Artificial Sweeteners (cont.)
Aspartame: What is the negative side?
Aspartame is one of the most controversial nonnutritive sweeteners. There are
numerous Web sites, books, and articles stating various reasons why aspartame
should not be consumed. Some site studies to support their theories while others
base their claims on industry-related conspiracies. The following is a summary
of the opposing views on aspartame:
Industry conspiracies: Conflicts of interest in the studies performed on
aspartame and the way in which its approval was obtained is an ongoing
controversy. Dr. Robert Walton surveyed the studies of aspartame in the peer-reviewed medical literature. He states that "of the 166 studies felt to have
relevance for questions of human safety, 74 had Nutrasweet industry related
funding and 92 were independently funded. One hundred percent of the industry-funded research attested to aspartame's safety, whereas 92% of the independently
funded research identified a problem." Other reports of federal employees
working for the companies responsible for the testing and distribution of
aspartame are sited on all of the sites and books opposing the use of aspartame.
Aspartame disease: H.J. Roberts, MD, coined the term "aspartame disease" in a
book filled with over 1,000 pages of information about the negative health
consequences of ingesting aspartame. Dr. Roberts reports that by 1998, aspartame
products were the cause of 80% of complaints to the FDA about food additives.
Some of these symptoms include headache, dizziness, change in mood, vomiting or
nausea, abdominal pain and cramps, change in vision, diarrhea,
seizures/convulsions, memory loss, and fatigue. Along with these symptoms, links
to aspartame are made for fibromyalgia symptoms, spasms, shooting pains,
numbness in your legs, cramps, tinnitus, joint pain, unexplainable depression,
anxiety attacks, slurred speech, blurred vision, multiple sclerosis, systemic
lupus, and various cancers. While the FDA has assured us that the research does
not show any adverse health complications from aspartame, there has been some
evidence to suggest that some of these symptoms can be related to aspartame:
Headaches: One study confirmed that individuals with self-reported headaches
after the ingestion of aspartame were in deed susceptible to headaches due to
aspartame. Three randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled studies with more
than 200 adult migraine sufferers showed that headaches were more frequent and
more severe in the aspartame-treated group.
Depression: In a study of the effect of aspartame on 40 patients with
depression, the study was cut short due to the severity of reactions within the
first 13 patients tested. The outcome showed that individuals with mood
disorders were particularly sensitive to aspartame and recommended that it be
avoided by them.
Cancer: In an initial study, 12 rats out of 320 developed malignant brain
tumors after receiving aspartame in an FDA trial. There have been other studies
to both support and contradict this finding. A recent study, conducted by
Italian and French researchers indicates there is no association between
low-calorie sweeteners and cancer. The researchers evaluated a variety of
studies between the years of 1991 and 2004. These studies assessed the
relationship between low-calorie sweeteners and many cancers, including oral and
pharynx, esophagus, colon, rectum, larynx, breast, ovary, prostate and renal
cell carcinomas. The researchers examined the eating habits of more than 7,000
men and women in their middle ages (mainly 55 years and over). Based on the data
evaluated, there was no evidence that saccharin or other sweeteners (mainly
aspartame) increase the risk of cancer at several common sites in humans. The
debate continues while more research is conducted.
Increased hunger: A study done with 14 dieters comparing the effects of
aspartame-sweetened and sucrose-sweetened soft drinks on food intake and
appetite ratings found that substituting diet drinks for sucrose-sweetened ones
did not reduce total calorie intake and may even have resulted in a higher
intake on subsequent days. In another study of 42 males given aspartame
in diet lemonade versus sucrose-sweetened lemonade, there was no increase in
hunger ratings or food intake with the diet group. Weight loss results from
consuming fewer calories than your body needs. When you replace a caloric
beverage with a noncaloric beverage, you will be saving calories and could lose
weight if it is enough calories to put you in a negative balance. For aspartame
to increase weight, there would have to be something else going on. There is not
enough research to determine if something does exist so the jury is still out on
this one.
Next: Sucralose: What is the positive side? »
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