# What's the consensus on aspartame?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-consensus-on-aspartame/797990
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [October 4, 2017, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-consensus-on-aspartame/797990 "2017-10-04T23:55:40Z")
**Posts on this page:** 13
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@allotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/allotrope)
#### Post date: [October 10, 2017, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-consensus-on-aspartame/797990/21 "2017-10-10T20:24:44Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#):
>
> The OP is interested in consuming beverages that already contain aspartame, so his question and the resulting answers are not moot.
>
> One can find “data” on the web regarding sucralose having the same effects you attributed to aspartame:
>
> [Artificial sweeteners affect metabolism and insulin levels](https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/261179.php)
> A mountain of research has concluded the same for aspartame.
First, the question is moot if you can drink something else that tastes sweet but doesn’t contain either aspartame or sugar. That was the obvious point of my comment.
Second, the effect isn’t the same as aspartame. Aspartame is metabolized, sucralose isn’t. It does appear to trick the body into thinking it’s sugar though so presumably that could have some untoward effects if you overdo it but then the same is obviously true of sugar. So you then have a choice of the lesser of the two evils in which case I think it’s a pretty clear choice.
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### Author:  [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)
#### Post date: [October 10, 2017, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-consensus-on-aspartame/797990/22 "2017-10-10T20:52:59Z")
> [@allotrope](#):
>
> First, the question is moot if you can drink something else that tastes sweet but doesn’t contain either aspartame or sugar. That was the obvious point of my comment.
It’s not moot for obvious reasons. First, “something else” isn’t always preferred. As you note, drinks containing sucralose are hard to find. Why should the OP search for something hard to find when his preferred drinks are perfectly fine to consume? Second, if aspartame has a mountain of research that deems it safe, there’s no reason to swap it for something else just because you claim that something else “_should_ pose fewer potential issues” and “_should_ make it even more innocuous.”
> [@](#):
>
> Second, the effect isn’t the same as aspartame. Aspartame is metabolized, sucralose isn’t.
Now that’s a moot point. We eat plenty of things that are metabolized, obviously. The salient point is that aspartame has been widely studied for many years and have been deemed safe at even unreasonable levels of consumption.
But just for fun, some metabolism of sucralose does occur. Some of something can be more dangerous than all of something else. How much is metabolized isn’t clear to me, as different sources give different numbers.
> [@](#):
>
> b. _Sucralose metabolism_. The majority
> of ingested sucralose is excreted
> unchanged in the feces and most of
> what is absorbed appears unchanged in
> the urine, with only minor amounts
> appearing as metabolites (Refs. 3, 4, and
> 5). Mice (El46) and rats (El37) were
> found to metabolize less than 10 percent
> of the absorbed sucralose, while rabbits
> (El24) (20 to 30 percent), humans (El38
> and E145) (20 to 30 percent)
[https://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/98fr/040398a.pdf](https://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/98fr/040398a.pdf)
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### Author:  [@allotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/allotrope)
#### Post date: [October 10, 2017, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-consensus-on-aspartame/797990/23 "2017-10-10T21:09:27Z")
That’s interesting about the metabolites. I didn’t know it was possible to only partially metabolize something. I always figured that if you had the enzymes to break it down it got metabolized and if not it didn’t. I wonder what the mechanism involved is.
But back to whether something is a moot issue or not. As has been pointed out, there are still open issues with all artificial sweeteners so based on available information you can choose something other than aspartame if you don’t like the evidence you’ve been presented with so far. Personally I don’t. While I understand that mouse studies don’t tend to extrapolate to humans something like alkaline phosphatase is probably something we share with our diminutive murine brothers and sisters. So I’m going to avoid anything that interferes with its activity.
I’m also going to avoid anything that is extensively metabolized if for no other reason that we have no idea what affect it has on our microbiomes. That’s an area that is very poorly understood at the moment so if I’m going to consume something artificial at all, I want to pick something that is as unlikely as possible to interfere either with my own biochemistry or commensal inhabitants.
If someone else disagrees with my assessment of the risks and benefits, that’s fine. I don’t get any points for winning converts. My only objective is to share information and help advance the discussion.
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### Author:  [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)
#### Post date: [October 10, 2017, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-consensus-on-aspartame/797990/24 "2017-10-10T21:37:57Z")
> [@allotrope](#):
>
> I’m also going to avoid anything that is extensively metabolized if for no other reason that we have no idea what affect it has on our microbiomes.
Then you’ll need to avoid the vast majority of (if not all) foods including “natural” foods because they haven’t been rigorously studied to see how they’ll affect our microbiomes. ☹
It’s repeatedly been shown that extrapolating results from rodents to humans is [fraught with error](http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/06/08/mice.rats.studies/index.html).
_“…when one empirically analyzes animal models using scientific tools they fall far short of being able to predict human responses. This is not surprising considering what we have learned from fields such evolutionary and developmental biology, gene regulation and expression, epigenetics, complexity theory, and comparative genomics…
There are direct and indirect consequences to this misunderstanding of what prediction means. If we did not allow on the market any chemical or drug that causes cancer, or is teratogenic, or causes severe side effects in any species, then we would have no chemicals or drugs at all. Furthermore, there is a cost to keeping otherwise good chemicals off the market. We lose: treatments perhaps even cures; the income that could have been generated; and new knowledge that could have been gained from learning more about the chemical. These are not insignificant downsides. Since we now understand vis-à-vis personalized medicine that even humans differ in their response to drugs and disease and hence one human cannot predict what a drug will do to another human, it seems illogical to find models that are predictive using completely different species from humans.”_
> **[Are animal models predictive for humans? - Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities...](https://peh-med.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1747-5341-4-2)**
>
> It is one of the central aims of the philosophy of science to elucidate the meanings of scientific terms and also to think critically about their application. The focus of this essay is the scientific term predict and whether there is credible...
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### Author:  [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2017, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-consensus-on-aspartame/797990/26 "2017-11-17T12:58:31Z")
**MichaelEmouse** has been elevated to the ranks of those who can boast that their questions were answered by Unca Cece himself: [What’s the skinny on artificial sweeteners like aspartame? (November 17, 2017)](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/3367/what-s-the-skinny-on-artificial-sweeteners-like-aspartame). Congratulations.
The column reports that: “Control groups of mice were fed natural sugars; only the NAS mice developed abnormally high blood-sugar levels.” so I wonder if some of the OP’s relatives were involved in the lab tests.
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### Author:  [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2017, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-consensus-on-aspartame/797990/27 "2017-11-17T13:50:52Z")
> [@whitetho](#):
>
> **MichaelEmouse** has been elevated to the ranks of those who can boast that their questions were answered by Unca Cece himself: [What’s the skinny on artificial sweeteners like aspartame? (November 17, 2017)](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/3367/what-s-the-skinny-on-artificial-sweeteners-like-aspartame). Congratulations.
That column does not mark one of Cecil’s finer moments.
Instead of the backhanded comment about how aspartame “probably” doesn’t cause cancer, an accurate observation would’ve been that research overwhelmingly shows _no_ cancer link\*, and that there’s considerable research showing that substituting artificial sweeteners for sugar consistently lowers BMI and total weight.
And speaking of consensus: there’s a definitely risky sweetener out there linked to obesity, type II diabetes, poorer mental health and risk markers for heart disease. It’s called sugar.
\*For example, the European Food Safety Authority says: “Overall, the Panel concluded, on the basis of all the evidence currently available… that there is no indication of any genotoxic or carcinogenic potential of aspartame and that there is no reason to revise the previously established ADI for aspartame of 40 mg/kg [body weight].”
> **[Aspartame and Cancer Risk](https://www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/chemicals/aspartame.html)**
>
> Aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal, etc) is one of the most common artificial sweeteners in use today. Find out what we know about its safety here.
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### Author:  [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2017, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-consensus-on-aspartame/797990/28 "2017-11-17T13:52:24Z")
> [@allotrope](#):
>
> There’s no need to use aspartame when you can use sucralose so it really becomes a moot issue. And since that’s just biologically inert sucrose, it should pose fewer potential issues.
It’s no such thing, which wouldn’t exist anyway. Sucralose is derived from sucrose, but so is acetic acid and nobody would sweeten his coffee with vinegar or declare that vinegar is “biologically inert sucrose”.
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### Author:  [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2017, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-consensus-on-aspartame/797990/29 "2017-11-17T14:28:49Z")
> [@whitetho](#):
>
> The column reports that: “Control groups of mice were fed natural sugars; only the NAS mice developed abnormally high blood-sugar levels.” so I wonder if some of the OP’s relatives were involved in the lab tests.
Not all NAS work the same way, and rodents don’t metabolize glucose like humans do.
> [@](#):
>
> The scientific community is already starting to pick over the results of this study, and dampen public reaction by putting it into perspective. First, the majority of this work was done in mice, who have a different glucose metabolism, diet, and tolerance than humans. The small study with 7 human subjects is very preliminary, and far from sufficient to conclude that the mice data will be applicable to people.
>
> The Science Magazine article points out that the study was published in a basic science journal, and that a clinical science journal would probably have been much more critical of their clinical speculations.
>
> Another potentially serious criticism is that the researchers combined saccharin, sucralose, and aspartame data. It seems highly unlikely that three very different molecules would all have the same effect on gut microbiota. It’s possible that what the researchers are seeing is isolated to saccharin alone, which the research focused on. Earlier trials used aspartame, which had a smaller effect so the researchers switched to saccharin. The Science Magazine article reports:
>
> _“The authors are confounding their conclusions by addressing all these noncaloric artificial sweeteners together,” says Brian Ratcliffe, a nutrition researcher at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, U.K. That’s why the title of the paper, “Artificial sweeteners induce glucose intolerance by altering the gut microbiota,” is misleading, he says. “I cannot believe the journal allowed that title.” Still, he says, the data “certainly does suggest that there is something more that needs to be explored about saccharin."_
>
> …
> **Conclusion**
>
> The current study is rigorous and interesting, as far as it goes. It suggests that saccharin has the potential to alter the gut microbiota of mice and has some relationship to glucose metabolism. It would be interesting to work out the various mechanisms involved with future research.
>
> The bottom line that is frequently being communicated to the public about this study, however, is not supported by this data, is misleading, and is likely to lead to poor health decisions.
>
> It is unclear if these results apply to sucralose or aspartame (and therefore diet soft drinks), and it is further unclear if they apply to humans.
>
> Meanwhile, other studies, some of which are massive epidemiological studies, show a clear connection between consuming sugar-sweetened drinks and type II diabetes, and no connection to drinking NAS sweetened drinks. This study should not motivate anyone to abandon their diet drinks for sugar-sweetened drinks, but the way the study is being reported may do just that.
> **[Artificial Sweeteners and Diabetes - NeuroLogica Blog](https://theness.com/neurologicablog/artificial-sweeteners-and-diabetes/)**
>
> A new study published in Nature is getting a lot of press, and it seems making a lot of people worried. The Nature News article discussing the study has the headline: Sugar substitutes linked to obesity. I think this headline is misleading. Here's a...
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### Author:  [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2018, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-consensus-on-aspartame/797990/30 "2018-02-26T20:41:54Z")
I don’t know if it is too late to comment on this thread. But I would just add Aspartame does contain Methyl Alcohol, which is poisonous.
It’s claim to fame 30+ years ago is that it was merely two harmless amino acids bound together. But actually that is only partly true. In fact, Methyl Alcohol is even part of its name.
In its chemical form, it is inert. But as the theory goes, when it has been laying around for a while (like in factory bins), it breaks down, and some of the Methyl Alcohol is freed.
Aspartame was still great for its time though. It was the first alternative to Saccharine. Now there are so many alternatives, the magic is essential gone.
🙂
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### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2018, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-consensus-on-aspartame/797990/31 "2018-02-26T20:54:26Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#):
>
> I don’t know if it is too late to comment on this thread. But I would just add Aspartame does contain Methyl Alcohol, which is poisonous.
>
> It’s claim to fame 30+ years ago is that it was merely two harmless amino acids bound together. But actually that is only partly true. In fact, Methyl Alcohol is even part of its name.
>
> In its chemical form, it is inert. But as the theory goes, when it has been laying around for a while (like in factory bins), it breaks down, and some of the Methyl Alcohol is freed.
>
> Aspartame was still great for its time though. It was the first alternative to Saccharine. Now there are so many alternatives, the magic is essential gone.
>
> 🙂
[From here.](https://www.andeal.org/topic.cfm?cat=4089)
> [@](#):
>
> Aspartame is a dipeptide molecule produced by joining phenylalanine and aspartic acid. Aspartame itself does not occur naturally but is a manufactured substance. When aspartame is consumed, it is completely broken down by the enzymes in the digestive system (esterases and peptidases) into the two amino acids and a type of alcohol called methanol. The amounts of these are much less than found in foods. For example, a serving of non-fat milk provides about six to nine times more phenylalanine and 13 times more aspartic acid than the same amount of beverage sweetened with aspartame. **A serving of tomato juice provides about four to six times more methanol than the same amount of aspartame-sweetened beverage.**
>
> It is important to understand that the **human body is well-equipped to use small amounts of methanol produced from foods and beverages,** as well as from aspartame. The metabolic pathway is well-understood and well-documented in the scientific literature. First, the methanol from the intestinal tract goes to the liver via portal blood, where the liver enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase converts methanol into formaldehyde. The body very rapidly uses formaldehyde and so formaldehyde never builds up in the body. If the body doesn’t need it, formaldehyde is converted to formic acid within seconds. The formic acid will be either excreted in the urine or broken down to carbon dioxide and water.
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### Author:  [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2018, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-consensus-on-aspartame/797990/32 "2018-02-26T20:59:23Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#):
>
> I don’t know if it is too late to comment on this thread. But I would just add Aspartame does contain Methyl Alcohol, which is poisonous.
Oh, please.
Your body is exposed to more methyl alcohol when you ingest citrus fruits or tomatoes, than you get when you ingest ordinary amounts of aspartame.
> **[FACT CHECK: Is Aspartame Responsible for 'An Epidemic of Multiple Sclerosis...](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/aspartame-sweet-poison/)**
>
> Rumor: Aspartame is responsible for 'an epidemic of multiple sclerosis and lupus.'
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### Author:  [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2018, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-consensus-on-aspartame/797990/33 "2018-02-26T21:13:24Z")
All I know about aspartame is that it’s a product originating from the loins of Lucifer himself, crafted insidiously in order to systematically wipe out the human race. “Science” is part of the insidious smokescreen on used to fool all the rubies and peons
ETA: And this is a fact!
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### Author:  [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2018, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-consensus-on-aspartame/797990/34 "2018-02-26T21:19:37Z")
> [@lifespill](#):
>
> Other than a kind of intolerance that some people have,there is no direct link to any harmfull health effect.It doesn’t increase blood sugar and that’s why-except its much sweetier than sugar-its ingriedient to many diabetic foods.
Are you referring to PKU? That’s extremely rare (something like 1 in 20,000) and people who have that are on extremely restricted diets anyway. It’s vegan, and because they cannot have commonly used vegan protein sources like dried beans, because they contain phenylalanine, they have to take protein supplements and use special medical foods so they can get proper nutrition and also eat foods that look “normal”.
> **[Phenylketonuria (PKU) - Symptoms and causes](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/phenylketonuria/symptoms-causes/syc-20376302)**
>
> PKU is caused by a change in the gene that helps create an enzyme needed to break down phenylalanine. Treatment includes a special diet and medication.
As for a consensus, there really isn’t one.
p.s. Pearl S. Buck’s daughter, who was mentally disabled, was discovered in middle age to have PKU. She was put on a modified PKU diet and it did improve her overall health, although the brain damage was irreversible. It’s one of those diseases that’s looked for when they do that heel stick on newborn babies, not the implantation of a microchip as some people believe.
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