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Why does my diet soda taste off? Aspartame hydrolysis

foodscienceinstitute.com

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Re: Why does my diet soda taste off? Aspartame hydrolysis

#141

Post by Pooge »

schipplock wrote: post #136
Pooge wrote: post #127

Sorry if this is slightly off-topic, but whenever I drink Coca-Cola Zero, I get a bit dizzy. It doesn't happen with other soda like Pepsi Zero. I've read somewhere that aspartame is much stronger than sugar. For the life of me, I can't find any references I stumbled upon when I searched about it, but has any of you had the same symptoms?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_drink#Amount_of_artificia... Pepsi Max contains more of Aspartame compared to Coke Zero. Stop drinking this garbage :). Drink water and tea.

> Drink water and tea.

Yup. Stopped drinking anything else than water (sometimes with syrup), sparkling water, and tea.

Re: Why does my diet soda taste off? Aspartame hydrolysis

#142

Post by gilrain »

qwertyuiop_ wrote: post #119

I have also noticed significant reduction in carbonation of Coke and Pepsi. 2-3 years ago it would hit the spot so to speak. Now they taste flat as if they have been sitting out all day. Wild thought was they are doing this to reduce “co2” emissions :)

The CO2 for carbonation is generally a captured byproduct of the fertilizer industry. It’s carbon neutral.

Re: Why does my diet soda taste off? Aspartame hydrolysis

#143

Post by tnbp »

hilbert42 wrote: post #128

What an excellent article. For me, it's also a timely discussion in that a short while ago (from my records on August 19 2019) I was looking at the Wikipedia article on aspartame when I realized that there was a significant error on the page. The skeletal formula was correct but the ball-and-stick model was incorrect in that it had an extra hydrogen tacked onto the aspartic acid group—the NH2 was misrepresented as NH…

>I was looking at the Wikipedia article on aspartame when I realized that there was a significant error on the page. The skeletal formula was correct but the ball-and-stick model was incorrect in that it had an extra hydrogen tacked onto the aspartic acid group—the NH2 was misrepresented as NH3.

I am sure you meant well, but as far as I can see, the original ball-and-stick model was indeed correct--and the current edited version is wrong. Amino acids, as well as most things made from amino acids, exist as zwitter ions in solid form as well as in aqueous solution. The carboxyl groups are comparatively strong acids, the amino groups are comparatively strong bases, so there is a proton transferred to NH2, making it NH3+. That proton is missing from the carboxyl group resulting in a carboxylate group (COO-). The positive and negative charges cancel each other and the result is a zwitter ion with two charged atoms/groups, but no charge overall. The newer version still has a carboxylate group (COO-), but no NH3+ group, making it negatively charged. That probably exists, at high pH values.

Re: Why does my diet soda taste off? Aspartame hydrolysis

#144

Post by the_af »

surfsvammel wrote: post #83

Every soft drink I’ve had since COVID have tasted off. So. If your drinks taste off, that might also be the explanation.

You may be onto something. After I had COVID and recovered my sense of smell, I found things didn't smell or taste exactly the same as before. Drinks, especially coffee, doesn't smell exactly the same as before, for example. And I had COVID almost a year ago, so it's not like I recovered yesterday.

Re: Why does my diet soda taste off? Aspartame hydrolysis

#145

Post by the_af »

kilroy123 wrote: post #123
surfsvammel wrote: post #83

Every soft drink I’ve had since COVID have tasted off. So. If your drinks taste off, that might also be the explanation.

Ugh, same here. While my taste and smell has somewhat come back. One month out and it's still not back to normal.

Not to worry you, but like I said in the sibling comment, it's been almost a year and while I recovered my sense of smell and taste, it's not exactly the same as before COVID.

Re: Why does my diet soda taste off? Aspartame hydrolysis

#146

Post by the_af »

xxs wrote: post #81
271828182846 wrote: post #73

I don't get the concept of diet soda. If you consume something unhealthy - shouldn't it at least taste good? Or is it some sort of self-punishment?

The unhealthy part is mostly the caffeine, not the aspartame, itself. That being said - I don't get the 'soda' at all. It's worse than plain water, juice (no extra sugars), espresso, and beer.

Well, let me give you my perspective:

I hate beer and also have some sort of allergic reaction to it (I don't mind, since I don't like it anyway).

Water has no taste, so unless I'm drinking merely to quench my thirst, it's not what I want.

Juice is too much work and many juices "out of the fruit" without added sugar are also bad for you, e.g. orange juice. Most dentists and nutritionists now do not recommend drinking orange juice except very occasionally (then again, of course they don't recommend soda drinks either).

I love espresso and drink it way too often, but it's not a refreshing drink like Diet Coke is, and also it's not good for you either (in excess). I probably drink way too much espresso and Diet Coke.

Re: Why does my diet soda taste off? Aspartame hydrolysis

#147

Post by the_af »

271828182846 wrote: post #73

I don't get the concept of diet soda. If you consume something unhealthy - shouldn't it at least taste good? Or is it some sort of self-punishment?

It's not punishment. You get used to it and then you start finding regular soda way too sugary. Your taste buds adjust to the new flavor and end up preferring it.

Re: Why does my diet soda taste off? Aspartame hydrolysis

#148

Post by JohnWhigham »

mmastrac wrote: post #36
colordrops wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are your thoughts on soda water?

I love soda water but the last study I read suggested it was carbonation that should be avoided. I still drink it.

I remember reading something that the acidity in sodas was way worse than plain club soda. Something about the sugar reacting with the CO2 acids.

Re: Why does my diet soda taste off? Aspartame hydrolysis

#149

Post by hilbert42 »

tnbp wrote: post #143
hilbert42 wrote: post #128

What an excellent article. For me, it's also a timely discussion in that a short while ago (from my records on August 19 2019) I was looking at the Wikipedia article on aspartame when I realized that there was a significant error on the page. The skeletal formula was correct but the ball-and-stick model was incorrect in that it had an extra hydrogen tacked onto the aspartic acid group—the NH2 was misrepresented as NH…

>I was looking at the Wikipedia article on aspartame when I realized that there was a significant error on the page. The skeletal formula was correct but the ball-and-stick model was incorrect in that it had an extra hydrogen tacked onto the aspartic acid group—the NH2 was misrepresented as NH3. I am sure you meant well, but as far as I can see, the original ball-and-stick model was indeed correct--and the current ed…

What I didn't mention was that I double-checked in case I was going crazy, so I crosschecked on ChemSpider: https://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.118630.html - see 3D model (presumably it's also incorrect).

I've yet to check Wiki as of today, so I don't know if the site has changed since last August or not. I will check momentarily.

I acknowledge what you say and I'm not necessarily disputing your points. If this is the result of another of the many nomenclature problems that plague and beset chemistry then I'm damn-well sick of it (and I'm certainly not alone).

It's about time that someone—some authoritative body, most specifically IUPAC et al, sorted this mess out.

PS: you haven't really answered why both the skeletal and ball-and-stick would be different. Moreover, the skeletal outline in the story is also the usual default (i.e.: the same as in both versions of Wiki and in ChemSpider).

Re: Why does my diet soda taste off? Aspartame hydrolysis

#150

Post by duffyjp »

I had left an almost full case of Diet Pepsi at work went we were sent home for COVID. Over a year later when allowed back I opened up the work fridge and grabbed a can. Due to masking and still being quite nervous about the virus I basically slammed it so I could re-mask faster. Big mistake, it was awful.

Thanks for explaining why!

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