NNS Aspartame Sweeteners

Numerous neurological and behavioral side effects have been linked with consuming aspartame at well below the approved safe limits set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Aspartame is an artificial sweetener that has been ingested in the United States for over three decades. Even though there are several studies showing the harmful effects of its consumption. When aspartame is digested several toxic chemicals are produced, most notability formic acid & glutamate. Both of these chemicals cause the body to mimic the side effects of multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer. Even the passing of aspartame to be allowed in food was controversial. Just as the studies on it, continue to be today.

In addition to the scientific, non-lethal hydrolyzed metabolites of aspartame, series of tests have been done over two decades on humans and animals to investigate the safety of aspartame. Over 23 years, the FDA has tested and affirmed the safety of aspartame throughout 200 studies . Furthermore, the product is used in more than 100 countries and 100 million people around the world . In addition to the FDA studies, the American Dietetic Association, the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) of the World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization, the Scientific Committee on Food and the European Union (SCF), and other regulatory agencies worldwide have reviewed and approved the safety of aspartame . The most recent

To first formulate the major arguments that about Aspartame, we first must understand what Aspartame is, and how it is digested in our bodies.Aspartame is an artificial sweetener often used as a substitute for sugar in beverages,foods,gums, and other uses, it is often denoted as E951.It was approved for use in 1980. Shown right is the chemical structure of aspartame (wikipedia). Aspartames is a dipeptide which is a protein made of two amino acids, phenylalanine and aspartic acid, what makes it sweet is a hydro carbon that is attached to the phenylalanine (authoritynutrition).

Unfortunately, the results expected for sucralose did not correspond to the experimental values. Indeed, the control, sucrose, was chosen due to the fact that the synthesis of sucralose begins with sucrose as its starting material and so was expected to behave in a similar fashion. Instead, it behaved alike to stevia, with a very similar minimum concentration (based off of experimental results), but with a range varying from 10-60 % inhibition versus 10-20 % inhibition for stevia. Yet again, the true comparison is difficult. In order to correct this mistake and so obtain comparable data, the initial concentrations of both sweeteners and that of sucrose should be the same, whereas in this particular experiment the concentration of sucrose was neglected. This explains the % inhibition being over 100% as can be observed in Figure 3. The stock solution, as well as the concentrations of the inhibitors, could have been increased to correspond with serving size (approximately 2-3g). These changes could have lead to more suitable data that will be analyzed based on real-life

ban", ("Tufts University Health",2015). The food and drug administration is a federal part of the United states human and health services and they continuously promote the use of aspartame and have stated that there is “no new credible scientific evidence to change the agency’s position that the zero-calorie sweetener is safe for the general population", ("Tufts University Health",2015). Even a study stated in the article by the American cancer society “found no link between intake of diet sodas (most commonly sweetened by aspartame)

Aspartame is composed of aspartic acid (40%), phenylalanine (50%) and methanol (10%), the substance is present in sweetening but is also used by the food industry because of the lack of calories (recommended to persons who are dieting) and the fact of not being sugar, sweeten but 200 times more (recommended for diabetics). In the opinion of the director of Abran (2005), "considering that table sugar is caries (tooth decay), unlike aspartame, and that obesity is a worldwide epidemic, sweeteners can help combat excess calories in the diet." according to ANVISA, only people who are born with the problem of difficulty to metabolize phenylalanine (a condition called PKU) should avoid aspartame and foods containing phenylalanine (fish, chicken, beans, milk, etc). If industrial products, such as soft drinks, there is usually a warning on the label or packaging on the presence of phenylalanine.

A. Not only can these sweeteners make you gain weight, but over time they could potentially hurt your body. Here is a list of the popular sugar substitutes and the potential harm they produce: Acesulfame potassium also known as "SweetOne" is 200 times sweeter than sugar, this is often paired with aspartame or sucralose. Known to cause breast tumors in rats. Saccharin also known as Sweet’NLow, is the oldest of the artificial sweeteners and is 300 –700 times sweeter than sugar, The National Cancer Institute found evidence of increased bladder cancer in people who heavily consumed saccharin. The label below is found on toothpaste, gum, and many other products that contain saccharin "USE OF THIS PRODUCT MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH. THIS PRODUCT CONTAINS SACCHARIN WHICH HAS BEEN DETERMINED TO CAUSE CANCER IN LABORATORY

This extended essay is trying to answer the question “How much does people’s knowledge of the affects of aspartame reflect the scientific facts?”. The essay starts with a brief introduction to the topic, explaining thoroughly what food additives are in general and furthermore what kind of substance Aspartame is. Before continuing to consider and discuss the dangers of food additives and aspartame, information about other sweeteners are researched and some examples of these are stated.

Companies that use aspartame in their soft drink products, like Diet Pepsi and Diet Coke, are entangled with the safety controversy. Though both companies do not directly address the use of aspartame in their advertisement, their opinions of the controversy may be noted. Diet Pepsi up until 2012, like Diet Coke, used aspartame to sweeten their Diet Pepsi . However, Pepsi, during a rebranding movement, decided to end their use of aspartame; instead, the company now uses Sucralose (Spelnda) and acesulfame potassium (Ace K) . This decision was not explicitly advertised because the company did not want to draw attention to the fact that they are still using artificial sweetener . This switch is intended to help Pepsi’s taste and consistency last

What exactly is aspartame? Aspartame is one of the most common artificial sweeteners on the market these days. It was actually accidentally created by chemist, James Schlatter in 1965. Aspartame is formed by joining together the amino acids aspartic acid and phenylalanine. Aspartame first entered the market in the 1980’s. It was first sold under the name NutraSweet and is said to be two hundred times sweeter than regular sugar, because of this you can use a lot less of it to sweeten things, which means there will be less calories per serving. Aspartame is now used in several table top sweeteners, as well in prepared low sugar content foods, diet sodas, and sometimes they use it to alter the flavor of medicines.

In 1982 Equal was one of the first aspartame sweeteners to be displayed for sale to the public. It is and artificial sweetener which people use in there (tea, coffee, pop, cereal, cakes, cookies, gum and candy). Equal contains the following ingredients (dextrose, maltodextrin, aspartame and acesulfame potassium). Equal also known as Egal was discovered by Dr. James Schlatter who was a scientist for G.D. Searle and Company and ran testing on the aspartame sweetener product and by 1981 Equal was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Equal chemical make-up aspartame is 200 times sweeter than regular sugar and is sold not just as known name Equal but also under the brand name NutraSweet.

The debate between naturally derived sugars and low-calorie artificial sweeteners has been going on for years now. As our population’s obesity rate grows every year and health concerns related to weight-control grows along with it, natural sugar is scrutinized and we are told to keep away from it as it is our enemy. Over the last couple of decades, we have been introduced to more and more varieties of artificial sweeteners promising to deliver the same sweetness or even more sweetness than natural sugar (some offer as much as 200 times more sweetness than sugar) but with a much lower calorie content, or some even no calories at all. Artificial sweeteners such as Splenda, Sweet n’ Low, NutraSweet, and Equal have become popular as “better alternatives” to table sugar, promising to help battle weight gain and actually assist in losing weight. However, does this make it the healthier option? As with all things, both natural sugar and artificial sugar have their pros and cons, but in order to find the best option in regards to our health and futures, it’s important to weigh them according to scientific findings and research.

Sucralose is an artificial sweetener and is also used as a sugar substitute; it is calorie free and is derived from sucrose. Sucralose is up to 600 times sweeter than sugar. Sucralose has been a numerous amount of studies, and it has clearly demonstrated it is safe for consumers. One of the main benefits is that Sucralose does not interact with other ingredients in food. “Specific studies have confirmed that it is unlikely to undergo interactions with commonly used food ingredients such as preservatives and added nutrients” (Goldsmith & Merkel 2011)

Artificial or non-nutritive sweeteners are sweeteners that are chemically manufactured. They are the ones most easy to spot while eating at some restaurants because they will be the colorful packets on the table grouped with the table sugar and other condiments. Some of the most common ones include aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose which are technical names for the well-known brands Equal, Sweet’N Low and Splenda respectively.

“Artificial Sweeteners: Sugar-Free, but at What Cost?” Harvard Health Blog, Harvard Medical School, 12 Dec. 2016, www.health.harvard.edu/blog/artificial-sweeteners-sugar-free-but-at-what-cost-201207165030. Accessed 28 Feb. 2017. Holly Strawbridge is an author for Harvard Health Blog. Strawbridge’s purpose in writing this article was to inform the general public of the dangers of artificial sweeteners. The article mainly briefs over the negative effects of consuming artificial sweeteners, specifically the diseases potentially caused by them. This article speaks more negatively of artificial sweeteners than any other source used. It is also fairly short and direct. It can be determined unbiased and credible due to the fact that it was published through Harvard Medical School. This source would not be optimal for this essay because it provides information showing that artificial sweeteners are unhealthy and lead to weight