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Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

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Re: Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

#151

Post by robotomo »

cwnyth wrote: post #18
mmastrac wrote: post #15

I don't understand how prevalent Aspartame and other artificial sweeteners are when they taste so bad. They don't even taste sweet to me, just "wrong" in a way that permeates my entire mouth. Is this a genetic thing?

I've wondered this myself. The aftertaste on some of them is vile. The disappointing thing is that so many products use them when they reduce sugar, but sometimes I just want a reduced sugar product without any additional sweeteners. That seems hard to find these days.

I've been curious about the just-less-sugar idea myself. Like how would a Coca-Cola "dry" taste? Maybe the fact that nobody is offering this just means it doesn't taste good.

Re: Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

#152

Post by SketchySeaBeast »

ChrisRR wrote: post #59
cael450 wrote: post #36

> Half of the world’s aspartame is made by Ajinomoto of Tokyo—the same company that first brought us MSG back in 1909. There is nothing wrong with MSG either

There's not "nothing" wrong with MSG. But msg is fine in moderation, just like salt, fat and sugar are all fine in moderation too

Sure, but it feels like a silly distinction. The famous example is water, which fits those same criteria. Would we that that there's not "nothing" wrong with water?

Re: Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

#153

Post by ch4s3 »

cestith wrote: post #146
ch4s3 wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> discovered through gradual process of elimination that she gets migraines from MSG This is definitely not true. There is no biological pathway that can do this. MSG is nearly identical to the glutamic acid in other foods. If it were true they'd be unable to tolerate parmesan cheese, soy sauce, aged meats, tomatoes, mushrooms, and seaweed.

Glutamate is considered a migraine trigger, though. Many people do avoid or limit those foods for that reason. Thankfully it doesn’t appear to be a trigger for me, because I love all those things. There is some controversy about dietary glutamate being directly responsible for migraine. It’s common in the brain already. It’s only allowed selectively through the blood-brain barrier. However it could trigger other type…

Elevated brain glutamate levels are associated with migraines, but there’s no solid evidence that dietary glutamate is a trigger for migraines.

The number of people avoiding it is not evidence of anything other than public perception.

Elimination diets are also super impressive.

Re: Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

#154

Post by ErroneousBosh »

wasabi991011 wrote: post #116
ErroneousBosh wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's just a preference thing. They taste bad _to you_, not to everyone. That's great, but it still means I can't have soft drinks any more.

Most soft drinks are not made with artificial sweeteners. Where are you that the only available soft drinks are artificially sweetened? Never been to a restaurant or fast food place or grocery store that only carried the diet/zero and didn't carry the standard coke or pepsi.

> Most soft drinks are not made with artificial sweeteners.

All soft drinks are contaminated with artificial sweeteners.

Re: Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

#155

Post by ErroneousBosh »

throw4847285 wrote: post #102
ErroneousBosh wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's just a preference thing. They taste bad _to you_, not to everyone. That's great, but it still means I can't have soft drinks any more.

If you keep drinking them, you'll likely acquire a taste. I didn't used to like any artificial sugar flavors, but now I've grown accustomed to them.

It's not "I don't like the taste".

It is "these taste like they're contaminated with antifreeze".

They taste like they've been intentionally adulterated with the stuff they use to stop people drinking poisonous things.

Re: Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

#156

Post by latch »

jiaosdjf wrote: post #137
latch wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure how you get to that conclusion from the article when it ends with the conclusion from 5 health agencies that it's safe (and then more references from the scientific community that it's safe).

What in your view is the single strongest scientific conclusion supporting your statement that "it's safe"?

Are you moving the goal post? I generally trust health agencies, more so when they all agree.

Re: Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

#157

Post by tracker1 »

tptacek wrote: post #135
tracker1 wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not that I always follow it.. but my general advice is to keep sweetened drinks to with meals, and to reduce/eliminate snacking altogether. Sweetened drinks, even zero calorie, sugar free causes some glucose mobilization and insulin response... this insulin response likely contributes to insulin resistance over time. That's just my not a doctor, observational, take on it.

There is no meaningful insulin response to noncaloric sweeteners.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7014832/

Re: Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

#158

Post by shlant »

jiaosdjf wrote: post #117
shlant wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So basically there's no scientific consensus either way "The current science says that the health impact of aspartame is essentially zero. Every credible body that has studied this question has reached the same conclusion." Did you even read the article?

"While informative, this does not prove aspartame is safe" There is no such thing as "it's just a normal chemical". Sugar is "just a normal chemical" that doesn't mean refining it and injecting it into products with a commercial incentive to habit form hasn't helped create a health crisis

> "While informative, this does not prove aspartame is safe"

You just cherry-picked this from where they are only talking about the chemicals it breaks down into which yes, does not alone prove it's safe. But then it (right after in the section titled "The scientific consensus") goes on to list the science from most major health organizations and concludes with the quote I shared. Did you just ignore all the evidence presented because it doesn't fir your confirmation bias?

Re: Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

#159

Post by cestith »

ch4s3 wrote: post #153
cestith wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Glutamate is considered a migraine trigger, though. Many people do avoid or limit those foods for that reason. Thankfully it doesn’t appear to be a trigger for me, because I love all those things. There is some controversy about dietary glutamate being directly responsible for migraine. It’s common in the brain already. It’s only allowed selectively through the blood-brain barrier. However it could trigger other type…

Elevated brain glutamate levels are associated with migraines, but there’s no solid evidence that dietary glutamate is a trigger for migraines. The number of people avoiding it is not evidence of anything other than public perception. Elimination diets are also super impressive.

I agree on all your points. If someone suffers from migraines, though, it’s worth trying figuring out plausible triggers even if the evidence isn’t really solid.

It’s important not to conflate ingredients when doing an elimination diet, though. Separating restaurants or prepackaged foods at home that use MSG from those that use a lot of salt (or preservatives, or artificial dyes, or “natural flavors”, or any number of other things) is pretty difficult. I’ve seen several instances over the years of people assuming a restaurant used MSG based on getting a migraine, even when that restaurant doesn’t use MSG in any of their dishes. I’m not even a doctor, just an interested person with migraines. I’m sure a nutritionist or headache specialist could tell us stories.

Re: Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

#160

Post by amluto »

Not mentioned in the article: there is a really obvious biological effect of aspartame: it triggers your sweetness receptors. And you have them in your mouth (duh!) and elsewhere in your body including in your gut.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6288399/

One might imagine that aspartame triggers the receptors in the gut and that this has some effect. Maybe different sweeteners have different effects, too, since they are metabolized differently.

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