lower as well.
(and i'm lol'ing at the irony of worrying about these metabolites on a drug board where much of us will be exposing ourselves to these same type of risks already... then again, maybe if Coca-Cola got us high still, we might care less... -grin- ) (as an example, methylphenidate will produce methanol when it's methyl ester is hydrolyzed... oh noes!)
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Ubermeister1984
Bluelighter
the amounts are fucking huge.
MattPsy
Bluelighter
Ok, lets consider a 355ml can of Coke. it contains 10.8 grams dissolved sucrose.
Aspartame is about 180x sweeter tahn sucrose so we shall consider the amount of aspartame to be 10.8 / 180 = 0.06 grams. 60 milligrams.
Aspartame's molar mass is 294.3 g/mol . Thus we have 2.04 x 10^-4 moles of aspartame per serving. We can consider the amount of methanol produced to be the molar equivalent to this because there is one methyl ester on the molecule. So, 2.04 x 10^-4 moles of methanol is produced per 355ml of Coke consumed, assuming perfect hydrolysis.
This works out to be 6.5 milligrams. (omg!)
You better be losing sleep over that, lolz! 
LuxEtVeritas
Bluelighter
it's poison and it crosses the BBB
now all 'poison' is indeed relative and while i would recommned staying away completely if you indulge say a can of diet soda every day that is likely not too bad, but you must realize as well that firstly some will be more sensitive and secondly some are drinking diet soda and other aspartame laden entities in huge amounts (such as 2L soda/day not being unheard of)
The amount of methanol is not at all the issue as indeed it is not substantial, it is the excitotoxin capacity and effects on brain health
Sucralose also appears to have issues and best bet is to avoid that as well
Anyway, I loved my diet soda, though did always limit it, but knowing the above I gave it up completely...oh, and no doubt there IS an addicitive component to these sweeteners as seen in the study done alluded to in an earlier thread...yeah, a very different addiction relationship perhaps to something like cocaine which they compared them too, but powerfully addicitve nonetheless...
...stop drinking your diet soda and see for yourself
remember as most know here our government and its health bureaus has no interest in our health and well-being, but only in taking corrupt lobbyist dollars and under the table deals
many take this approval itself as an endorsement of safety and it is hard for some to even fathom something as widely consumed and ubiquitous being potentially highly detrimental to health, but it certainly is
MattPsy
Bluelighter
Yeah I would be interested in seeing some papers about the excitotoxic aspect, that's certainly the part i'd take most seriously. I suppose aspartame could cross the BBB and then be cleaved apart, yielding the aspartic acid...
... all this is making me think is it'd be better to use Neotame (a aspartame deriv.) instead... it's ~8,000x sweeter than sucrose, and it has sidegroups to prevent peptidases from cleaving it into it's parent amino acids. Problem solved, maybe?
(Oh, and side question, from a different angle altogether hehe - it it better that some drink their 2 litres of cola, and have it sweetened with sucrose? Or is it better to have it sweetened with aspartame instead?) (It's like nutritional harm-reduction !)
LuxEtVeritas
Bluelighter
actually what is worse is that it is not simply sucrose, but HFCS in soda..another evil so it is indeed a choice of two evils when it comes to soda
the industry appears to finally be pushing hard enough to get high quality stevia extracts (monomers now usually) approved by the FDA as all the big boys (Coke et al) are looking a it....we'll see...it's as usual money talks as true health concerns is not the issue at all
Reminisant B
Greenlighter
Although, as someone mentioned, far more dangerous things are frequently discussed on bluelight - there are two points that disuade me.
# Drinks constitutes regular consumption, sure low doses, but incredibly consistent doses for long periods.
# Aspartame *may* result in excitotoxic damage in vivo, there is good evidence for this & just because most of the population have working BBB's doesn't mean everyone does. Also it's not perfect, it has its bad times - Hypoglycaemia is one of many features which can lead to a reduced protection from the BBB.
^Those two facts combined with the only benefit - sweetens food with minimal calories - What's the point?
A reasonable dose of normal sugar (everything in moderation) - coupled with a balanced nutrious diet. Much better scenario.
LuxEtVeritas
Bluelighter
unfortunately as noted soda is not even simple sugar but HFCS which is far worse and many who drink soda drink a pretty fair amount of it...(as it pertains to soda which is of course a hugely popular beverage in the US and I assume worldwide)
LuxEtVeritas
Bluelighter
niabun said:
uh, no...
do a little research
dorothyperkins
Bluelighter
Whats the problem with benzoic acid? Apparently: Appreciable amounts have been found in most berries (around 0.05%). Ripe fruits of several Vaccinium species (e.g., cranberry, V. vitis idaea; bilberry, V. macrocarpon) contain as much as 300-1300 mg free benzoic acid per kg fruit.
Refluxer
Bluelighter
When benzoate and ascorbic acid is combined, as it is in many soft drinks, benzene can be produced if not stored well, etc.
It was a while ago I heard anything about it. Levels are perhaps very low in general, but citrus soda badly stored is probably not something to indulge in a lot.
decontructionist
Bluelighter
The problem is that all of the research within this area needs to be taken with a pinch of ‘sugar’.
LuxEtVeritas said:
When you look closer at results indicating the safety of aspartame, you will notice that the research has been funded by NutraSweet and the like. Similarly, when you look at results contraindicating the use of aspartame, you will notice that the research has been funded by the American Sugar Alliance, the Sugar Association, etc.
This makes it difficult to interpret any results given the obvious conflicts of interest that are endemic to this literature.
LuxEtVeritas
Bluelighter
there is independent research showing a negative effect as well as numerous anecdotal incidnet reports of negative symptom from consumption
Reminisant B
Greenlighter
decontructionist said:
Precisely.
Biased scientists or scientists providing positive results -> endless amounts of income & job opportunities.
Independant, unbiased scientists - probably quite a few but who will fund their research? (very limited opportunities, Even the most noble of individuals or at least a high proportion are probably going to choose the easy career path instead)
Don't get me wrong, I hate alarmist media & people who preach anti-aspartame quotes as though one can of soda will be fatal (they are just as much to blame), but if you read the independant research there is a lot of science to back up possible excitotoxic damage from regular consumption especially in a minority of the population.
Remember the blood brain barrier (BBB) is not always perfect - to me this is the key point as their safety data relies on the ASSUMPTION it is. [This incorrect assumption is actually in the FDA report]
If positive political spin can be applied to paroxetine (+applying for patent extension via use on under 18's) then it can easily be applied to the world of artificial sweetners.
seriously common sucrose! It's been around for ages, safety record is pretty impecable and if your getting rotten teath, diabetes or overweight - your having too much. Save one of your nine lives for something that shows benefit.
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