Diet Sodas/Pops Best answer on the web
It appears Diet Pepsi contains aspartame as a substitute sugar and may be linked to the possible health effects, but if so, what are the health effects and in what quantities consumed of Diet Pepsi can one be affected? If aspartame is harmless, what else is Diet Pepsi made with that may affect health negatively?
I have found information using Google and very quickly located what appeared to be reputable sites (appeared, not necsessarily ARE) but there is conflicting information?
There?s a lot of debate about aspartame. The official, government answer is that it?s harmless. But many other groups link it to ill health.
Aspartame (also known as Nutra Sweet and Equal) is composed of 40% aspartic acid, 50% phenylalanine, and 10% methanol. Here are just a few of the 92 reactions that have been reported to the FDA:
? ?Angioedema or swelling of the eyelids,lips, hands or feet
? Anxiety attacks
? Breathing difficulties
? Depression
? Dizziness
? Fatigue
? Headaches
? Heart palpitations
? Hives
? Itching without a rash
? Muscle spasms
? Nausea
? Numbness
? Rashes
? Respiratory allergies
? Weight gain
? Memory loss?
(?Aspartame May Be the Cause of Your Health Problems,? Allergies, About.com: http://allergies.about.com/cs/aspartame/a/aa012901a.htm )
Studies have also shown a link between aspartame and brain cancer. (See ?Study suggests link between aspartame and brain cancer,? CNN: http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9611/18/aspartame/ )
A major concern for some people is that 10% of aspartame is absorbed into the bloodstream as methanol (or wood alcohol). ?The Environmental Protection Agency defines safe consumption as no more than 7.8 milligrams per day of this dangerous substance. A one-liter beverage, sweetened with aspartame, contains about 56 milligrams of wood alcohol, or eight times the EPA limit.? (?Could There Be Evils Lurking In Aspartame Consumption?? by Christine Lydon, MD, Oxygen Magazine: http://aspartamekills.com/lydon.htm ) On the other hand, the FDA says you can drink about 17 cans of aspartame sweetened sodas a day. (?The Skinny on Sweeteners,? MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3840760/ )
Aspartame is also required to carry a warning label noting the inclusion of phenylalanine in the product; phenylalanine has been linked to Phenylketonuria (a genetic disease).
You should not use aspartame if you have liver disease, are pregnant with high blood levels of phenylalanine, or experience headaches, dizziness, fatigue or other systems after consuming the product.
For some people, the perceived ill effects of aspartame seem to be short term, and go away if the product is no longer consumed. For others, what is perceived as damage from aspartame seems to last for years. Unfortunately, nobody has publicized a thorough study on perceived side effects.
For those trying to loose weight, aspartame can also be a hindrance, leading to a plateau. For this reason, the Atkin?s diet (and others) tell dieters to stay away from products containing aspartame. (An alternative is offered: Sucralose, or Splenda.)
So the jury is really still out on aspartame, and each side defend it?s position fiercely.
Other ingredients in Pepsi can be adverse to health, if you don?t consume them in moderation. For example, caffeine should be limited in a healthy diet. Each Diet Pepsi contains 24 mg of caffeine. You may wish to read ?Caffeine in the Diet,? Discovery Health: http://health.discovery.com/diseasesandcond/encyclopedia/1877.html ?Most doctors believe there's very little risk of health problems for people who have less than 600mg of caffeine each day.? (?Caffeine and Your Health,? NSW Health: http://www.mhcs.health.nsw.gov.au/health-public-affairs/mhcs/publications/4630.html ) Those with high blood pressure or certain heart conditions should limit their caffeine even more. Caffeine may also make weight loss more difficult.
Also, watch the sodium intake of colas. The American Heart Association recommends limiting sodium intake to 2400 mg per day. (?Q & A About Nutrition and Diet,? Kelsy-Seybold Clinic: http://www.kelsey-seybold.com/kelsey/Health_Features/AskVeronicaQandALibrary.cfm#3 )
Almost all doctors agree; limiting the intake of sodas (even diet sodas) is an excellent idea, and be sure to drink 8 glasses of water daily.
Regards,
Kriswrite
KEYWORDS USED:
Aspartame Health
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Aspertame+Health&btnG=Google+Search caffeine health
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=caffeine+health&btnG=Search
Are there any other definitive answers from any other sources? You mentioned the FDA as one and the references from the CNN article as well as the Discovery Health article. I realize that the jury may still be out on the issue, but... surely there is a swing in one direction or the other. What about access to the actual studies that have been done? Is that possible?
I'm surprised that Kriswrite would provide such a biased and uneducated response as a google researcher.
There are tons of studies that gave huge abuse doses of aspartame, and none found any unusual effects:
There was no change in urine metabolites (from aspartame) with the equivalent of 10L of soda per day: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=2802896
There was no difference in methanol concentrations between milk and aspartame:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=8480740
Aspartame increases phenylalanine (thus the FDA warning only for those who have phenylketonuria, a disease you're either born with or not), but did not increase methanol or formaldehyde concentrations beyond normal limits. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=2566887
Not dangerous during pregnancy:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=2862125
A dose of aspartame in the 99th percentile caused a slight increase in methanol concentrations, but that concentration was within normal limits. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=3957170
Again, no significant changes in any of the metabolites concentrations.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=137987
Phenylalanine is incorporate into the body (as should happen), alanine goes through krebs cycle (also normal), and methanol is oxidized to CO2 (normal). http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=827618
?FDA stands behind its original approval of aspartame, and subsequent evaluations have shown that the product is safe?the agency continually monitors safety information on food ingredients such as aspartame and may take action to protect public health if it receives credible scientific evidence indicating a safety problem? FDA calls aspartame, sold under trade names such as NutraSweet and Equal, one of the most thoroughly tested and studied food additives the agency has ever approved. The agency says the more than 100 toxicological and clinical studies it has reviewed confirm that aspartame is safe for the general population. ?Websites with screaming headlines and well-written text attempt to link aspartame consumption to systemic lupus, multiple sclerosis, vision problems, headaches, fatigue, and even Alzheimer's disease. One report distributed nationally over e-mail systems claims that aspartame-sweetened soft drinks delivered to military personnel during the Persian Gulf War may have prompted Gulf War syndrome. No way, says FDA, along with many other health organizations such as the American Medical Association. David Hattan, Ph.D., acting director of FDA's division of health effects evaluation, says there is no ?credible evidence,? to support, for example, a link between aspartame and multiple sclerosis or systemic lupus. Some Internet reports claim that patients suffering from both conditions went into remission after discontinuing aspartame use. ?Both of these disorders are subject to spontaneous remissions and exacerbation,? says Hattan. ?So it is entirely possible that when patients stopped using aspartame they might also coincidentally have had remission of their symptoms.? It is true, says Hattan, that aspartame ingestion results in the production of methanol, formaldehyde and formate--substances that could be considered toxic at high doses. But the levels formed are modest, and substances such as methanol are found in higher amounts in common food products such as citrus juices and tomatoes. Other circulating reports claim that two amino acids in aspartame--phenylalanine and aspartic acid--can cause neurotoxic effects such as brain damage. ?This is true in certain individuals and in high enough doses,? says Hattan. He explains that a very small group of people who have the rare hereditary disease phenylketonuria, estimated at 1 in 16,000 people, are sensitive to phenylalanine. These ?phenylketonurics? have to watch their intake of phenylalanine from other sources as well. People with advanced liver disease and pregnant women with high levels of phenylalanine in the blood also may have trouble metabolizing the substance.. Aspartic acid also has the potential to cause brain damage at very high doses. But under normal intake levels, the brain's mechanism for controlling aspartic acid levels ensures no adverse effects. It is unlikely that any consumer would eat or drink enough aspartame to cause brain damage: FDA figures show that most aspartame users only consume about 4 to 7 percent of the acceptable daily intake the agency has set for the sweetener. Still other reports attempt to link aspartame to seizures and birth defects. Regarding seizures, Hattan cites animal and human studies showing that the sweetener neither causes nor enhances the susceptibility of seizures. Aspartame also has been evaluated for its potential to cause reproductive effects or birth defects. Again, researchers found no evidence, even in test animals fed the sweetener at doses much higher than those to which humans would be exposed. ? In 1996, a study raised the issue that aspartame consumption may be related to an increase in brain tumors following FDA's approval of the sweetener in 1981. But analysis of the National Cancer Institute's database on cancer incidence showed that cases of brain cancers began increasing in 1973--well before aspartame was approved--and continued to increase through 1985. In recent years, brain tumor frequency has actually decreased slightly. NCI currently is studying aspartame and other dietary factors as part of a larger study of adult brain cancer.? (?Sugar Substitutes: Americans Opt for Sweetness and Lite,? U.S. Food & Drug Administration: http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/1999/699_sugar.html ) Full medical studies are rarely published on the Internet; generally, the people involved in the study send out press releases to media sources, and that is how we know about the results. To make matters more difficult, there?s no generally accepted ?reliable source? for information against aspartame. Who seems more credible than the FDA, for example? The American Heart Association and The American Diabetes Association both stand behind aspartame, but I can find no evidence that they?ve conducted independent studies; they seem to base their position on what the FDA believes. The trouble is, most of the ?side effects? of aspartame are found only in anecdotal evidence: everyday citizens complaining of side effects to the FDA, their doctor, or the media. That said, Holistic Medicine has some studies on their website. You?ll find them at ?Recent Independent Aspartame Research Results:? http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/recent.html Their website also lists some lawsuits regarding aspartame: http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/lawsuit/ If you live near a great library, you can try to get your hands on the original published reports. Here is a list of some aspartame (published) studies ?1988-2000?, in PDF format: http://www.foodstandards.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/~6791008.pdf If you have trouble opening this, try the Google cache, available for a limited time at: ://www.google.com/search?q=cache:RjDCOHSEfocJ:www.foodstandards.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/~6791008.pdf+apartame+study&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
As for the other ingredients found in Diet Pepsi, the only other possible health risks have already been discussed: caffeine, sodium, and risks of becoming dehydrated by not drinking enough water. These are all very generally accepted ?truths? in the medical community. Here?s a news piece about phosphoric acid, ?Soft-Drinks and Bones,? Tufts e-news: http://enews.tufts.edu/stories/092503Tucker.htm Notice that the study concludes that phosphoric acid ?may? cause bone density problems. More studies still need to be done.
I hope this helps clarify things a bit more. It?s a sticky issue, for sure!
Regards,
Kriswrite
>Aspartame is also required to carry a warning label noting the
>inclusion of phenylalanine in the product; phenylalanine has been
>linked to Phenylketonuria (a genetic disease).
This paragraph is somewhat misstated, as it gives the impression that aspartame may cause phenylketonuria. The purpose of the warning is to warn those who suffer from already have phenylketonuria to avoid the product.
Phenylalanine is one of the 20 basic amino acids the body needs. The reason for the warning regarding it because about 1 in every 20,000 have an inherited metabolic disease called Phenylketonuria (PKU). People with PKU cannot break down the amino acid phenylalanine and it builds up in the brain and causes a variety of problems that appear during childhood (if not detected).
In the US, a screening test is done on all newborns for PKU about three days after birth (usually the day they leave the hospital). If a child is identified as having PKU, they follow a strict, lifelong diet that restricts foods that contain phenylalanine. Since aspartame contains a large amount of phenylalanine, it must be avoided by those that have PKU.
For more info see: http://www.medhelp.org/lib/pku.htm
Kriswrite
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