Aspartame is an artificial sweetener found in many of the foods we consume every day, including soft drinks, chewing gum, breakfast cereals and jams. Even though it is FDA approved, many dietitians and nutritionists warn against its use, wary of the claim that it can deliver the taste of sugar without any of the health drawbacks.
Official complaints to the FDA about aspartame use include headaches and gastrointestinal problems. Detractors like Dr. Joseph Mercola, author of “Sweet Deception,” say that aspartame consumption can actually contribute to weight gain and even cause neurological side effects such as migraines and brain tumors due to a disturbance of the dopamine and serotonin balance.
An aspartame producer has recently rebranded the product under a new name, AminoSweet, which sounds healthy (amino acids are the building blocks of protein), but is it?
Marissa Lippert, a registered dietitian and a New York City nutritionist and author of “The Cheater’s Diet,” says that although the research is inconclusive regarding the long-term health risks of aspartame, people should think twice about consuming it.
“Saccharin has been linked to cancer,” says Lipper. “Artificial sweeteners like aspartame can indeed cause digestive distress (bloating, diuretic effects, diarrhea, etc.). Bottom line: It’s still an artificially/chemically processed item.”
In her practice, Nourish Nutrition Counseling & Communications, Lippert recommends her clients eschew “fake foods” in favor of an all-natural diet.
If a product is labeled “sugar free,” “no sugar added” or “light,” it most likely contains aspartame or some type of artificial sweetener. While Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi are obvious culptrits, you may be surprised that some seemingly healthy foods, like most nonfat, flavored yogurts(including some varieties of Dannon’s Light & Fit), contain aspartame.
Even some of the most trusted brands are adding the controversial sweetener to their foods. Smucker’s Sugar Free Breakfast Syrup has it, as do the company’s light and sugar-free strawberry preserves. Tofutti chocolate fudge treats and Edy’s Grand Fat Free No Sugar Added Vanilla Swirl also contain aspartame.
Dieters have long believed that the best way to reduce their waistlines was to eat “light” or artificially sweetened foods instead of those containing sugar. Although it seems counterintuitive, it may actually be more beneficial to weight loss to eat a small amount of real ice cream than the lower-calorie stuff.
“Research is now indicating that sweeteners may actually cause people to gain weight because of a negative metabolic response,” says Lippert. “They can also increase sweet cravings and alter our taste buds in terms of our ‘threshold’ for sweetness. Aspartame is 200 times sweeter than sugar, and Splenda is 600 times sweeter.”
So if you’re a four-can-a-day diet soda drinker, do you have a chance of kicking the aspartame habit?
“I actually help clients to wean themselves off of sweeteners and even the biggest addicts can be successful,” says Lippert. “Switch to natural sources of sweetness—fresh fruit, honey, sugar in the raw, agave nectar. Flavored seltzer and flavored unsweetened iced tea is a great way to swap your diet soda for something other than regular water. Retrain your taste buds to appreciate natural sweetness, and you’ll feel and taste a significant difference.”
ur so funny. I know it so obvious. Its not like a miracle happened
http://www.naturalnews.com/028814_diet_soda_kidney_stones.html
if vaddines are so deadly then why do all physiciancs hold of them
its interesting to note how some people convince themselves that they know more than doctors
they dont realize that doctors read all the latest studies
coke tastes gross n e way, why drink it?
wish it was out of boredom but it’s not-i have an autistic child.hmm,what’s the lesson here?think before you judge/post.
it would be interesting to find out how people wean themselves out of suggar addiction
why do they say this NOW? Why not when the coke company invented it? No, duh, everyone knows coke is unhealthy, its addicting! THIS IS THE DUMBEST ARCTICLE IVE READ IN MY LIFE!
Did you ever hear about STEVIA OR XYLITOL,a natural kosher calorie free sweetner,try it you might just like it & it’s very healthy as well…
There were definitly mentos thrown in the coke. We just did that experiment today!
I never eat anything that has ingredients whose names are long and I don’t know where and how they were created. I don’t eat / ingest anything that has chemicals in it. when our kids were teens, we had to get soda. when the party was over, we dumped the rest of it down the drain, as I heard other parents did too. Have rachmonus on your bodies and don’t use this stuff. People get rich off of it and then the doctors get rich researching why people get sick from it. AND doctors get rich treating people who get… Read more »
Why is this becoming a ‘to vaccinate or not to vaccinate’ rant?? Just agree- Diet Coke is NOT good for you! I don’t care if you’ve been drinking it for years, that doesn’t make it healthy!
how come by every article there HAS to be a argument? can all the bord soles get a life?( now ur gana have a argument how IM the bord sole….)
Clearly we’ll have to disagree. I’ve spent many years on this, and have first hand seen terrible reactions in my children and friends’ children. I’ve seen physicians agree with me and some get huffy puffy about it with life-threatening responses. The honest truth is that there’s no way anyone will give you a legal document saying that there’s no way any harm will come to your child if you vaccinate. Why? Because they can’t guarantee that. Why? Because there are many dangers and they know it. There’s so much more to say about it, but when you are speaking to… Read more »
nope,sorry but there were independent studies done at universities.yes pharmaceuticals are big businesses who have been known to falsify there own drug trials .they are always eventually caught and the med banned but for some reason people want to believe that immunizations have special protectsia.and you feel that doctor was banned from practicing medicine because they were afraid.yes h’is fellow physicians were fearful of allowing this doctors studies ,which were biased themselves and and full of inaccuracies re his own research findings, to continue to do more damage.
finally they post something like this. most ppl ignore this stuff
look at the source of the article. aolhealth is definitely NOT one of the most credible sources. you should see the kind of garbage they put on that site
Every one of those studies are funded by pharmaceutical companies & vaccine makers. Cmon. Let’s talk bias, eh?
And as for the doctor who got kicked out, don’t you think that’s because they were afraid?
Conspiracy theories aren’t cool. But neither is fooling yourself.
when you say do the research myself does that mean set up my own lab or launch my own 20 year study? scores of studies say vaccines are safe while one fellow who has now been kicked out of the british medical association says they cause autism.i know conspiracy theories are cool but again their not science. eshter
.
have i been poisening myself for so many years
lets see
I am clean of Drugs for 19 years
clean of Mashka for 10
clean of smokes for 9
don’t talk in Tefillin 2 weeks
I am still eating though
now I have to modify my diet intake hah?
let Mo’shiach come so I can get back to all these vices
and on Tab for years before diet coke came out…I’m 51 and spend alot of time at the dentist…but Most of my troubles came from chewy sugary candy….diet coke is only icing on the cake…..
really? It doesn’t take 1 year of drinking diet coke to do that big damage. We are talking about 20 years of it shortening a life.
Glad this study came out. I used to use Splenda in my coffee and for cooking and baking and I always felt queasy and bloated all the time. Six months ago I stopped using Splenda and I now feel great. All the fake sugars are poison. On another note, using REAL SUGAR is is not good for you too. If you get hold of a book called “Sugar Blues” (old book) it tells of the History of Sugar, it’s discovery and the reprecussions of eating processed Sugar and how it affects your health. It made me more aware and now… Read more »
For the things that are a real problem for today.
But, actually addressed to comment 6. It’s not child abuse but it sure isn’t an intelligent parenting choice to feed chemicals and garbage to your kids.
I actually was beaten and more as a kid, so I hate that you tossed the word abuse around so casually. Think twice please.
Junk science is taking what’s handed to you as fact without ever checking for yourself. Don’t bring vaccinations into it, you’ll lose that battle if you are truly interested in the facts. Otherwise, it’s not worth arguing while you sit there and stew in your belief of what you think is correct while refusing to actually RESEARCH THE TRUTH. It’s all out there. Vaccines, and all the other things mentioned in comment 6 are a serious issue. People are taka fooling themselves, but should be blessed anyway. And by the way, if you actually do look into it, it’s an… Read more »
if and when this is proven,then it will be proven.science is not based on rumors,partial facts or hysteria,but junk science is.that is what led to 1000’s refusing immunizations ,which have saved countless lives,for their children.
If you are actually educated in health, go through your pantry and throw away two thirds of your commercial products. The problem is reading this article doesn’t make you a PhD in nutrition and after you pour all your delicious DC down the drain you probably still have 167 poisonous substances in your pantry. Look at the comments according to comment 1’s copy and pasted comment, seltzer (carbonated) followed by ketchup (sugar) will make you look Appalachian. Comment 2 is afraid of a pandemic. Comment 3 is serious, no joke, about child abuse via GMO’s, high fructose corn syrup and… Read more »
if DC was dangerous i know 10 people thaat would have bin dead!
it is statistically proven
in the long run
it causes weight gain
And we see everyone, even kids walking around with sodas with FOOD COLORING, artificial sweeteners or high fructose corn syrup, GMOs, and other chemicals, not to mention caffeine in little ones…please take care of your bodies and your neshamas. It’s no joke. Take a few minutes to google the dangers.
i wish people would take this serioulsy, before it effects the masses seriously Chas vesholom
Diet Soda Drinkers Beware! Drinking carbonated soft drinks regularly can contribute to the erosion of tooth enamel surfaces. Soft drinks, which contain sticky sugars that break down into acids, adhere easily to tooth surfaces. These acids can soften tooth substance and promote formation of plaque, which erodes the enamel. Enamel breakdown leads to cavities. If erosion spreads beneath the enamel into the dentin, pain and sensitivity may result Which may result in root canal surgery. Because saliva helps neutralize acids and wash your teeth clean, the worst time to drink soda pop, ironically, is when you are very thirsty or… Read more »