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Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

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Re: Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

#211

Post by cestith »

BobaFloutist wrote: post #141
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.

Migraines are complicated enough that I'd buy a psychosomatic trigger, maybe?

Migraines can possibly be triggered by cause and effect chains several intermediate causes long. It could help explain for example why certain things are triggers for certain migraine patients and not others.

Re: Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

#212

Post by TFNA »

cyberax wrote: post #186
tptacek wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If there's anything wrong with MSG that isn't simply due to sodium intake, I think it's unknown to science (at least in the sense that there's no theory about it with any wide uptake). MSG is also intensively studied and has a very similar mechanistic story to aspartame.

One thing that is "wrong" with MSG is that a lot of restaurants overuse it as a condiment. So you're paying money for a good food experience, but you're getting the taste equivalent of instant ramen noodles. I actually _like_ instant ramen noodles and MSG, and I use MSG when cooking. But it feels like cheating when fancy restaurants also use it.

> So you're paying money for a good food experience, but you're getting the taste equivalent of instant ramen noodles.

Restaurants, even nicer ones, cut corners. This especially flared up in the news a couple of years ago when a posh UK restaurant served a cheese plate at a decently high price, where the label was still on the cheese and revealed it had come from an ordinary supermarket’s house brand.

I’ve seen this personally, too. I ate sushi today at a sushi place where the menu said “crab sticks” were an ingredient of some rolls, but these were surely the imitation crab meat called surimi.

Or another Asian place in my area is known for offering “duck” on the menu, but what you get is mock duck[0] wrapped around the meat, to make people think it’s the duck skin, but the meat itself is chicken.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mock_duck

Re: Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

#213

Post by cwnyth »

robotomo wrote: post #151
cwnyth wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Some other countries have products with less sugar than the US's version. Fanta is a noticeable one. I just want a late afternoon beverage that isn't alcohol, doesn't have a crap ton of sugar, has no sugar substitutes, and isn't too heavy on the caffeine. Might go back to decaf.

Re: Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

#215

Post by neonstatic »

bennettnate5 wrote: post #170
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.

> This is definitely not true. There is no biological pathway that can do this Nevertheless, it continues to give her migraines even in small portions where other foods don't. I don't doubt it could be some byproduct from the process of MSG salt's synthesis or cooking with it rather than the actual glutamic acid, or some allergy as others have suggested. I wouldn't be so strong as to categorically say that MSG can't…

Why are you arguing when the internet expert already stated that is impossible.

Re: Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

#216

Post by JoBrad »

mocamoca wrote: post #105
RHSeeger wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's just a preference thing. They taste bad _to you_, not to everyone. Even among people that like artificial sweeteners, people have preferences. I prefer pink and my wife prefers yellow. When I'm forced to use yellow, I just can't enjoy the drink as much. And, yes, it's a totally different kind of "sweet" for each of them. So if you're expecting "sugar sweet", it won't be that for the others.

Cilantro really tastes different from one person to another (relative to the aldéhyde content of cilantro and genetic variations). I don't know about sugar and aspartame but saying that it is purely a "preference" looks a little bit presomptuous to me. To the previous poster: do other intense sweeteners (stevia, saccharin, sucralose) taste sweet to you?

They all have variations of a bitter aftertaste to me. It’s not sweet or pleasant at all.

And it’s a different form of bitterness than the one you get from kale/collared greens, brussel sprouts, etc., whichi quite enjoy. I _almost_ want to drink a diet drink along with one of the “bitter” vegetable or even a crème brûlée to quantify the difference.

Re: Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

#217

Post by SketchySeaBeast »

SketchySeaBeast wrote: post #152
ChrisRR wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

*Would we say that there's not "nothing" wrong with water?

Re: Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

#218

Post by Clamchop »

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?

It's an acquired taste. All alternative sweeteners taste differently from sugar. These days, I appreciate that such beverages don't leave a film in my mouth and have a little extra bite compared to sugar.

I think it's interesting that people go through effort to acquire tastes for various formats of alcohol, dark chocolate, black coffee. A taste for aspartame is more useful to acquire than any of those, in my opinion, but alas it's not associated with refinement and sophistication.

It's better to think of flavors as different rather than strictly better or worse.

Re: Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

#220

Post by bitwize »

ChrisRR wrote: post #63
rcxdude wrote: post #5

Yeah, it's a frequent target of the naturalistic fallacy. But to me the most honest criticism of it is not liking the taste. Health-wise, almost certainly better than the sugar it's replacing.

I much prefer sucralose to aspartame

Sucralose is a genotoxin: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12251854/
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