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Aspartame

ZeehatZeehat
edited May 2008 in Everything Else
Is Aspartame as bad as some claim it to be? Or, does it just get too many crackpots preaching the dangers of it?
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Comments

  • LintonLinton
    This is something I'm very worried about. I'm completely hooked on Diet Coke and don't want to think about what it's doing to my insides. I heard a rumour that it makes you infertile but have no scientific facts to back this up.
  • DkongDkong
    edited May 2008
    I'm not sure.
    I've heard just about everything.

    I've heard that it makes you and/or your children retarded. I heard it causes cancer. I heard it does jack shit and anyone who says otherwise is a crackpot....I dunno who to believe.

    I used to stay away from it, but I now just realized that there really aren't any mints or mint gum that don't have aspartame in them. So I figure, fuck it, everyone I know chews gum, so we're either all going to end up retarded, or we'll be fine.
    And yes, I could stop chewing gum, but right now gum is something that keeps me from overeating, and I'm trying to lose weight and/or just not eat so much crap food.


    Oh, also...
    image
    Post edited by Dkong on
  • ZeehatZeehat
    Scott has mentioned in the past, that Trans fat is just as bad- if not worse than Aspartame. That is comforting. I think that Aspartame is just as bad as everything else, even if it is taken in large quantities. Crackpots analyze this, but why not the million other particles we put in our body without realizing. Suffice it to say, I think (and hope), that it follows the rule of "everything is healthy for you, in small quantities."
  • RymRym
    Is Aspartame as bad as some claim it to be?
    It tastes bad. Thus, I never really inquired beyond that point.

    Frankly, I don't understand non-caloric sweeteners in the first place. If I drink something sweet, I'm doing so partly for the calories. If my body doesn't crave calories, I don't drink something sweet. I've never desired something sweet when I wasn't hungry or in need of carbohydrates.
  • Dr. TimoDr. Timo
    edited May 2008
    Why don't you read the Wikipedia article on the Aspartame controversy. I found it to be quite thorough. It also explained some of the difficulties of drawing conclusions from clinical tests.
    Post edited by Dr. Timo on
  • DkongDkong
    Is Aspartame as bad as some claim it to be?
    It tastes bad. Thus, I never really inquired beyond that point.

    Frankly, I don't understand non-caloric sweeteners in the first place. If I drink something sweet, I'm doing so partly for the calories. If my body doesn't crave calories, I don't drink something sweet. I've never desired something sweet when I wasn't hungry or in need of carbohydrates.
    Yeah, but it's also used in sugarfree gum and mints...which means 99% of the gums and mints out there. I think altoids and the eclipse mints that come in tins are the only non-aspartame mints I know of...and any mint gum I can think of has aspartame in them.

    And who eats mints and gum for calories or the sweetness? No one I know of (unless they specifically want the bubblicious gum, which probably has regular sweeteners in it anyways).
  • bertinabertina
    Eep. I remember when I was doing the musical/opera Iolanthe. During breaks we would go to Woolworths and look for drinks with aspartame - specifically, phenylalanine - in them, like diet coke and lime coke. We'd heard that it made you able to sing better. Keep in mind, we were about thirteen or fourteen.
  • DkongDkong
    edited May 2008
    Also, watch out, since it's not only in diet drinks. For example, dairymen's makes a few drinks that have caps that pop off. The flavors are lemonade, orange, ice tea, and fruit punch. They aren't diet, aren't 0 calories, yet they have aspartame.
    Post edited by Dkong on
  • OmnutiaOmnutia
    edited May 2008
    Conflicts of interest: This is the kind of thing that worries me about trying to research this kind of thing through secondary sources. Getting conclusive results on this kind of thing wouldn't be so hard if it weren't for people trying to make stuff up.
    How much should I avoid this stuff? 100% or just aim to reduce intake?
    Post edited by Omnutia on
  • DkongDkong
    How much should I avoid this stuff? 100% or just aim to reduce intake?
    Personally, I'm trying to phase it out completely.
    Currently, the only thing I eat with aspartame in it is gum, and I'm trying to cut down on my gum eating habits (2-3 pieces tops this entire week).
  • AprecheApreche
    Currently, the only thing I eat with aspartame in it is gum, and I'm trying to cut down on my gum eating habits (2-3 pieces tops this entire week).
    Eat real sugar gum, like original Bazooka Joe. The flavor may not last long, but it tastes better. Also, I have to check, but I don't think Doublemint has the artificial sweeteners, but it might have corn syrup. I have to check. Doublemint and Bazooka Joe are the only gums I chew.
  • OmnutiaOmnutia
    edited May 2008
    Oh, natural sugar, you may be bad for me but at least you are safe and don't give me an excuse to eat too much.
    Post edited by Omnutia on
  • DkongDkong
    Eat real sugar gum, like original Bazooka Joe. The flavor may not last long, but it tastes better. Also, I have to check, but I don't think Doublemint has the artificial sweeteners, but it might have corn syrup. I have to check. Doublemint and Bazooka Joe are the only gums I chew.
    I hate true "bubblegum". Tastes like ass, IMO (in before, "oh, so you know what ass tastes like?").
    As for doublemint, I'll have to check it out.
  • OmnutiaOmnutia
    edited May 2008
    Everyone has, at some time in their life, got the wrong end of the towel.
    Post edited by Omnutia on
  • AndrewAndrew
    I bought some lemonade at the store made from lemons and sugar. It's fucking amazing.
  • OmnutiaOmnutia
    image
    Fentimans Botanical Lemonade. Just in case you think you're hard enough.
  • AprecheApreche
    I bought some lemonade at the store made from lemons and sugar. It's fucking amazing.
    Shit, I can't remember the lemonade brand we buy, but it is equally awesome.
  • AprecheApreche
    I bought some lemonade at the store made from lemons and sugar. It's fucking amazing.
    Shit, I can't remember the lemonade brand we buy, but it is equally awesome.
  • AndrewAndrew
    edited May 2008
    This is the stuff. It tastes so good after mowing the lawn.
    image
    Ingredients: Pure filtered water, natural sugar, 11% lemon juice, natural flavors.
    Post edited by Andrew on
  • AprecheApreche
    This is the stuff. It tastes so good after mowing the lawn.
    Yes. that is the stuff.
  • edifolco25edifolco25
    edited May 2008
    This is the stuff. It tastes so good after mowing the lawn.
    Yes. that is the stuff.
    Yea, simply lemonade is great stuff. Although the best you can get is to squeeze some fresh lemons and make a fresh batch of lemonade. It takes time (more time then I'm often willing to put into making a drink that I can get right out of the before pictured bottle lol), so I only do it once or twice a summer, but darned if I don't look forward to those few times. Without that and some fresh brewed iced tea, I don't think my summer would be complete.
    Post edited by edifolco25 on
  • DkongDkong
    I love the lemonade that we have at homedays and fairs over the summer. They squeeze the lemons right in front of you, and you can see the sugar caked on at the bottom of the cup.
    It's worth th $5, IMO.

    Also, I thought you guys poo-poo'd lemonade for being so acidic.
  • SailSail
    This is the stuff. It tastes so good after mowing the lawn.
    I've had that before except it was limeade. I should try the lemonade.
  • WallyBmanWallyBman
    This is the stuff. It tastes so good after mowing the lawn.
    I've had that before except it was limeade. I should try the lemonade.
    The Limeade is the best. If you are going to try these, do not buy the small bottles, as you will pay almost as muh as you would for the big bottles, and you will feel ripped off when you finish the small bottle and want more.
  • DkongDkong
    Today when I was getting gas, I stopped inside the station and looked at the gum. Everything I looked at (including double bubble and other non-mint flavored gum) all had aspartame in the ingredients list, except for Big Red (which really isn't that good...and I usually like cinnamon flavored things!).
  • SailSail
    Big Red
    Off topic but funny story about Big Red. For a science class experiment in 6th grade we had to calculate the weight of the sugar in various chewing gums by first weighing the pieces and then chewing them until the flavor ran out. This way we could compare the weight of the chewed gum with that of the unchewed gum and get the weight of the sugar. In retrospect, I'm not sure why we didn't just use the food labels to calculate the weight of the sugar, but I digress.

    There were about five varieties of gum and we each had to chew one variety. I got stuck with the Big Red. I don't remember exactly how many pieces of gum I had to chew, but I do remember that it was enough so that my mouth burned worse than it ever had in my life and my gum's flavor lasted almost ten minutes longer than everyone else's. My group watched me writhe in pain while tears streamed down from my eyes. My mouth was totally red for the rest of the day and wouldn't completely come out even when I spent a half hour trying to brush it out that night. The red tint on my teeth lasted through the next day.
  • AndrewAndrew
    There were about five varieties of gum and we each had to chew one variety. I got stuck with the Big Red. I don't remember exactly how many pieces of gum I had to chew, but I do remember that it was enough so that my mouth burned worse than it ever had in my life and my gum's flavor lasted almost ten minutes longer than everyone else's. My group watched me writhe in pain while tears streamed down from my eyes. My mouth was totally red for the rest of the day and wouldn't completely come out even when I spent a half hour trying to brush it out that night. The red tint on my teeth lasted through the next day.
    You want to have some fun? Lick the non-shiny part of the wrapper and stick it to your forehead.
  • bodtchboybodtchboy
    This is the stuff. It tastes so good after mowing the lawn.
    image
    Ingredients: Pure filtered water, natural sugar, 11% lemon juice, natural flavors.

    Mmmmm, yeah. I'm with you on the lemonade. That reminds me, I need to go mow my lawn...
  • AprecheApreche
    Mmmmm, yeah. I'm with you on the lemonade. That reminds me, I need to go mow my lawn...
    Yeah, there does seem to be some connection between lemonade and lawn mowing. For some reason, mowing a lawn makes lemonade taste better times a billion.
  • HMTKSteveHMTKSteve
    Mmmmm, yeah. I'm with you on the lemonade. That reminds me, I need to go mow my lawn...
    Yeah, there does seem to be some connection between lemonade and lawn mowing. For some reason, mowing a lawn makes lemonade taste better times a billion.
    My lawn tractor has a cup holder in it.
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