Gimme some Sugar!!

Image Retrieved from http://www.whydontyoutrythis.com/2013/07/the-shocking-story-of-how-aspartame-became-legal.html (accessed March 27th, 2016)

What seems like sugar but is 200 times sweeter [1]? Aspartame!! It may be very known to you if you have someone in the house that's a diabetic or simply a dieting sweet tooth. Ever wondered how while your eating something that claims to be sugar-free yet is still sweet. The answer lies in the chemical compound aspartame or other alternative compounds that make it sweet. Aspartame is a no calorie sweetener used in various diet products, gum, and candies [2]. Diet drinks are a slightly better alternative to consuming high sugar content regular soda drinks. However, it is important to not be misled by claims that suggest it is healthier. This compound is the very creation of a laboratory accident. A chemist was actually trying to create a drug that could be used as a treatment for ulcers and produced aspartame as an intermediate [3].

There are many controversies regarding this drug and all are a media hoax. Many claim it causes cancer (is anything edible in this world said to not cause cancer these days?), headaches, weight changes, and various other neurotoxic diseases. This chemical compound is probably one of the most consistently studied due to its controversies since the very beginning. Many are set out to prove that the controversies are true and others to refute them. Overall, there has been no scientifically sound study that is able to prove any of the above side effects. 

The daily intake levels are so high that one would need to consume extremely extensive amounts  of aspartame to cause any harm, The U.S. food and drug administration (FDA) and World Health Organization (WHO) have set the daily limits at 50 [4] and 40 mg/kg [5] body weight respectively. One can of diet soda can contain 180 mg [6] of aspartame. So someone my weight (50 kg) would need to consume almost 14 cans of diet soda in a day. The maximum I can have is maybe one or two in a day. Such low consumption will not lead to any adverse health affects. 

So go ahead enjoy your diet drinks once in a while and abandon the fear of aspartame!!  

References

[1] Thomas, P. (2005, 09). Aspartame. The Ecologist, 35, 36-46. Retrieved from http://library.mtroyal.ca:2048/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/234930257?accountid=1343

[2] "What Foods Contain Aspartame? | MD-Health.com," MD-Health.com - Better Health Information from Doctors, accessed March 19, 2016, http://www.md-health.com/What-Foods-Contain-Aspartame.html.

[3] Stegink, Lewis D., and Lloyd J. Filer. "Discovery of Aspartame." In Aspartame: Physiology and Biochemistry, 3-7. New York: Marcel Dekker, 1984. https://books.google.ca/books?id=yTH1iI9ybl4C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false.

[4] Renwick, A.G. "Intake of Intense Sweeteners," Low-Calories Sweeteners: Present and Future, 1999, 178-200, doi:10.1159/000059699. 

[5] "The Truth About Aspartame Side Effects," Healthline, accessed March 20, 2016, http://www.healthline.com/health/aspartame-side-effects#SideEffects4.

[6] "Aspartame," Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, accessed March 20, 2016, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame.