Now I know that this topic might make some roll their eyes, but trust me, continue to read on. There may be some valuable information to remember for the next time you look at these Artificial Sweeteners.
Artificial Sweeteners came onto the market to public about a half century ago. The primary reasoning being that real sugar contains calories, (about 32 kcal/ 2 tsps.) and with the craze of low calorie “starvation” diets, and I use that term loosely, a low calorie substitute would with no doubt make millions. Not a bad idea in principal but what we got was “Franken” sugar. The end product that we consume is not a sugar at all, it is a CHEMICAL. There are NO Artificial Sweetener trees, plants or animals in nature, well, at least not on Earth let us say. Now this is a problem for humans because we are now consuming products that our bodies were never meant to take in. This can tax the liver and I will argue many systems in the body to an extreme, forcing it to try and break down as much of the foreign substance that it can. This should be enough in itself to make you put on your thinking cap, but if not, let’s get into the real crazy stuff.
Aspartame (Equal, Nutra sweet, Nutra Sweet Spoonful, Canderel, Benevia)
Aspartames way to the market is a phenomenon. For almost 80 years it was banned by the Food and Drug Administration due to its known ability to cause brain tumors in lab animals. That all changed in 1981 after President Ronald Reagan took office and fired the current FDA Commissioner who refused to allow aspartame into the market. The board still insisted the new commissioner not approve the substance but they were overruled. Not long after, aspartame was introduced into diet drinks and the rest you can call history.
Aspartame’s chemical components consist of three parts: Aspartic acid, Phenylalanine and a Methyl Ester group (C12H18N2O5). There are a few problems with this chemical but let us just focus on in my opinion the worst of them all. The Methyl Ester group in this compound that bonds the Aspartic acid and Phenylalanine when entered into the body is turned into what is known as Methanol. Now if you are not familiar with what Methanol is, it is Wood Alcohol, a known cancer promoting chemical. This is bad in itself, however, Methanol has to be broken down once again, this time the bi-products are Formic acid and Formaldehyde. Both of these components are extremely toxic and cancer promoting to the body. YES, Formaldehyde is what we also use to embalm dead bodies. Aspartame is also considered and “Excitotoxin” (due to the Aspartic Acid component) of the structure. An excitotoxin is an extremely harmful substance because it causes the neurons in the brain to become overstimulated and over produce neurotransmitters causing many of the neurons to die in the Central Nervous System. Aspartame however is not so much an acute toxin as it is a prolonged toxin. One could compare the analogy of mercury poisoning. When consumed by humans through different avenues in our diet it will not harm you immediately but in the sometimes short future it can.
Phenylalanine is last part of aspartame. Phenylalanine is an essential amino acid for the body. What this means is the body requires it for certain metabolic pathways but it cannot make the amino acid itself like it can with “non-essential” amino acids. This requires one to get Phenylalanine through the diet they eat. The biggest problem arises for those who have Phenylketonuria. Also known as PKU, Phenylketonuria does not allow the body to metabolize Phenylalanine or turn it into Tyrosine. Tyrosine is also an essential component for a healthy Thyroid gland and is a precursor to Thyroxin, a major role player in the endocrine system that controls pathways such as body temperature regulation and metabolism. Because the body cannot process Phenylalanine it begins to build up in the body if it is not all excreted as urine. In babies this can cause severe mental retardation and cognitive damage. Those that have PKU must follow a low Phenylalanine diet or there can be some serious health consequences including seizures. The problem with aspartame isn’t that phenylalanine is bad, it is that it is bad for some, about 1 in 10,000 are diagnosed with PKU when they are born. This is a disaster when we know that aspartame is in thousands upon thousands of products that PKU suffers can accidentally eat or drink causing devestating effects in their health.
Everyone is allowed to make his or her own choices in life and it is up to you to do just that. Many people truly believe without the real knowledge how these things work in the body that Artificial Sweeteners are safe. Aspartame is found in literally thousands of foods so read the labels. Anything diet and or sugarless (including gum) most often has aspartame in it so be careful.
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