Aspartame Controversy
Reasons Aspartame is Dangerous
* Nutritionists advice not to use it
*Causes:
1. Multiple sclerosis
2. Seizures
3. Cancers
4. Lupus
5. Tumors
6. Obesity
7. Headaches
Phenylketonuria (PKU) Patients
*Can't break down phenylalanine, build up, and prevent other things from getting to the brain.
*Special diet without the amino acid phenylalanine
*Aspartame contains phenylalanine and therefore has been known to cause seizures
- Aspartame is safe to ingest.
- The conspiracy of the risks will be ongoing for a long time because it's still being tested to this day.
Conclusion
By: Hailey Roush
Aspartame vs. Obesity
*According to the American Cancer Society: 200 times sweeter than sugar, so it lowers calories in food and beverages
*This leads to people overcompensating and taking in more than they need
Reasons Aspartame is Safe
- Used in early 80's
- According to Science-Based Medicine, "The studies provide no evidence to support an association between aspartame and cancer in any tissue. The weight of existing evidence is that aspartame is safe at current levels of consumption as a nonnutritive sweetener."
- Studies
1. Lab
2. Comparing Rates
Background
*Betty Martini or Nancy Markle in 1980's
http://drleonardcoldwell.com/2010/05/24/dr-betty-martini-on-aspartame/
*Cherry Picking Bad Experiments
*Most Tested Food Additive Approved
The Facts
- Regulation of Aspartame
- FDA and Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI)
- ADI for Aspartame is 50 mg/kg
- Scientists have tried to link Aspartame to all of the symptoms mentioned before, but no significant evidence has been gathered.
- If you want to avoid it, it's easy:
- Read labels
- Know the names of the sweeteners
- If you have PKU, you should stay away
Studies
1. Lab Studies:
- Usually given to animals at very high doses to get the general idea
- The effects may or may not apply to humans
- In rats-sometimes get mixed reviews (lymphomas and leukemias at high doses)
- In humans-never shows direct links to aspartame
2. Comparing Rates:
- Use certain cancer groups and compare them to their exposure to aspartame=usually never coincide.
- One early study: Thought they related aspartame to brain tumors in 1980's, but it was false.
- National Cancer Institue found that the tumor increase started back in the 70's.