# Aspartame Artificial Sweetener, how bad is it?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspartame-artificial-sweetener-how-bad-is-it/633628
**Category:** Great Debates
**Created:** [September 4, 2012, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspartame-artificial-sweetener-how-bad-is-it/633628 "2012-09-04T10:29:21Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Luk3112](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Luk3112)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2012, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspartame-artificial-sweetener-how-bad-is-it/633628/1 "2012-09-04T10:29:21Z")
> **[Aspartame Side Effects](http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-side-effects.html)**
>
> There are over 92 different health symptoms associated with aspartame consumption. It seems surreal, but true.
What do you think about this?
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### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2012, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspartame-artificial-sweetener-how-bad-is-it/633628/2 "2012-09-04T10:38:36Z")
Total load of bullshit.
The symptoms listed are too general and are associated with a wide variety of diseases and conditions ans would be impossible to pin to aspartame.
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### Author:  [@Luk3112](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Luk3112)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2012, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspartame-artificial-sweetener-how-bad-is-it/633628/3 "2012-09-04T10:41:13Z")
> [@runner pat](#):
>
> Total load of bullshit.
> The symptoms listed are too general and are associated with a wide variety of diseases and conditions ans would be impossible to pin to aspartame.
What are you basing this on? I agree that you cannot possibly attribute all of these illness’s with aspartame.
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### Author:  [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2012, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspartame-artificial-sweetener-how-bad-is-it/633628/4 "2012-09-04T10:42:41Z")
Yup. It’s la la land territory. [Quackwatch](http://www.quackwatch.org/04ConsumerEducation/QA/aspartame.html) is a great resource written by actual doctors.
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### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2012, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspartame-artificial-sweetener-how-bad-is-it/633628/5 "2012-09-04T10:53:07Z")
> [@Luk3112](#):
>
> What are you basing this on? I agree that you cannot possibly attribute all of these illness’s with aspartame.
Because aspartame is made from aspartic acid and phenylalanine, two amino acids which are consumed by everybody on the planet. The only persons in danger are those afflicted with [phenylketonuria](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenylketonuria) and that’s known from birth.
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### Author:  [@Luk3112](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Luk3112)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2012, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspartame-artificial-sweetener-how-bad-is-it/633628/6 "2012-09-04T10:56:01Z")
> [@runner pat](#):
>
> Because aspartame is made from aspartic acid and phenylalanine, two amino acids which are consumed by everybody on the planet. The only persons in danger are those afflicted with [phenylketonuria](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenylketonuria) and that’s known from birth.
Thanks.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2012, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspartame-artificial-sweetener-how-bad-is-it/633628/7 "2012-09-04T12:03:30Z")
> [@Luk3112](#):
>
> What are you basing this on?
The things that flag it as bullshit for me (at least as presented in that link) are the ‘detox’ program:
> [@](#):
>
> ```
> Remove all sugar-free products with aspartame from your diet.
> Learn to 'read' your body. Begin recording any health changes.
> Get a hair analysis.
> Be happy with yourself.
> Detoxify.
> Restore depleted nutrients.
> Exercise and get plenty of rest.
> Eat 75% raw foods at every meal.
> Drink water, water, water.
> Get control of your life.
>
> ```
-Which comprises an assortment of quackery (detoxify, raw foods) and banal stuff that _everyone should be doing anyway, regardless_ (Exercise, 'be happy with yourself).
And the screed at the bottom, which essentially tries to recruit the reader to evangelise (or spam) this nonsense around.
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### Author:  [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2012, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspartame-artificial-sweetener-how-bad-is-it/633628/8 "2012-09-04T12:22:08Z")
_“The allegations raised regarding aspartame by a few individuals have not been based on controlled scientific studies. Rather, they have been largely based on anecdote, personal opinion, conjecture and hypothesis. Further, the few studies suggestive of an apparent effect of aspartame are not reproducible by others, are done with dosage routes of administration (e.g., ip or in vitro) not relevant to aspartame consumption, or are so flawed from a methodological or statistical standpoint that valid conclusions cannot be drawn. The scientific evaluation of aspartame’s safety has extended well beyond standard safety testing for food additives. When the safety data for aspartame are evaluated as a whole, the weight of scientific evidence is clear that aspartame is safe for its intended uses, and there are no unresolved questions regarding its safety.”_
[http://www.dieteticai.ufba.br/Temas/ACUCARES/ASPARTAME.pdf](http://www.dieteticai.ufba.br/Temas/ACUCARES/ASPARTAME.pdf)
The sources claiming that aspartame is hazardous/deadly/turns you into a newt, tend to be the same people alleging horrendous dangers from amalgam fillings, water fluoridation, vaccines etc. There is also a group in Italy (the Ramazzini Foundation) which churns out papers alleging harms attributable to aspartame, but which [do not pass scientific muster](http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodIngredientsPackaging/FoodAdditives/ucm208580.htm).
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### Author:  [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2012, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspartame-artificial-sweetener-how-bad-is-it/633628/9 "2012-09-04T15:59:58Z")
My wife has become convinced it causes one to retain water. She told Daughter, who is not slender, to put back the diet pop and get the sugared version. I mentioned that Diet Rite has no aspartame, but she dismissed it with a handwave, saying something about how we can never be too sure. I said that one thing I was sure about was that Daughter would be better off without all those calories, but was ignored. Then she bought me a box of stevia for my iced tea because the half-to-full teaspoon of sugar I put in a glass is going to kill me.
But she used to be an x-ray tech, so she knows all things medical. :rolleyes:
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### Author:  [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspartame-artificial-sweetener-how-bad-is-it/633628/10 "2012-09-05T01:31:54Z")
I find it amusing that:
-Aspartame can cause Lyme disease. I wasn’t aware it was made from _deer ticks_.
-If it causes both weight loss and weight gain, wouldn’t they kind of cancel each other out?
-How can it cause Post-Polio Syndrome, without causing polio?
Alot of those symptoms that are listed are genetic in nature, or bacterial. That site IS good for a laugh, though.
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### Author:  [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspartame-artificial-sweetener-how-bad-is-it/633628/11 "2012-09-05T03:01:32Z")
> [@dropzone](#):
>
> My wife has become convinced it causes one to retain water. She told Daughter, who is not slender, to put back the diet pop and get the sugared version. I mentioned that Diet Rite has no aspartame, but she dismissed it with a handwave, saying something about how we can never be too sure. I said that one thing I was sure about was that Daughter would be better off without all those calories, but was ignored. Then she bought me a box of stevia for my iced tea because the half-to-full teaspoon of sugar I put in a glass is going to kill me.
>
> But she used to be an x-ray tech, so she knows all things medical. :rolleyes:
There is some truth to this; while not related to aspartame itself, people who drink diet sodas are known to [gain more weight](http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jul/01/news/la-heb-diet-soda-weight-gain-20110701) because they think they can eat more and end up eating more calories overall (it isn’t just soda; skim milk drinkers [may gain weight too](http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2012/07/new-review-paper-by-yours-truly-high.html#more), while whole milk may cause weight loss, possibly not for the same reasons though).
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### Author:  [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspartame-artificial-sweetener-how-bad-is-it/633628/12 "2012-09-05T03:54:27Z")
> [@Michael63129](#):
>
> There is some truth to this; while not related to aspartame itself, people who drink diet sodas are known to [gain more weight](http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jul/01/news/la-heb-diet-soda-weight-gain-20110701) because they think they can eat more and end up eating more calories overall
nm
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### Author:  [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspartame-artificial-sweetener-how-bad-is-it/633628/13 "2012-09-05T04:00:47Z")
> [@Michael63129](#):
>
> There is some truth to this; while not related to aspartame itself, people who drink diet sodas are known to [gain more weight](http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jul/01/news/la-heb-diet-soda-weight-gain-20110701) because they think they can eat more and end up eating more calories overall (it isn’t just soda; skim milk drinkers [may gain weight too](http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2012/07/new-review-paper-by-yours-truly-high.html#more), while whole milk may cause weight loss, possibly not for the same reasons though).
It’s the same mentality behind the person who feels entitled to a DairyQueen Blizzard to reward themselves for all the hard work they just did in their 30-min treadmill session.
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### Author:  [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspartame-artificial-sweetener-how-bad-is-it/633628/14 "2012-09-05T10:30:32Z")
It’s worth mentioning that aspartame was discovered in the sixties and has been approved for use in foods since the early 80s: it’s been studied for over 50 years and in wide use for over 30. It’s been aggressively studied in about a thousand different ways for decades. Furthermore, the patent expired in 1992–twenty years ago–so it’s not exactly a money-making powerhouse: if the makers of Splenda could have discredited aspartame, they’d have been all over that. Why people are leary of aspartame but not plant products that have very little track record, I just don’t know.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspartame-artificial-sweetener-how-bad-is-it/633628/15 "2012-09-05T10:51:44Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#):
>
> I find it amusing that:
>
> -Aspartame can cause Lyme disease. I wasn’t aware it was made from _deer ticks_.
That has to be the last nail in the coffin of credibility for this claim. Lyme disease is caused (as you noted) by bacteria spread by ticks. The article is therefore claiming (although not directly) that Aspartame causes spontaneous generation of bacteria - I daresay it’s technically possible to somehow become infected by the bacteria by other means than a tick bite (malicious injection, for example. Maybe cross-contamination via used needles), but it’s not possible to get the disease without the infection.
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### Author:  [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspartame-artificial-sweetener-how-bad-is-it/633628/16 "2012-09-05T11:10:34Z")
I heard aspartame was even more toxic than ASEA water.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspartame-artificial-sweetener-how-bad-is-it/633628/17 "2012-09-05T12:11:16Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#):
>
> I heard aspartame was even more toxic than ASEA water.
Too true - Aspartame is one molecule away from Redox Signalling Molecules - but _that’s the molecule they left out!_
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### Author:  [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspartame-artificial-sweetener-how-bad-is-it/633628/18 "2012-09-05T12:43:20Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#):
>
> I find it amusing that:
>
> -Aspartame can cause Lyme disease. I wasn’t aware it was made from _deer ticks_.
>
> -If it causes both weight loss and weight gain, wouldn’t they kind of cancel each other out?
>
> -How can it cause Post-Polio Syndrome, without causing polio?
> Alot of those symptoms that are listed are genetic in nature, or bacterial. That site IS good for a laugh, though.
I may have to add a corollary to **Jackmannii’s Law** \*, noting that the more diseases a woo-targeted product is claimed to cause, the less likely it is to cause any of them.
\ ***Jackmannii’s Law** also states that 1) the more diseases and conditions a supplement or herb is claimed to treat, the less likely it is to be useful for any of them, and 2) the more confident you are about not being one of the sheeple deceived by conspiracies, the easier you are to flim-flam with bogus products and services.
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### Author:  [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspartame-artificial-sweetener-how-bad-is-it/633628/19 "2012-09-05T13:34:36Z")
> [@Mangetout](#):
>
> That has to be the last nail in the coffin of credibility for this claim. Lyme disease is caused (as you noted) by bacteria spread by ticks.
In my experience, Lyme disease has started to become one of those illnesses that alternative medicine practitioners have latched onto as an unverifiable go-to diagnosis. A hypochondriac acquaintance of mine has had self-diagnosed “end-stage Lyme disease” for half a decade now (having switched form “multiple chemical sensitivity” and “chronic fatigue” before). No need to do any actual testing – she knows what she has, so why put her body through the stress just to confirm what she already knows? 😉
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### Author:  [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspartame-artificial-sweetener-how-bad-is-it/633628/20 "2012-09-05T13:43:30Z")
> [@Mangetout](#):
>
> That has to be the last nail in the coffin of credibility for this claim. Lyme disease is caused (as you noted) by bacteria spread by ticks. The article is therefore claiming (although not directly) that Aspartame causes spontaneous generation of bacteria - I daresay it’s technically possible to somehow become infected by the bacteria by other means than a tick bite (malicious injection, for example. Maybe cross-contamination via used needles), but it’s not possible to get the disease without the infection.
While I whole heartedly dismiss the claims presented by the OP on behalf of “Dr.” Hull one can allow for a reading that would suggest in this particular case that aspertame may mimic Lyme disease if it doesn’ttrigger or cause it.
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